BSE545

Applied Solar Energy in Buildings

Chapter 1 (Part I) Introduction

Prof Hongxing Yang

Renewable Energy Research Group (RERG)

Department of Building Services Engineering,
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
14-01-2022
 Outlines

✓ Energy consumption in buildings in urban areas

✓ Plan of renewable energy applications

✓ Solar energy resource

✓ Solar photovoltaic applications in the world

✓ Solar photovoltaic applications in Hong Kong

✓ Our research activities in BIPV applications

✓ Conclusions
 Plan of renewable energy applications
China: 2050
Composition of electricity generation in
China, 2017 and 2050
It is estimated that non-fossil electricity
will reach 44% by 2025 and 77% by
2035 with the supply of renewable
energy at 67% in China.
Hong Kong’s climate action plan
2030+
Reduction of coal in fuel mix for electricity generation
in Hong Kong, 2015-2030
Electricity accounts for about 55% of Hong
Kong’s total annual energy-end-use. About 3-
4% of realisable RE potential can be exploited
between now and 2030. (1% = 440million kWh)
3
Energy consumptions in different sectors

Industrial
4%
Building Commercial
Others 30% 44%
42% Residential
21%
Transport Transport
28% 30%

Global final energy use Hong Kong’s final energy use

Waste and other

Building 21%
28%
Others
49% Transport Building
Transport 16% 63%
23%

Global carbon emissions Hong Kong’s carbon emissions

Source: IEA 2019; Hong Kong's Climate Action Plan 2030+ 4
 Energy consumption in buildings

31% 26%
Space conditioning
Cooking

5% 13% Lighting
Hot water & Refrigeration
12% 13%
Office Equipment
Others

Hong Kong’s breakdown of commercial

buildings’energy end-uses

10%
6%
23%
Space conditioning Electricity generation–largest source
Cooking of local carbon emissions in HK
10%
Lighting

19% 25%
Hot water
Refrigeration
About 70% of carbon
7% Office Equipment emissions are attributable to
Others
generating electricity in Hong
Hong Kong’s breakdown of residential Kong. Building sector
buildings’energy end-uses accounts for 90% of consumed
4
electricity.
 Carbon Neutrality! 碳中和

• An ambitious blueprint is reported to reach the carbon

emission peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality
before 2060 in China.
• 77 countries, 10 regions and over 100 cities promised to
achieve net zero carbon emission by 2050 (Climate Action
Summit).
• A strategic roadmap is provided by the European Commission
to make Europe the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050.
• At least US$ 1T (11012) will be invested to support
decarbonisation of buildings in developing countries by 2030
(United Nations Climate Action Summit).
• More than 57 carbon-pricing initiatives are implemented or
scheduled to reduce carbon footprints in significant sectors
across 47 countries. 6
Carbon Neutrality! 碳中和

Renewables play significant roles in reducing the

necessary carbon emissions in the future.

Source:
IRENA 2019
7
 Towards Carbon Neutrality in China
• In China, the share of solar PV alone will be about 45% in 2060, up
from just 4% in 2020.
• Between 2030 and 2060, 220 GW of solar PV capacity should be
added on average each year.

Solar PV Solar PV
4%, 2020 45%, 2060

IEA: China’s Pathway in the Announced Pledges Scenario (APS)

 2. Worldwide development of solar PV applications

➢ Global solar photovoltaic (PV) power installations

760 GW world total

Solar PV global capacity and Solar PV capacity and additions,

annual additions, 2010-2020 top 10 countries, 2020

Source: REN 21
 2. Worldwide development of solar PV applications

➢ Solar PV installation projection

The global installed capacity of solar PV would rise six-fold by 2030 (2840
GW) and reach 8519 GW by 2050 compared to installations in 2018.

Source: REN 21
 Cost-competitiveness of Renewable Energy

• Solar photovoltaics (PV) shows the sharpest cost decline over

2010-2019 at 82%.

0.378 USD/kWh

0.039 USD/kWh
 PV module cost in last 10 years

Source: https://rameznaam.com/2020/05/14/solars-future-is-insanely-cheap-2020/
 Learning curve of PV module cost

Swanson’s Law:
The price of solar PV modules decreases by about 20 percent for every
doubling in global solar capacity.

