Power generation potential of PV panels on building facades — facing cardinal directions in tropical climatic conditions

Abstract

Building Integrated Photovoltaic panels is the future where every building can be self-reliant by producing energy in either a fraction of its need or fully equal to its sustenance. An experimental setup was established to understand the solar insolation through PV panels that are vertically placed facing the cardinal directions — East, West, North, and South. In a typical condition, the actual power generation data from the photovoltaic panels at the +9 mts level conditions are unavailable. However, the typical Standard Testing Conditions (STC) energy generation data tagged in the Photovoltaic panels specification does not give the actual power generation in real-time conditions. Photovoltaic panels are installed facing North, South, East, and West directions vertically at 90°from the horizontal surface and the data of solar insolation is recorded every day for one solar year. With the installed PV panels of varying power watts, an energy conversion factor to calculate the potential of the energy produced by the PV panels is calculated. From the data, the energy conversion factor is found high for the east-facing PV panel, followed by West west-facing PV panel then the south-facing PV panel, and finally the north-facing PV panel. The cumulative potential of the power generation from all four sides is 0.75 as the Energy Conversion Factor. The scope of this study will evolve further possibilities to achieve nearly Net Zero Energy conditions in buildings, thus transforming buildings from being an energy consumer to an energy producer.