BUILDING INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAICS

Solar World: No panels here
Leah Krauss, March 8, 2007 (UPI)
- Cropping up all over northern California are solar-powered houses with nary a panel in sight.

- "Building-integrated photovoltaics is one of the fastest-growing segments of the photovoltaic industry," according to BIPV maker TerraSolar. "When PV panels are integrated into a building during construction, the incremental costs of the system are reduced while the building owner is provided with tangible, cost-saving advantages such as significantly reduced demand for peak electricity, reduced transmission losses and the ability of back-up power."
- Building-integrated photovoltaics, known as BIPV in the solar industry, is the science of making the structure itself from solar energy-producing materials…

- "Most U.S. architects, engineering firms, building owners, and builders know very little about (BIPV). The majority of BIPV products exist for commercial construction, and commercial buildings can accommodate the several thousand dollar cost required for installing even a small one-kilowatt BIPV system. The technical potential in commercial buildings is significant, and they suffer fewer problems from orientation and shading."
- Homebuilding contractor Lennar Corp. recently unveiled several new housing developments that feature BIPV technology, including plans for a 650-home development in Roseville, Calif., that will be the largest solar-powered neighborhood in the United States…[and] plans for a San Francisco Bay-area neighborhood of high-end solar homes, complete with centralized electronic controls and flat-screen TVs…

- The Roseville homes will run between $400,000 and $600,000…while the Bay-area homes are in the million-dollar range…
- Solar Semiconductor, a company with offices in California and India, also recently announced plans to incorporate BIPV into its business plan…David Saltman, the chief executive officer of BIPV technology firm Open Energy Corporation, told United Press International…Roofs made of BIPV material -- class A fire-rated roofing…-- can…significantly lower the cost of installing a solar technology system…"Retrofitting can be 50 percent of the business," said Saltman…