Source: https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/04/28/solar-costs-set-to-continue-falling-according-to-itrpv-roadmap/
 PV module cost in 2035

In 2035，0.3USD/W --0.4USD/W.
 Average installation cost for solar photovoltaics worldwide

5,000 4,731
Cost in U.S. dollars per kilowatt

4,500
4,007
4,000
3,500
3,021
installed

3,000 2,647
2,393
2,500
1,823
2,000 1,657
1,432
1,500 1,223
1,009 883
1,000
500
0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/809796/global-solar-power-installation-cost-per-kilowatt/
 Global solar photovoltaic (PV) power installations
Solar PV installation projection

Among the world’s regions, Asia is poised to dominate global

solar PV installations in the REmap scenario, followed by North
America and Europe. Source: IRENA 2019 11
 Solar PV installation cost projection

2030 2050

The total installation cost of solar PV projects would decline to

the range of 340-834 US$/kW by 2030 and 165-481 $/kW by
2050, compared to the average of 1210 $/kW in 2018.
Source: IRENA 2019 12
 Solar PV cost projection--LCOE

The LCOE for solar PV is already competitive now compared to all

generation sources (including fossil fuels) and would fall within the
range of 0.02-0.08 $/kWh by 2030 and 0.014-0.05 $/kWh by 2050.
Source: IRENA 2019 13
PV power generation in 2020 (% of total demand)

16 countries: >5%;
27 countries: >3%;
33 countries: >1%;
Honduras: 12.9%;
Israel: 8.7%;
Germany: 9.7%;
Europe: 6.0%；
China: 6.2%;
World: 3.7%.

Source: IEA PVPS

 Practical solar energy potential after excluding
for physical, environmental and other factors

https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/energy/publication/solar-photovoltaic-power-potential-by-country
Total regional PV capacity 2001-2020 (GW, DC)

2021: about 190 GWp in the world

China： about 45-50 GWp

Source: IEA PVPS

 2. Worldwide development of solar PV applications

➢ Share of renewable energy installations in the world

Source: IEA PVPS

3. New development of solar cells and PV modules

Source: REN 21
 Solar panel energy efficiency
-- Most efficient solar panels in 2021
# Manufacturer Model Efficiency Power
A-Series SPR-
1 SunPower A425-G-AC
22.80% 425 W
NeON R
2 LG Solar Ace LG405Q1C- 22.30% 405 W
A6
Alpha Pure
3 REC Group REC405AA
21.90% 405 W
EverVolt
4 Panasonic EVPV380
21.70% 380 W
Mono 182 UP-
5 Upsolar M560MH
21.60% 560 W
Hi-Mo 5m LR-
6 LONGi 72HPH
21.50% 550 W
HiKu7 Mono
Canadian
7 Perc CS7N- 21.40% 665 W
Solar 665MS
7 Silfab Solar Elite Sil-380 21.40% 380 W
9 JA Solar JAM72S30/MR 21.30% 550 W
Risen Titan S RSM40-
9 21.30% 410 W
The 5 most efficient solar panels： Energy 8-4-410M
SIV Series SRP-
➢ SunPower has the most efficient solar panel 11 Seraphim 540-BMA-HV
21.13% 540 W
Jenius III
on the market. 12 Jetion JT545SGh
21.10% 545 W

➢ Images from: SunPower (#1), LG (#2), REC 13 Trina Solar

TallMax TSM-
DE15M(II)
20.90% 420 W
Ultra S
Group (#3), Upsolar (#4) and LONGi (#5) 13 Suntech STP455S- 20.90% 455 W
B72/Vnh
SN72 Half-Cell
13 S-Energy M6 Mono
20.90% 455 W
YLM 120 Cell
Source: https://www.solarreviews.com/blog/what-are-the-most-efficient-solar-panels 16 Yingli YL380D
20.86% 380 W
 Top solar panel manufacturers

