This sourcebook on building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) is intended for architects and designers interested in learning more about today's sustainable solar buildings. The booklet includes 16 design briefs describing actual structures; they illustrate how electricity-generating BIPV products (such as special roofing systems, vertical-wall systems, skylights, and awnings, all of which contain PV cells, modules, and films) can be integrated successfully into many different kinds of buildings. It also contains basic information about BIPV technologies, an overview of US product development activities and development programs, descriptions of major software design tools, and a bibliography.

Sourcebook for architects on building-integrated photovoltaic designs covering commercial and institutional structures.

This book examines the history of creative applications of photovoltaic (PV) solar power, including sound art, wearable technology, public art, industrial design, digital media, building integrated design, and many others. The growth in artists and designers incorporating solar power into their work reflects broader social, economic, and political events. As the cost of PV cells has come down, they have become more accessible and have found their way into a growing range of design applications and artistic practices. As climate change continues to transform our environment and becomes a greater public concern, the importance of integrating sustainable energy technologies into our culture grows as well. The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, design history, design studies, environmental studies, environmental humanities, and sustainable energy design.

Designing with Solar Power is the result of international collaborative research and development work carried out within the framework of the International Energy Agency's Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (PVPS) and performed within its Task 7 on 'Photovoltaic power systems in the built environment'. Each chapter of this precisely detailed and informative book has been prepared by an international expert in a specific area related to the development, use and application of building-integrated photovoltaics (BiPV). Chapters not only cover the basics of solar power and electrical concepts, but also investigate the ways in which photovoltaics can be integrated into the design and creation of buildings equipped for the demands of the 21st century. The potential for BiPV, in both buildings and other structures, is explored together with broader issues such as market deployment, and international marketing and government strategies. In addition, more than 20 contemporary international case studies describe in detail how building-integrated photovoltaics have been applied to new and existing buildings, and discuss the architectural and technical quality, and the success of various strategies. Packed with photographs and illustrations, this book is an invaluable companion for architects, builders, designers, engineers, students and all involved with the exciting possibilities of building-integrated photovoltaics.