Preliminary Validation of Urban Building Integrated PV System Simulation Software

The objective of the present project is to develop a software simulation tool to accurately estimate the power generated from solar energy absorbed by photovoltaic panels mounted on the fac¸ade of a building in an urban environment, taking into account shading and reflection from neighboring buildings. The software tool has been designed and modeled in AutoCAD, with the help of AccuRender/Ecotect. We have previously presented the modeling approach [1]. We have recently established a test facility in which a 50W BP Solar module surrounded by several glass panels in wood frames has been used to simulate a BIPV system with neighboring buildings. Current-voltage characteristics at different times of day for different months are in the process of being recorded together with solar insolation data. These data will be used to perform preliminary validation of the simulation software. A preliminary comparison of the collected experimental solar module performance data with the computer simulated data will be presented.