WARRANTY NUMBER OF
2021 TYPES OF PANELS
COMPANY HEADQUARTERS PERIOD YEARS IN
RANK OFFERED
RANGE BUSINESS
1 LONGi Solar China Monocrystalline 12 years 20 years
2 JinkoSolar China Half-cell technology 12 years 14 years
3 JA Solar China Half-cell technology 12 years 15 years
4 Trina Solar China Monocrystalline 25 years 23 years
5 Canadian Canada Monocrystalline, 12 years 19 years
Solar polycrystalline
6 Hanwha Q- South Korea Monocrystalline 12 years 21 years
CELLS
7 Risen Energy China Monocrystalline, thin 12 years 34 years
film amorphous silicon
8 Astroenergy China Monocrystalline, 10 years 36 years
polycrystalline
9 First Solar USA Thin film 12 years 30 years
10 Suntech China Half-cell technology 12 years 20 years

Source: https://news.energysage.com/best-solar-panel-manufacturers-usa/
 Prediction of PV power until 2050

In 2050, total power will be 6300TWh, 16% of the total power

consumption.
 Prediction of energy resource structure

From German Advisory Council on Global Change （Title：World in Transition –

Towards Sustainable Energy Systems, Flagship Report 2003）.
 The world largest solar PV project:
-- Bhadla Solar Park, India - 2,245 MW

With a total capacity of 2.25 GW across 14,000 acres, Bhadla Solar Park in
India is the largest solar farm in the world to date. Located in the village of
Bhadla in the Jodhpur District of Rajasthan.

Source:
https://www.ysgsolar.com/blog/15-
largest-solar-farms-world-2021-ysg-
solar
 Rapid development of PV power in China

The world second largest PV project in Qinghai:

➢Total installation capacity is 2.2 GW.
➢Completed in September 2020.
➢Long term plan: 16 GW.
➢The plant also includes 202.8 MW/MWh of storage capacity.
Rapid development of PV power in China
1.547GW PV project
at Zhongwei City,
Ningxia, China
 Kamuthi Solar Power Station, India
The project has a total generation capacity of 648 MW, covering
2,500 acres (10 sq km) and consisting of 2.5 million solar panels,
enough power for 750,000 people, completed in September 2016 at
a cost of approximately $679m.

Source:
https://www.power-
technology.com/wp-
content/uploads/sites/7/2018/08/
KamuthiSolarPark.jpg
 BIPV applications
-Building integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)

BIPV：refers to using photovoltaic materials, viz. solar cells and PV

modules, to replace conventional building materials in parts of
the building envelope such as the roof, skylights, windows or facades
where the PV modules simultaneously serving as building envelope
material and generating power.
Future trend of solar photovoltaic applications
——Building integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)

Functions of BIPV
■ Power generator
■ Part of construction
materials
■ Water proof
■ Shading
■ Noise barrier
■ Insulation
■ Natural lighting
BIPV applications

See-through PV modules
Facade Integrated

Facade elements with PV

Add-on

Shadowing elements Roofing material with PV

(flexible or metal roof)

Ballasted systems
Flat roof

Mechanical fixed systems

Roof

In roof systems
(incl. solar tiles)
Sloped roof
Add-on systems

An overview of applications of PV modules in buildings.

 BIPV or BAPV?

➢ BIPV: building-integrated
photovoltaics

➢ BAPV: building-adapted
photovoltaics

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/mlokv1BOUME-FNO9CeYgFw
 BAPV BIFACIAL PV

➢ Capacity: 876 kWp

➢ Power generation: 1236 MWh，
i.e. 1.41 kWh per Wp

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/mlokv1BOUME-FNO9CeYgFw
 BIPV or BAPV?

