A Trans-Disciplinary Vocabulary for Assessing the Visual Performance of BIPV

Alessandra Scognamiglio
Additional contact information
Alessandra Scognamiglio: (TERIN-FSD-DIN) Research Centre Portici, Innovative Devices Laboratory, Renewable Energy Technologies Department, Photovoltaics and Smart Devices Division, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, ENEA, 80055 Portici, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 10, 1-38

Abstract: It is widely acknowledged that the visual dimension of photovoltaics (PV) is fundamental for social acceptance. In this sense, the so-called Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) is a possible catalyzer, as PV is hidden (integrated) into building envelope morphologies that are familiar to the public. It is crucial to be able to design and assess a BIPV system so that its visual performance is optimal. Many studies exist in this regard, but still they do not deliver a clear theoretical organization of the concepts used for defining the visual performance of BIPV. This paper elaborates a trans-disciplinary systemic formalization of BIPV and proposes a vocabulary focusing on the formal perception of BIPV as a part of the building’s envelope system. The proposed vocabulary is based on a set of 11 visual keywords; as the proposed method unifies the formal and the cognitive information contents. It will facilitate the dialogue among different stakeholders (e.g., architects, clients, modules manufacturers, and public authorities) and, in general, the visual performance assessment of BIPV. In consequence, it allows for objective comparison and thus informed decision-making.

Keywords: architectural design of BIPV; BIPV design and assessment; Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV); description matrix of BIPV as a visual object; social acceptance of BIPV; visual perception of BIPV; visual performance of BIPV; vocabulary and semiology of BIPV (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/10/5500/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/10/5500/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:10:p:5500-:d:554554

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().