Building integrated photovoltaics : a case study of the Northumberland Building

Wilshaw, Alison Ruth (2001) Building integrated photovoltaics : a case study of the Northumberland Building. Doctoral thesis, University of Northumbria at Newcastle.

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Abstract

The aim of this work was to examine some of the main factors influencing the performance of a Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) system. BIPV systems are
becoming increasingly common and it is anticipated that they will be installed in large numbers in the future, as a result of various political, environmental and economic factors. It is therefore important that their system performance is optimised during their demonstration phase.
Three parallel BIPV projects have been coordinated for this research, with the primary objective of conducting comparative studies to assist in the analysis of the Northumberland Building BIPV system. The other projects include the installation and operation of a BIPV monitoring station, and the design, manufacture and testing of two alternative PV cladding prototypes.
The performance of a BIPV system is dependent on a number of interrelated parameters. These include: system orientation, in-plane insolation and shading, temperature, array soiling, the type of PV installed, and the mismatch losses of the installation. This thesis presents an investigation of each of these parameters and assesses how they affect the performance of the Northumberland Building BIPV system as a whole.
The approach used differs from that of other researchers, in that it assesses the performance of the whole system, rather than studying one or two issues in isolation.
In addition, this work extrapolates the results to predict the performance of various alternative BIPV system designs. Finally an economic analysis of each alternative system is presented and a comparison of system performance and costs is made.

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