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/mlokv1BOUME-FNO9CeYgFw
BIPV projects-rooftop

➢ 斜屋顶

➢ 平屋顶
BIPV facade
 BIPV Projects
❑ Skylight and atrium

❑ Shading type
 The 1MWp solar roof project in Shenzhen

■ Shenzhen World Garden Flower Exhibition Park

BIPV of the South Railway Station in Nanjing
Installation capacity: 10.67
MW.
(The biggest single BIPV
project in the world)
PV module type: Poly-Si

Annual energy output: 9.12

GWh
Annual CO2 emission
reduction: 9000 tons
BIPV of the Museum of Natural Science in Jiangxi

Installation
capacity: 3.05 MW
PV module type: a-
Si hollow PV
module
Installation method:
BIPV on facades
and roof
BIPV of Zhujiang City in Guangzhou

Installation
capacity: 185 kW
PV module type: a-
Si PV module
Installation method:
BIPV on the east
and west facades
BIPV in Huangshi of Hubei

Installation capacity:
3 MW
PV module type:
Poly-Si PV module
Installation method:
BIPV on facades,
roofs and shading
panels
BIPV of Hanergy in Jiangsu

Installation capacity:
67 KW
PV module type: a-
Si PV module
Installation method:
BIPV on facades
Annual energy
output: 33919 kWh
Annual CO2
emission reduction:
10 tons
New BIPV claddings
from Hanergy
BIPV applications in Taiwan

1MWp at Kaohsiung National Stadium (2009)

Solar PV utilizations in Hong Kong

Wai Chai Tower

PolyU in 1999

Lamma Power Plant

EMSD HQ in Hong Kong

 Siu Ho Wan Sewage Treatment Plant

• Largest Solar Farm in Hong Kong

• Commissioned in 2016
• Located in North Lantau Island
• Polycrystalline PV panels

Solar Farm Area A & B

Solar Farm Area C

 Floating PV in Hong Kong

Two Pilot Projects in Hong Kong

• Shek Pik Reservoir

• Plover Cove Reservoir

Location of FPV Annual Power generation Annual Carbon Doxide

System (kWh) Reduction (kg)
Shek Pik Reservoir 94,109 66,606
Plover Cove Reservoir 72,227 50,558
A large Solar PV Project at Disneyland in Hong Kong
 Details of the FiT in Hong Kong
Three types of FiT rates will be offered according
to the installation capacity of your RE system:
Capacity of the Renewable FiT rate
Energy System (per unit of electricity -kWh)

≤ 10 kW HK$ 5

> 10 kW - ≤ 200 kW HK$ 4

> 200 kW - ≤ 1MW HK$ 3

The rates listed above are effective from 1 Oct 2018 onwards
and will be reviewed regularly.
 Solar PV applications on village houses in Hong Kong

Source: https://hongkongbuzz.hk/2021/08/benefits-for-village-house-owners-from-governments-fit-scheme
 A sample local village house
rooftop PV system
Comparisons of a solar PV on a residential house
PV installation capacity: 3.0 kWp
Average net tariff in 2018 HK$1.154 per kWh

Electricity generation by a small solar PV system without FiT

Installation cost HK$79000

Annual electricity generation 3,300 kWh

Annual earnings HK$3808.2
Simple Payback Period 21 years
Electricity generation by a small solar PV system with FiT
Installation cost HK$54000

Annual electricity generation 3,300 kWh

FiT tariff HK$5.0
Annual earnings HK$16,500
BIPV potential study in Europe
 The global BIPV sales will triple by 2019,
growth by 18.7%;
Currently
Current theBIPV
and forecasted BIPV market
penetration holds
within amarket
the PV marketfor the period 2014-2021
share of around 2% of the overall PV
market, 13% by 2022.

Source: Nanomarkets , “Nanomarkets report BIPV Market Analysis and Forecast 2014-2021,”
2015.
 BIPV market

The most evolved BIPV market regions are Europe and

the USA which combined currently account for around
70% of the worldwide market share.
Source: Nanomarkets , “Nanomarkets report BIPV Market Analysis and Forecast 2014-2021,”
 Main applications for BIPV: roofing,
walling and glass

For 2020, around 3.5B€ will be invested in BIPV roofing in each

Europe and USA, with a total worldwide BIPV annual investment
exceeding 10B€.
 3. Our research activities in BIPV
applications:
(1) Potential BIPN in Hong Kong
➢Thepotential total active rooftop area of PV modules was
calculated as 37.4km2. The total potential
A installation capacity
is estimated as 5.97 GWp. Aact. = pot.  Apv
Aoccu.

