Performance analysis and sustainability assessment of a building integrated solar PV system

Abstract

The two key pillars of sustainability are the environment and the economy. This study examines the economic viability, environmental impact, and energy assessment of solar photovoltaic (PV) for the climate of Gwalior, India. This PV system study is based on the system's 30-year lifespan and annual performance. This study aims to calculate the reduction in CO₂ emissions caused by the production of electrical energy, embodied energy and energy payback time (EPBT) are also examined. The solar PV system has a payback period of about 5.10 years for the climatic condition of Gwalior Madhya Pradesh, which is extremely low compared to its life. The above study is done for the faculty rooms of Madhav Institute of Technology and Science (MITS), Gwalior, India during working hours from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm (8 hrs). The illumination in the faculty rooms is also calculated at different locations and found better on the table of faculty members. The PV system will reduce 89.095 tons of CO₂ throughout its lifespan, demonstrating its viability from a sustainable perspective. This study aims to delve into the ‘Sustainable Development of Buildings’ by incorporating various solar-powered technologies to transform a structure into an environmentally sustainable.

KEYWORDS:

• Solar photovoltaic
• embodied energy
• energy payback
• sustainability

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi for providing the fund through the RPS project (File No. 8-207/RIFD/RPS (Policy-1)/2018-19 dated 20.03.2020) to develop the experimental setup and carry out the experiment.