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Welcome to GreenSpec Insights, an independent resource for architects, green consultants, and building product specifiers. Each week, we aim to bring you not only unbiased new product reviews, but also insights into what's really important for environmental performance in specific product categories. We hope you find it useful -- send your suggestions and other comments to Insights@GreenSpec.com.
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— Brent Ehrlich
BIPV has yet to reach its full potential in the U.S., but a couple companies are giving it a shot.
Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV)--photovoltaic (PV) modules integrated into functional building elements, such as roofs, glazings, and building façades--are fairly common in Europe and Asia. Yet finding commercial BIPV façade products
in the U.S. is nearly impossible. Why is that?
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— Brent Ehrlich
Manufacturers have made incremental increases in PV efficiency over the years but the basic technology found in today's modules hasn't changed much.
In the early 1990's power from the grid was dirt cheap and PV modules were expensive and used primarily off-grid. Rising energy costs, environmental concerns over fossil fuel use, geopolitical instability, and increased rebates and other incentives have helped increased demand for PV worldwide. Now most PV is tied to the grid and it's become almost mainstream, especially in Europe. The PV technologies supplying this power--crystalline and thin-film--are now more efficient and more sophisticated, but the basic technology hasn't changed much.
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