E potential =Aact.  Goptimal stc  

➢Thepotential PV electricity output is about 5,981GWh,

accounting for 14.2% of the total electricity use in 2011.
➢Reducethe imports of coal and natural gas by 25% and 54%
respectively and mitigate about 3 million tons of GHG
emissions yearly.
 (2) BIPV windows

Study of the overall energy performance of

BIPV facade:
▪ real-time power generation performance
▪ thermal performance
▪ natural lighting performance
Annual overall performance in Hong Kong
120
Cooling electricity use
PV-DSF 6 mm clear glass
100

Electricity use (kWh)

80

60

40

20

➢ The maximum monthly energy

output : 5.6 kWh/m2
➢ Annual energy output: 38
kWh/m2
➢ Saving cooling energy use: 70
kWh/m2/yr.
➢ Lighting can be powered by the
PV-DSF itself in winter.
 Experimental studies

PV-IGU

PV-DSF

PV shading
BIPV test bed at Tung Chung
 The Housing Authority BIPV project

• Roof integration
• PV walls
• PV windows
Study on semi-transparent solar PV windows
- Data acquisition system
 Study on semi-transparent solar PV windows
- Inside views of PV windows

Efficiency: 6.3%
Transmittance: 20%
Rated power: 63W/m2

Ventilated PV window

Efficiency: 6.8%
Transmittance: 20%
Rated power: 68W/m2
Hollow PV window
 Energy performance of PV DSF and PV IGU

PV double skin façade PV insulating glass unit

The heat transfer model, daylighting model and PV power
generation model in EnergyPlus were adopted to investigate the
corresponding performance simultaneously.
 Structures of PV-IGU and PV-DSF
PV-IGU

Outdoor Indoor

PV glazing Inner glazing

PV-DSF
 Experimental studies

Power
700
output of PV-IGU on a typical sunny day70 Power output of PV-DSF on a typical sunny day
Solar radiation Power output of PV-IGU

600 60
Solar radiation (W/m2)

500 50

Power output (W)

400 40

300 30

200 20

100 10

0 0 0
6:00 8:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 6:00 8:00 10:0
Time Time
Power output of solar PV shading on a typical sunny day Monthly power output of PV systems
1000 200 25
PV-IGU PV-DSF PV shading
900 180

800 160 20
Monthly power output (kW)
Solar radiation (W/m2)

700 140
power output (W)

600 120 15
500 100

400 80
10
300 Solar radiation 60

200 Power output from solar PV shading 40

5
100 20

0 0
6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 0
Time Dec Jan Feb
 （3） Single-glazed PV glazing VS energy-efficient glazing

A generic representative model Simulation tools:

Berkeley Lab WINDOW, EnergyPlus

Sandia Array performance Model

• Empirical-based
Continuous dimming control • More accurate for thin-film solar cells
 Single-glazed PV glazing
Power generation performance in Hong Kong

Monthly power output per unit area of Annual power outputs per unit area of solar
south facing solar PV windows PV windows in different orientations
1) Significant difference among different months: more in winter and less in summer.

2) Annual electricity output varies with orientations: SW > SSW > WSW > S > … > E
 Energy performance of PV-IGU
Annual PV power output

Location: Beijing > Harbin > Kunming > Shanghai > Hong Kong
Higher transmittance → Lower power output
 Energy performance of PV-DSF
Model development and validation

MBE(%) = 3.4%
CVRMSE = 23.7%

Test bed Simulation model Window heat gain

MBE(%) = 3.4% MBE(%) = 5.0%

CVRMSE = 29.1% CVRMSE = 29.8%

Daylighting illuminance Power output

 Energy performance of PV-DSF
Energy saving potential of PV-DSF and PV-IGU compared to reference window
60% 57%
PV-DSF PV-IGU
52%
50% PV-DSF

40% PV-IGU

30%

14%
10%
-6%

-10%
Harbin Beijing Shanghai Hong Kong Kunming
 Energy saving potential of solar PV shadings
Research gap
• Daylighting performance is rarely considered in previous studies. However,
both external and internal shadings affect the daylighting performance of the
room.
• Comparison between external solar PV shadings and interior shading devices
has not been reported yet.

