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Benefits Cost Design Reliability Modular Environmental Less Oil Reliance
Unlike, say wind energy, where unsightly turbines blight the beauty of rural locations, PV solar panels can be incorporated into design of large office and industrial buildings with more positive effects than standard construction finishes. So you get a façade on a building that is attractive and at the same time provides a portion of the energy requirements.
State-of-the-art PV modules are now available in a variety of colors and styles, allowing designers to use them as aesthetic elements built right into roofs, skylights, awnings, entryways, and facades. Today's modules can even be specified to transmit a percentage — usually 80% to 90% — of natural light. Mixed with non-transmissive modules, these systems create a pleas ant environment inside the building, helping to ventilate and heat the building at the same time.
When PV systems are properly integrated into a building "envelope," they don't just provide power and light, they contribute to the structure itself. This relatively new concept, called "building-integrated PV," is taking hold. Think of it this way — since a building has to have windows, why not have windows that produce power? It makes financial sense, too, because the savings on conventional structural materials often offset the cost of the PV materials.
4 Times Square — a 48-story New York City skyscraper designed in the 1990s — features a photovoltaic "skin" that includes thin-film PV panels, which replace traditional glass cladding material. The PV skin extends from the 37th to the 43rd floor, on the south and west walls, and is a highly visible part of the midtown skyline. Durst Organization, the developer, included a variety of energy efficiency strategies in the building. Kiss + Cathcart Architects designed the PV system in collaboration with Fox and Fowle, the base building architects. Energy Photovoltaics of Princeton, NJ, developed the custom PV modules.
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