Short-Term Characterization of Building Integrated Photovoltaic Panels.
Short-Term Characterization of Building Integrated
Photovoltaic Panels.
(7848 K)
Fanney, A. H.; Dougherty, B. P.; Davis, M. W.
Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, Vol. 125, No. 1,
13-20, February 2003.
Keywords:
building integrated; mono-crystalline; photovoltaic;
polycrystalline; silicon film; building technology
Abstract:
Building integrated photovoltaics, the integration of
photovoltaic cells into one or more exterior building
surfaces, represents a small but growing part of today's
$2 billion dollar photovoltaic industry. A barrier to
the widespread use of building integrated photovoltaics
(BIPV) is the lack of validated predictive simulation
tools needed to make informed economic decisions. The
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
has undertaken a multi-year project to compare the
measured performance of BIPV panels to the predictions
of photovoltaic simulation tools. The existing
simulation models require input parameters that
characterize the electrical performance of BIPV panels
subjected to various meteorological conditions. This
paper describes the experimental apparatus and test
procedures used to capture the required parameters.
Results are presented for custom fabricated
mono-crystalline, polycrystalline, and silicon film BIPV
panels and a commercially available triple junction
amorphous silicon panel.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899