Coloured BIPV modules: which is the impact on energy efficiency?

Designing BIPV envelope solutions presents a significant challenge in balancing aesthetics and energy performance, as achieving optimal efficiency while meeting architectural requirements is crucial. Our researchers recently published a new study about this topic, released on the scientific journal Energy and Buildings with the title "Experimental evaluation of the temperature related behaviour of pigment based coloured BIPV modules integrated in a ventilated façade".

Aim of the work was to assess the impact of various colours and finishes on the energy efficiency of a prefabricated ventilated façade with pigment-based and structured coloured BIPV modules. Researchers conducted extensive indoor tests and real-scale outdoor monitoring to evaluate the influence of colour on temperature and energy performance.

Within the INFINITE project, a real-scale mock-up was built at the PV Integration Lab of Eurac Research to perform electrical and thermal measurements under various conditions, using several sensors and a dedicated data acquisition system. The data were used to assess the colour-specific performance by empirically determining the Ross Coefficient for each colour and highlighting the role of colours in activating a chimney effect within the façade’s ventilation gap.

This study reveals new insights into how different coloured BIPV modules perform under real-world conditions, particularly in terms of thermal effects, which have not been extensively explored in previous literature. The study highlights that darker colours exhibit higher efficiency under indoor standard test conditions but are also correlated with higher operating temperatures. Consequently, the differences in energy efficiency among the colours are significantly reduced when analysing the energy produced under real exposure conditions. This underscores the delicate balance between maximizing energy generation and reducing thermal stress in BIPV modules, while maintaining aesthetics. By providing empirical evidence of colour-specific performance characteristics, this work offers insightful results for coloured BIPV research and customized product optimization.

Here the original scientific article