In order to provide a clear definition and construction rules to PV buildings, a Chinese Committee has come up with two drafts related to such topics, norms and projects and may announce them as an official standard in February.
According to a research conducted by China’s National Energy Administration, the market share for Chinese PV buildings may be as high as RMB 120 billion. Although PV buildings have been developed quickly these years in China, there is neither clear definition nor designing norms for manufacturers and builders to follow. In another words, PV buildings’ technology, system, blueprints, testing / certificating rules are all absent. Integration of PV buildings can’t be examined reliably, which also causes damage to its return of investment.
“When it comes to Integration of PV buildings, it’s not only about installing PV products onto a building, but also about combining the building’s design and PV technology for a safer, more efficient and more artistic construction,” said the Director of China BIPV Applications Committee. On the basis of this concern, the committee already has two drafts respectively for PV building management (“Management”) and a guidance of PV technology (“Guidance”). Both may be officially announced in February.
Details, including PV cells, modules, systems, circuitry, inverters and grid-connection, are comprehensively evaluated in the documents. They also involve structural loads, looks of integration and economic benefits so they can be used as a guide to the development of PV buildings and the PV industry.