Should photovoltaic systems be integrated as building components?

Conventional integration of photovoltaic as building components normally fell into a common dilemma in-between the unsatisfactory available PV product and the precious demand of the integration design. The result is either the abandonment of PV application or a curt imposing of immature product.

Can glass be used as a flexible PV substrate?

However, even with high flexibility, the intrinsic opaque appearance makes it much less interesting for being utilized as flexible PV substrates. Glass has long been the common choice for quite many building envelope applications including atrium roofs and skylights where materials with lightweight, high strength, and low cost are essential.

Can FPV panels be installed on a membrane-covered greenhouse?

The integration of FPV panels on the roof of the membrane-covered greenhouse facilitates the development of the crop production system “PV greenhouse,” which is appropriate for energy generation and cultivation at the same time (Source: Yano and Cossu 2019 ).

Can flexible perovskite solar modules be coated with a blade?

Blade coating has a promising prospect to commercialize large-area FPSCs because of its operation under relatively low temperature. Recently, a record efficiency flexible perovskite solar module (19.7%) is presented on flexible Corning Willow Glass in the method of blade coating (Source: Xuezeng et al. 2020 ).

What are the options for flexible PV in buildings?

As shown in Fig. 2, up to now only thin film and several emerging PV technologies could be possibly realized in flexible forms. Therefore, two key choices for the flexible PV in buildings, thin film, as well as organic PV, are briefly introduced in this section.

Can flexible OPV be used in fabric architecture?

The German Pavilion for EXPO Milan 2015 was one of the first projects to demonstrate the potential of flexible OPV in the fabric-architecture context, as shown in Fig. 27 c, d (Source: Berny et al. 2016 ).