Simulation model of solar PV shadings Validation of the electricity output

Due south, Tilt angle: 55˚, Error: 5%
 (3) Advanced VPV IGU

• A novel vacuum PV insulated glass unit (VPV IGU) is proposed to combine

the advantage of the high thermal insulation performance of vacuum glazing
and the power generation capability of STPV windows.

The structural details of VPV IGU

The cross-section of VPV IGU
 Power generation Performance

• The difference of the power generation among different BIPV

systems is less than 1%, and the single-pane PV glazing
produced the most electricity output.
 (4) Development of self-cleaning nano-coating for PV

Super-hydrophobic , θ(Lotus leaf):>150° Super-hydrophobic self-cleaning glass

Super-hydrophilic，θ（clean glass surface）:<10° Super-hydrophilic self-cleaning glass

 Advantages of our product: Superior self-cleaning
property and cheaper cost

With self-cleaning Without self-cleaning

coating coating

The comparison between two PV modules after two months in Shenzhen.

The self-cleaning coating has superior super-hydrophilicity.
 Advantages of our product: Superior self-cleaning
property and cheaper cost

With self-cleaning coating Without self-cleaning coating

Comparisons between two PV modules after about one year in Hong Kong.
The self-cleaning coating has superior super-hydrophilicity.
(4) Selection of PV modules

In 2017:

•Monocrystalline:
45%；

•Poly-crystalline:
51%；

• Thin film: 4%。

 Experimental study

Mono-Si 1 CIGS2
Poly-Si 2
Mono-Si 2
Poly-Si 1
A-Si 1 CdTe 1
A-Si 2 CIGS 1
CdTe 2

The PV system testing rig in the New Territories

In order to obtain the actual energy performance of PV modules,

an on-site test system was developed in Hong Kong. All the ten
solar PV panels are installed facing south with a tilt angle of 22o.

68
 Selection of solar PV panels for detailed
study -- 5 different types
Solar Cell-technologies Mono- Mono-Si 2 Poly-Si Poly-Si A-Si 1 A-Si 2 CIGS 1 CIGS 2 CdTe 1 CdTe 2
Si 1 1 2

Model

Nominal Power (W) 305 300 280 275 140 130 140 115 107.5 80

Short circuit current (A) 9.94 9.77 9.37 9.35 5.28 2.65 1.79 4.52 1.75 0.95

Open circuit voltage (V) 40.2 39.76 38.65 38.72 42.3 71 106.7 37.6 86.6 118.9

Current at maximum 9.24 9.26 8.86 8.77 4.34 2.22 1.62 3.87 1.57 0.85
power (A)
Voltage at maximum 33.0 32.41 31.61 31.36 32.2 54 86.5 29.7 68.6 94.1
power (V)
Maximum system 1000 1000 1000/ 1000 N/A 1000 1000 1000 1000V N/A
voltage (V) (IEC) (IEC) 1000 1500 (IEC) (IEC) (IEC) (class Ⅱ)
(UL) DC(IEC) 1000 600 600 1500V
(UL) CSA/UL (UL) class 0

Module Efficiency (%) 18.7 18.0 17.1 16.5 9.6 9.1 14.9 12.0 14.9 11.1

Weight (kg) 18.2 18.8 18.2 18.8 18.3 25 16.5 2.7 12 11.8
Dimension 1650*9 1670*1000* 1650*99 1670*100 1310*1 1300*11 1190*79 2598*37 1200*6 1200*6
(mm×mm×mm) 91*40 32 1*35 0*32 110*40 00*6.8 0*7.3 0*17 00*6.8 00*6.8
69
 Daily power generation from the whole system
12000 12000

10000 10000
Daily energy output

8000 8000

6000 6000
(Wh)

4000 4000

2000 2000

0 0
8/1 5 8/2 5 9/ 4 9/1 4 9/2 4 1 0 /4 1 0 /141 0 / 24 1 1 /3 1 1 /131 1 / 23 1 2 /3 1 2 / 13
Date

The PV system has been working very well for 10 months. The
highest daily energy output is 10.6 kWh on 30th November 2018.

