Design and Implementation of a Façade Integrated Photovoltaic (FiPV) System: Conversion of the Faculty of Dentistry Building Facade into a FiPV System at Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi

Authors: Mariam Ahmad, Ar. Praveen Sharma

Country: India

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Abstract: Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) is a burgeoning technology, required to deal with the energy crisis the world is facing. The solar radiation is omnipresent and ubiquitous, and has the potential to generate electricity, to meet the need of the urbanized world. In this context the application of photovoltaic (PV) integrated within the built environment becomes very critical. The building façade presents unique opportunities for integrating the photovoltaic technology. The application of PV has been restricted to roof top areas, its potential for façade application hasn’t been explored enough. It is possible to utilize the façade area for PV integration and create a more efficient, sustainable and aesthetically satiating façade. According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) (India, n.d.), about 5,000 trillion kWh per annum insolation is received on Indian lands with most parts receiving 4-7 kWh per square meter per day. According to the reports The Latest Trends in Photovoltaics Applications, IEA Photovoltaic Power Systems Program (PVPS) (International Energy Agency, 2022) indicated that installed PV capacity at the end of 2020 saved more than 860 million tons of CO2 and it is estimated that the gigatons threshold was reached in 2021.
In this paper an attempt has been made to transform a passive building façade into an energy generating PV façade and assess its potential in generating electricity to meet the building needs. The Faculty of Dentistry Building located in the complex of the Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi has been selected as the base case building. The simulation and analysis are performed with the PVSyst software and the building modelling is done by using the Trimble Sketchup software. The study is limited to the electricity generation through the transformation of façade and it does not include thermal analysis during the research due to its construction technique. The Rain screen cladding system is being used to implement BIPV façade transformation.
The paper is divided into four sections. The first part identifies the most feasible PV technology for façade application. The second part of the paper attempts to identify the most feasible orientation for the application of selected PV technology. This is done by the designing, analyzing three scenario’s (a) PV installed on south facade; (b) PV installed on west facade; (c) PV installed on South-West Facade. The third part of the paper is the comparison and analysis of the three cases, thus leading to the identifications of the orientation with high energy generation. The last section of the paper discusses three scenarios in detail.
The transformation of façade was designed and analyzed in terms of the economic feasibility and electricity generation (simulated with the PVsyst software). The viability of economic factor helps any technology to penetrate easily into the market and the analysis on the basis of functionality makes it more workable and adaptable to the stakeholders. The combination of these two studies helps stakeholders to choose PV technology to adopt in the specific user requirements. The installed system capacity of the South Façade, West Façade and South–West façade is 148 kWh, 87.4kWh and 235 kWh respectively. The life cycle analysis has been done to find out the Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Discounted Payback Period (DPP) of the project. Thus, after investigation and evaluation, it was found that PV façade with south orientation in a composite climatic zone had high potential. The study attempted to transform the passive building facade to an energy generating, smart envelope and feasibility of the designed façade has been supported through a thorough life cycle cost assessment.

Keywords: BIPV, Thin Film Technology, PV Facade, Cadmium Telluride Thin Film, PV Facade Integration

Paper Id: 232648

Published On: 2025-07-18

Published In: Volume 13, Issue 4, July-August 2025

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