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Published in:
2016 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
51. Better Than Optimum: Integrated. The Integration of Renewable Energy in Architecture as an Optimization Factor
Authors : H. Coch, C. Pardal, A. Pagès-Ramon, A. Isalgué, I. Crespo
Published in: Renewable Energy in the Service of Mankind Vol II
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
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Abstract
This chapter presents the importance that the embodied energy of the support material of a photovoltaic installation can have in relation to the energy produced and, therefore, in relation to other efficiency factors in the design of photovoltaic installations. The importance of these costs cannot be neglected in the overall system efficiency.
The monitoring of photovoltaic panels after a few years of operation under real conditions demonstrates that a good integration of photovoltaic systems in constructive elements, even if their inclination or orientation is not the recommended one, may be better than just overlapping them in an optimal position. The embodied energy of the added constructive materials used when the system is not integrated may be more than the loss of production as a result of a nonoptimal photovoltaic modules disposal.
This chapter illustrates the potential that architectural design applied to photovoltaic modules integration could represent, based on the experience of the photovoltaic pergola built in 2004 at the Forum esplanade in Barcelona. The ultimate goal is to consider the architectural design as another, important parameter when sizing photovoltaic systems, together with the orientation, tilt, temperature and other parameters regularly used.