Saving energy and using green energy have been the emphasized research topic in various nations. Common buildings with glass shell in Taiwan, which is located in sub-tropic zone, must relay heavily on artificial air conditioning to resist outside heat loadings. Such a building cooling system is inefficient in maintaining a comfort indoor environment regardless of its heavy toll on energy consumption. In this research, the results of analyzing indigenous climatic and examining building materials are used to propose the replacement of conventional glass plate by solar photoelectric panels to be an integrated part of the building shell proposed as the BIPV (Building-Integrated Photovoltaic) building. Results of laboratory studies prove that in addition to providing electric energy to the building, the BIPV building shell is also effective in thermally shielding and isolating the building. A BIPV building will lower the indoor temperature by 1.8-2.7 °C during summer to save 9.17% to 31.95% of energy for cooling the building. The solar panel used in the BIPV building is made of monocrystalline silicon with 25° Inclination, and is oriented westerly in order to obtain the maximum energy generating efficiency. The variation of ambient temperature may cause the electricity generation to vary by 0.07-4.5%; clear ambient air will assist in elevating the power generation by 3.7% to 29%. The BIPV system proposed in this research will greatly alleviate the electricity burden during peak hours; its application will promote the development of sustainable energy sources.
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Computer Science(all)
- Health(social science)
- Environmental Science(all)