Semitransparent Building-Integrated Photovoltaic: Review on Energy Performance, Challenges, and Future Potential

Table 4

Electrical and thermal properties of semitransparent BIPV: case studies from different locations.

Location	Description	Results	Reference
California	Evaluation of the energy performance of a photovoltaic double-skin facade (PV-DSF) was conducted.	50% of lighting electricity was saved in the winter, and 15% of the annual net electricity was saved.	[80]
Canada	Air-based building-integrated photovoltaic-thermal (BIPVT) systems were investigated.	Thermal efficiency was improved by 5% compared to a conventional single-inlet system.	[81]
Cameroon	Building-integrated semitransparent photovoltaic thermal systems (BISPVT) were simulated.	The system area of 36.45 m^2 can annually produce an amount of thermal energy of 76.66 kWh at an overall thermal efficiency of 56.07%.	[83]
Germany	Calculation of the thermal impact on building performance of an integrated PV facade was conducted.	12% of heating energy was saved.	[84, 85]
India	A building semitransparent PV thermal system was integrated into the roof and facades.	Energy efficiencies were 11-18% at the roof and 13-18% at the facade, respectively.; Electrical efficiencies were 85% at the roof and 72% at the facade, respectively.	[22]
India	Evaluation of the energy performance of a semitransparent BIPVT integrated to the roof of a room was performed.	The annual electrical energy generated was 810 kWh for a heterojunction, while the annual thermal energy was 464 kWh for amorphous silicon	[79]
Japan	Evaluation of electrical and solar heat using a BIPVT hybrid was done.	Thermal efficiencies were 20-22% for glazed systems and 29-36% for unglazed systems, respectively.	[86]
Japan	A semitransparent BIPV was evaluated by simulation.	5.3% of heating and cooling were reduced.; Net energy savings of 3.0–8.7% were achieved.	[78]
Korea	Evaluation of electrical thermal energy from different conditions was done, as the sun shading module was rated at 40 kWp and the rooftop modules were rated at 60 kWp	On a cloudy day, the energy generated was 40.8 kWh, while solar irradiation was 2513 Wh/m^2.; On a normal day, the energy generated was 69.8 kWh, while solar irradiation was 4458 Wh/m^2.; On a sunny day, the energy generated was 68 kWh, while solar irradiation was 6554 Wh/m^2.	[87]
Turkey	The energy of the semitransparent a-Si solar cells integrated to a Tromble wall was evaluated.	Average electrical efficiency was 4.52%, and thermal energy was 27%.	[88]
USA	Semitransparent BIPV windows were studied for the overall energy of commercial buildings in various tropics.	The system can save 30% of the total heating and ventilation system energy compared with the clear glass system.	[29]