Performance analysis of a novel lightweight photovoltaic curtain wall components under different climatic conditions

As the trend of global warming is getting severe, the need to use various clean energy sources is increasing. The use of clean energy sources in cities helps to reduce energy consumption, such as photovoltaic (PV) and photovoltaic thermal (PVT). Due to limited roof area, PV has gradually been installed on other planes of the building. This paper investigates the practical application of lightweight PV curtain wall modules, including installation locations, positions, and orientations. First, we use EnergyPlus to build a base model of an office building and then fit PV curtain wall modules. The performance of the PV curtain wall modules is analyzed in typical cities (Harbin, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou) in five typical climate zones in China. Through simulation experiments, the power generation capacity of different cavity distances under different climatic conditions is derived. We compared the annual power generation data for each facade at the optimal cavity distance. We found that the capacity of PV curtain wall modules installed on the south facade is better than the east and west facades in Harbin, Beijing, and Shanghai, while the west facade is better than the south and east facades in Chengdu and Guangzhou. This paper also introduces semi-transparent PV modules and analyses the power generation of the building when normal glass and semi-transparent PV modules are installed. The impact on the indoor environment is also analyzed. After installation, the building's power generation capacity increased by at least 50% compared to installing glass, and the glare index setpoint exceeded time is reduced by at least 30.19%. It can also ensure that there is still more than 50% of daylight indexed time in the rooms in the north facade of Chengdu and other cities, which is much more friendly to the indoor environment than the time when the glass was installed. The results of this paper provide a useful reference for building installation of PV curtain wall modules and provide ideas for optimal installation.