Abstract
Solar power can be used as a clean and sustainable source of energy that
can in turn be applied in many ways, including to buildings; solar power applied to a
building can produce energy for use directly inside the building. Solar Photovoltaics,
which are directly attached to the building, are called Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV). This type of Solar Photovoltaics is considered a main constructed
layer of the building as it can replace the Façade, windows, or rooftops. Nevertheless, to manufacture BIPV, the manufacturing process consumes an abundance of
energy and produces an extensive amount of greenhouse emissions. These energies
and emissions are either directly related to the processes of manufacturing BIPV
or they are indirectly related to it—through the fossil fuels burnt to produce the
energy that manufactures BIPV. In this case, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) will
be conducted to quantify the emissions and waste associated with the manufacturing
processes or the energy that is needed as an input to these processes. An LCA can be
used to indicate all types of impact categories associated with the whole life cycle
of the product, in this case BIPV. This chapter describe the environmental impact
associated with the performance and the manufacturing of BIPV based on an LCA.
Through a review of multiple types of studies, this chapter focuses on the environmental impact of the different types of material, like silicon and thin-films, used to
manufacture BIPV. Different applications of BIPV are also considered as a means
of assessing the performance of BIPV when applied to different layers of a building
as well as the environmental impact performance when BIPV operates in different
geographical locations. As a comparison, Energy Payback time (EPBT), which plays
a key role in understanding the energy break-even point for the used BIPV, will be
examined as well.
Keywords
Life cycle assessment
Building integrated photovoltaics
Payback
Environmental impact