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Recently, greater research attention has focused on the application of solar power generation technology in building construction to reduce building energy consumption and encourage increased sustainable development. An emerging solar power generation technology is in the use of Building-integrated Photovoltaics (BIPVs), where photovoltaic materials are used to replace conventional building materials. In order to map the development of BIPV technology over time and explore technology paths, this study retrieved a total of 4914 patents dated from 1972 to 2016 from the Derwent Innovations Index patent database. This study applies patent co-citation analysis to map the patent co-citation network in three periods based on Ucinet tool. Evolutional path and three key technology frontiers were identified using Social Network Analysis (SNA) and text clustering. The results of this study provide an informed reference for future researchers in understanding the historical development of BIPV, as an emerging and important solar power generation technology in the built environment. At the same time, big data of patents are analyzed using SNA and text clustering, which overcomes the limitation of previous methods of frontiers study that have depended on expert opinion or peer review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an integrated bottom-up approach aimed at helping those dealing with strategical analysis of installation of Building Integrated Photo Voltaic (BIPV) to estimate the electricity production potential along with the energy needs of urban buildings at the district scale. On the demand side, hourly energy profiles are generated using dynamic building simulation taking into account actual urban morphologies. On the supply side, electricity generated from the system is predicted considering both the direct and indirect components of solar radiation as well as local climate variables. Python-based Algorithm editor Grasshopper is used to interlink four types of modelling and simulation tools as 1) generation of 3-D model, 2) solar radiation analysis, 3) formatting weather files (TMY data set) and 4) dynamic energy demand. The method has been demonstrated for a cluster of 20 buildings located in the Yasar University in Izmir (Turkey), for which it is found the BIPV system could achieve an annual renewable share of 23%, in line with the Renewable Energy Directive target of 20%. Quantitatively-compared demand and supply information at hourly time step shows that only some energy needs can be met by BIPV, so there is a need for an appropriate matching strategy to better exploit the renewable energy potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) modules are typically installed during, not after, the construction phase, BIPVs have a profound impact compared to conventional building-applied photovoltaics on the electrical installation and construction planning of a building. As the cost of BIPV modules decreases over time, the impact of electrical system architecture and converters will become more prevalent in the overall cost of the system. This manuscript provides an overview of potential BIPV electrical architectures. System-level criteria for BIPV installations are established, thus providing a reference framework to compare electrical architectures. To achieve modularity and to minimize engineering costs, module-level DC/DC converters preinstalled in the BIPV module turned out to be the best solution. The second part of this paper establishes converter-level requirements, derived and related to the BIPV system. These include measures to increase the converter fault tolerance for extended availability and to ensure essential safety features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]