Building-Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) products and systems: A review of energy-related behavior
Publicated to:Energy And Buildings. 262 111998- - 2022-03-10 262(), DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2022.111998
Authors: Martin-Chivelet, Nuria; Kapsis, Konstantinos; Wilson, Helen Rose; Delisle, Veronique; Yang, Rebecca; Olivieri, Lorenzo; Polo, Jesus; Eisenlohr, Johannes; Roy, Benjamin; Maturi, Laura; Otnes, Gaute; Dallapiccola, Mattia; Wijeratne, W M Pabasara Upalakshi
Affiliations
Abstract
This paper reviews the main energy-related features of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) modules and systems, to serve as a reference for researchers, architects, BIPV manufacturers, and BIPV designers. The energy-related behavior of BIPV modules includes thermal, solar, optical and electrical aspects. Suitable standardization to evaluate heat transfer and solar heat gain by BIPV modules still need to be developed further since BIPV elements behave differently to the building elements they substitute. The optical properties of BIPV modules, such as light transmittance or color rendering, also play a role in the search for a good balance between energy saving, electricity generation, aesthetics and visual comfort. However, architecturally adapted BIPV design may affect the electrical performance also, by reducing the efficiency of BIPV modules and systems compared to standard photovoltaic (PV) ones. This is not the sole challenge for the electrical designers, as the special operating conditions of BIPV systems such as non-homogeneous irradiance complicate the electrical design and the forecasting of BIPV performance. The aim of this review is to present the current state of knowledge of the aspects mentioned above, to promote continued progress in BIPV and to inform suitable standardization efforts.
Keywords
Quality index
Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel
The work has been published in the journal Energy And Buildings due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2022, it was in position 12/139, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Engineering, Civil. Notably, the journal is positioned above the 90th percentile.
This publication has been distinguished as a “Highly Cited Paper” by the agencies WoS (ESI, Clarivate) and ESI (Clarivate), meaning that it ranks within the top 1% of the most cited articles in its thematic field during the year of its publication. In terms of the observed impact of the contribution, this work is considered one of the most influential worldwide, as it is recognized as highly cited. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)
And this is evidenced by the extremely high normalized impacts through some of the main indicators of this type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of calculation, already indicate that they are well above the average in different agencies:
- Normalization of citations relative to the expected citation rate (ESI) by the Clarivate agency: 8.84 (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)
- Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 9.01 (source consulted: FECYT Feb 2024)
- Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 121.36 (source consulted: Dimensions Sep 2025)
Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-09-21, the following number of citations:
- WoS: 115
- Scopus: 127
Impact and social visibility
Leadership analysis of institutional authors
This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Australia; Canada; Germany; Italy; Norway.