Experimental performance analysis of photovoltaic systems applied to an positive energy community based on building renovation

Global carbon neutrality can be achieved by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector using various renewable energy systems, such as photovoltaic (PV) systems, at the community level. In this study, various PV systems were applied to a community consisting of two residential and two nonresidential buildings, and a comparative analysis was conducted to achieve a net yearly positive energy balance at the community level. The PV systems included building-attached PV (BAPV), building-integrated PV (BIPV), and BIPV–thermal (BIPVT) systems. An analysis of the empirical data over a year revealed that the annual net energy balance of the proposed community was 139%, the self-sufficiency of building energy consumption was 33.2%, and the self-consumption of solar power generation was 76.7%. Based on these empirical data, the initial investment cost savings of the PV system and payback period were analyzed through carbon credit trading. The results showed that the payback period ranged from 9 to 17 years.