Techno-economic BIPV evaluation method in urban areas

Photovoltaics have been proven to be one of the key technologies of electricity generation at building, district, and city level. Numerous strategies have been applied to maximize the performance of roof mounted PV panels, while the potential of building façades for PV installation is often disregarded, especially in urban areas. However, façade mounted PVs could provide high energy generation and be economically feasible especially in dense urban regions with low rooftop areas. This study presents an integrated techno-economic evaluation tool, to help policy makers and investors identify the most appropriate PV installation surfaces in urban areas. Moreover, the installation surfaces could be prioritized based on energy generation, economic profitability, and carbon footprint reduction. Results show that installation of façade mounted PV panels with optimum angles increases the energy generation and IRR up to 19% and 6% in south facades. The presented tool provides architectural designers, as well as planning authorities, a method to quantify solar planning decisions at the building and urban scale.