70
 Hourly average efficiency of PV modules
Mono-Si 305W Poly-Si 280W A-Si 140W
Mono-Si 300W Poly-Si 275W A-Si 130W
CIGS 140W CdTe 107.5W Solar radiation
CIGS 115W CdTe 80W
In typical sunny 0.30 1100

days (30th Oct 1000

Hourly average conversion efficiency

and 6th Nov 0.25 900
2018): 800

Solar radiation (W/m2)

0.20
700

600
0.15
500

400
0.10
300

0.05 200

100

0.00 0
07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00
Time

Energy conversion efficiencies:

Mono-Si > CdTe (107.5Wp) >Poly-Si > CIGS >A-Si 71
 Hourly average efficiency of PV modules
Mono-Si 305W Poly-Si 280W A-Si 140W
Mono-Si 300W Poly-Si 275W A-Si 130W
CIGS 140W CdTe 107.5W Solar radiation
CIGS 115W CdTe 80W
In typical 0.30 350

cloudy days

Hourly average conversion efficiency

300
0.25
(2nd Nov and

Solar radiation (W/m2)

250
3rd Nov 2018): 0.20

200
0.15
150

0.10
100

0.05
50

0.00 0
07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00

Time

Energy conversion efficiencies:

Mono-Si > CdTe (107.5Wp) > Poly-Si > > CIGS >A-Si
72
 Simulation of annual power generation for
different tilt angles (south)
400 400 350 350 200 200
Mono-Si 305W PV module Poly-Si 280W PV module A-Si 140W PV module
Mono-Si 300W PV module Poly-Si 275W PV module A-Si 130W PV module
175 175
350 350

Annual energy output (kWh)

Annual energy output (kWh)

Annual energy output (kWh)

300 300 150 150

125 125
300 300

250 250 100 100

250 250
75 75

200 200 50 50
200 200
Mono-Si Poly-Si 25 A-Si 25

150 150 150 150 0 0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
o
Tilt Angle ( ) Tilt Angle (o) Tilt Angle (o)

200 200 200 200

CIGS 140W PV module
CdTe 107.5W PV module
CIGS 115W PV module
175 175 175 CdTe 80W PV module 175
Annual energy output (kWh)

Annual energy output (kWh)

150 150 150 150

125 125 125 125

100 100 100 100

75 75
75 75

50 CIGS 50
50 50

25 25
25 CdTe 25

0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Tilt Angle (o)
Tilt Angle (o)

The optimal tilt angles of PV modules are found to be 18-22o

depending on local latitude and weather. 73
 Simulation results: Annual power generation
at best position (azimuth=180o, and tilt angle=22o)
Solar Mono-Si Mono-Si Poly-Si Poly-Si A-Si A-Si CIGS Flexible CdTe CdTe
305W 300W 280W 275W 140W 130W 140W CIGS 80W 107.5
PV panel
115W W
Annual 354.1 334.4 316.7 310.6 142.6 136.8 146.6 129.4 81.3 143.2
total (kWh)

Annual 215.9 200.2 193.1 186.0 98.3 95.7 156.0 134.8 112.9 198.9
output
(kWh/m2)

Annual 1.16 1.11 1.13 1.13 1.02 1.05 1.05 1.12 1.02 1.33
output
(kWh/Wp)

Per m2 (kWh/m2): Mono-Si > CdTe > Poly-Si > CIGS > a-Si
Energy yield (kWh/Wp): CdTe (107.5Wp) > Mono-Si > Poly-Si
> CIGS > A-Si 74
 Conclusions
• Solar energy resource on earth is very rich.
• Solar photovoltaic develops very fast. The cost is nearly
close to traditional energy resources for power generation.
• BIPV represents the future of renewable power generation in
urban areas.
• Introduction of the FiT leads to bright future for BIPV in
Hong Kong, but long-time policy is needed.
• Vacuum PV glazing façade has the lowest U-value as well as
SHGC compared with double-pane glass, double PV glazing
and pure vacuum glazing.