Building Integrated Photovoltaics Market Gaining Traction

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http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/08/bipv-market-gaining-traction

Similar to the way that the smart grid reflects the combination of energy management and information technology, building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) is the marriage of 3 industries that so far have only worked together in marginal ways: architectural design, renewable energy, and building products.

Whenever you approach an industry from a different perspective, that’s when you produce very interesting products, said JD Albert of SRS Energy. SRS produces curved roofing tiles made of PV that are designed to fit into the mission-style architecture of the southwestern region of the U.S. Curved red clay roof tiles there are modeled after the Mediterranean roof styles found in Spain and elsewhere.

SRS Energy has roots in the roofing industry and saw the need for PV that would fully integrate – easily – into the roofs of these types of houses. Since the region where houses with these types of roofs proliferate happens to be in areas of the world with the greatest amount of solar insolation, the combination of curved roofing tiles and PV should go far. Albert said that SRS really views itself as a building product provider as opposed to a PV provider.

Solving two problems with one solution is a concept that is echoed by Pythagoras Solar, a company that makes double pane glass windows that incorporate PV and can generate renewable energy while also letting light through. The product is generally used as a building façade in large office buildings. BIPV has a real opportunity to add more value to solar, said Brendan Dillon, product manager for Pythagoras Solar. And providing more value, in an integrated roof tile or a glass window that also increases building efficiency is what will eventually lead to cost reductions in the BIPV market.

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