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I recently attended the 2022 All Energy Australia conference in Melbourne. There was a lot on display, including some Building Integrated PV (BIPV) I hadn’t seen before.
BIPV is building material such as tiles, cladding and windows with solar cells built-in. The most famous example of BIPV is the Tesla Solar Roof, which is unavailable in Australia and pretty hard to get in the USA too.
As solar becomes normal on buildings, more owners are likely to consider BIPV as an alternative to discrete solar panels. So in this post, I’ll explore:
I also included some pictures of BIPV so you can see if it’s something you may be interested in next time you build a home or replace a roof.
BIPV most commonly involves integrating solar cells with roofing material. But it doesn’t have to be roofs. PV solar siding can go on walls, and there are also windows that generate electricity from sunlight. But for most homes, roofs are where the action is. Well installed, solar tiles look great…
But they are very expensive.
At this time, using BIPV is an aesthetic choice. You must be willing to pay extra in return for how they look.
The most cost-effective time to buy a BIPV roof is when you are building a home or replacing a roof. If you replace a perfectly good roof with BIPV, you’ll have to either be really rich or want it really badly.
Some questions you should consider before buying are…
I know of installations where people paid extra for all-black solar panels that were then installed where no one could see them. As BIPV can cost much more than the best-looking solar panels, be certain it will make an appreciable difference to your home’s appearance.
I find homeowners tend to be a little self-conscious about their roofs. Sure, a nice roof can improve the overall impression your home has on people, but the effect is usually going to be less than the stuff that’s at eye level. Hardly anyone cares whether discrete solar panels or stealthy solar tiles power your roof.
A few things to consider before getting a BIPV roof are:
You might think if you make your entire roof BIPV it would produce more power than panels bolted on top. In reality, most solar tiles can’t cover 100% of the roof. You may get more kilowatts from your roof by installing high-efficiency solar panels.
Roofs often have warranties of 25 years. These days, there are many solar panels on the market with both product and performance warranties of 25 years or longer. But while BIPV will often have a warranty of 25 years as roof material, its product warranty as solar PV may not be as long. It could be only 10 years.
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This means that after 10+ years, you may end up with a solar roof that still works well as a roof but isn’t doing so well on the electricity generation part. While I would expect solar roofing material to have a PV performance warranty of 25 years or more, making a warranty claim under the performance warranty may be more difficult than the product warranty.
A BIPV manufacturer going out of business can create problems. This is especially true if you need replacement solar tiles. If normal solar panels need replacing after a hailstorm and the manufacturer has gone out of business, it is possible to use another company’s panels. But if no one makes your solar roofing material anymore, you could have a serious problem. You may find keeping some spare tiles on hand a worthwhile precaution.
BIPV is typically less efficient than high-quality, modern solar panels. If a solar tile is anything other than black or a dark bluish-black, it will have lower efficiency. Making them any other colour will reflect some light and reduce output. The loss is likely to be around 15-20%. BIPV efficiency can also lag behind if the manufacturer doesn’t use the latest solar cell technology. While normal panel manufacturers focus on increasing efficiency, the makers of solar tiles may not have the resources to keep up.
Heat can also be more of a problem for BIPV. Standard solar panels are installed on rails that raise them off the roof. This allows air to circulate underneath and cool them. This can’t happen with solar roof tiles, and so they tend to be slightly hotter under identical conditions. Hotter cell temperatures mean lower efficiency. This may only reduce their output by a couple of percent, but it’s still something to keep in mind.
Because they’re raised, conventional solar panels will shade your roof and make your home cooler than it would otherwise be, reducing the need for air conditioning. Because BIPV doesn’t have this effect, it can increase your home’s energy consumption. If the non-solar parts of your roof are dark to blend in with dark PV tiles, the effect can be particularly strong.
At the moment, you can expect to pay much more for a BIPV roof than for a standard roof plus a standard solar system. But prices could — and should — come down in the future. Combining solar PV and roofing material can provide several cost advantages:
Unfortunately, there are also several factors working against BIPV falling in price. These include…
Because of its obstacles, I suspect it will be years before BIPV takes off. While it will improve and fall in price, conventional solar will do the same, so the competition will be a moving target.
If you:
Then go for it.
And send me a picture.
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