TY  - EJOU
AU  - Yang, Haotian 
AU  - Lu, Lin 

TI  - Optical, Thermal, and Electrical Properties of Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV): A Critical Review
T2  - Energy Engineering

PY  - 
VL  - 
IS  - 
SN  - 1546-0118

AB  - Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) has attracted growing attention due to its promising applications in modern buildings. By serving as components of the building envelope, BIPV avoid competing with land use and facilitates net-zero energy buildings in the face of the current energy crisis. In addition to power generation, BIPV alters the energy-related properties of buildings. Appropriate daylighting and effective management of heat gains can reduce lighting, cooling, and heating loads, helping to balance energy production and consumption. This review examines the optical, thermal, and electrical behaviors of BIPV systems and their impacts on building energy efficiency. The discussion of optical properties emphasizes the visible spectrum, solar PV response spectrum, and atmospheric window. Thermal considerations focus primarily on BIPV/thermal (BIPV/T) systems and on the regulation of solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) and U-value. Electrical performance is analyzed with respect to cell coverage ratio, window-to-wall ratio (WWR), and shading effects. Finally, key barriers to widespread BIPV deployment are identified, including challenges in architectural integration, cost-effectiveness, and aesthetic design. This work aims to provide a useful reference for researchers and practitioners engaged in BIPV design.
KW  - Solar energy; building-integrated photovoltaics; energy saving; building energy consumption

DO  - 10.32604/ee.2026.083071