Testing a design methodology for building integration of photovoltaics (PV) using a PV demonstration site in Singapore

Abstract

This article presents a design methodology of building integration of photovoltaics (PVs) in the early design phase (EDP), assuming a photovoltaic demonstration site (PV Demo-site) at the School of Design and Environment (SDE), National University of Singapore (NUS). The project aims to demonstrate high-quality building integration of PVs, as well as to have a strong demonstrative, educational and motivational role by way of showing the diversity, multi-functionality and purposefulness of today's PV technologies. The presented design process was divided into three phases to enable both simplification and optimization of the overall design process. Eight design alternatives were created and the design strategy and assessment criteria were established with considerations of project objectives, architectural requirements, investor's requirements and related technical constraints. The multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method was adopted in the evaluation of the proposed design alternatives, and the impact of different design strategies was discussed. © 2011 Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) ISSN.