A Comprehensive Review on the Cost Reduction and Uptake of BIPV through the Integration of PV and Prefabricated Building Industries

Current approaches for the reduction of energy consumption in buildings are often predicated on the integration of bespoke renewable technologies into building projects. Among various renewable energy sources, solar energy is an attractive option in many countries with access to abundant solar resources. Although photovoltaic technologies have experienced exceptional cost reductions among electricity-conversion technologies since 2008, the integration of solar panels into building envelopes has been deployed slowly in most countries. Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) still exists in a niche market in comparison to Building Attached Photovoltaics (BAPV) and most of the building professionals are reluctant to implement BIPV mainly due to the high capital cost. BIPV cost includes a number of cost elements from the design stage to disposal stage of its life cycle. This paper intends to identify the cost reduction potentials and deployment drivers of BIPV modules and propose a timely relevant solution of integrating PV and offsite building industries to produce PV integrated prefabricated building modules. Automation and process optimization, resource utilization, integrating PV technology with prefabricated building construction, mass production and bulk purchasing of materials, continuous R&D on alternative materials and waste reduction, government support and minimising capital expenditure are the main cost reduction potentials identified for hardware cost. Introducing BIPV specific design tools, effective stakeholder collaboration via decentralized information platforms, integration of PV and building industries for stakeholder collaboration, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) blockchain-based supply chain information sharing platforms to avoid errors in supply chain, unified practice for permit, inspection and interconnection (PII) procedures, BIPV specific building codes, standards, policies and incentives and low interest loans are some soft cost reduction potentials identified in the study. In order to obtain a rapid uptake, the study recommends the integration of PV and building industry elements through (1) participation of BIPV manufacturer/installer in the building design process, and (2) BIPV integrated prefabricated building construction.