BIPV

What is a Building Integrated Photovoltaic or a BIPV?

Building Integrated Photovoltaics serves more than one purpose. BIPVs produce electricity by the piezoelectric effect and serve as protection for any structure. 

BIPVs are installed to provide shed, block sunlight, and give a modern look to any building, all this while producing electricity from sunlight.

Where is a BIPV used?

A BIPV is integrated into a structure like conventional buildings. BIPVs replace glass windows with Solar windows, parking shed rooftops with solar roofs and solar shades in place of translucent covers. All these changes make the look of any structure modern while being extremely useful.

Types of Building Integrated Photovoltaics

Solar panels are silicon-based photovoltaic cells that produce electricity from sunlight. With micro adjustments according to the application, these cells transform into BIPVs. Based on various applications, there are broadly four types of BIPVs.

Image credit: Research Gate

• Solar-Facades: Solar Facades’ integration in building structures keeps the noise and air pollution out and gives any building a visual identity. This all while producing green energy.

• Solar-Window: Solar windows find their application both in residential and commercial properties. These windows look like any other windows but with solar modules.

• Solar-Roofs: Solar roofs like that of Tesla Energy in the USA are becoming popular. In conventional rooftops, these solar tiles replace asphalt tiles. Every tile acts as an individual cell and connects in series to generate electricity.

• PV-Sunshades: Parking lot sheds are the best example of PV-Sunshades. Additionally, these shades protect buildings from direct sunlight.

How does a BIPV work?

BIPVs use opaque or transparent solar cells connected in series to each other to give a substantial amount of current output. These photovoltaics are located in the portion of the building exposed to the sun the most.

What are big manufacturing brands of BIPVs?

Tesla Energy is one major brand in the USA backed by Elon Musk. They manufacture solar cell tiles for residential rooftops. Customers get a variety of tiles according to the required strength and size.

Some other contributors in this niche are:

• D2solar
• Mysolar USA  
• Omnis Power USA Inc  
• Redwood Renewables
• Skyco Skylights
• Solaria
• Sonali Solar USA

Manufacturers

In the simplest terms, manufacturing is the process of producing actual goods or items/products through the use of raw materials, human labour, use of machinery, tools and other processes such as chemical formulation. This process usually starts with product designing and raw material selection, turning them into an actual product output. 

Solar Products Manufacturers and Factories

In terms of solar, manufacturing encompasses the fabrication or production of materials across the solar market chain. The most common product being manufactured by solar companies are the solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, which are made with several subcomponents such as solar wafers, cells, glass, back sheets, and frames. Before a solar panel comes into life, it will undergo a lot of processes, from designing, modelling, choosing what raw materials to use and then assembling them all to make the final product.

More Than Just Solar Panels

Aside from the solar panels, solar companies have many other manufactured products that are required to make solar energy systems work smoothly, like solar inverters, batteries, combiner boxes, and racking and tracking structures.

Having a solar manufacturing sector makes a big difference in supplying affordable solar energy in different areas. Aside from maintaining the rising domestic and global demand for cleaner and renewable energy, they also help the economy grow, particularly the solar industry. If you are in search of a reliable solar manufacturing company, checking out our solar outsourcing company, SolarFeeds, would help you get easy access to reliable information, news, data and a list of solar manufacturers that can help you with solar products.

Gayman-Island

The Cayman Islands’ solar market stance

The Cayman Islands, a British territory situated in the western region of the Caribbean Sea, has a 70% renewable energy target by 2037. Although it is still heavily dependent on fossil fuels for energy generation, it has made considerable efforts to achieve this target. Several opportunities for solar energy exploration have come into the limelight as the country continues to pursue its renewable energy targets.

Currently, the Cayman Islands territory has an approximate installed solar energy capacity of 11.1 Megawatts. This capacity may appear inconsequential considering that the islands’ overall installed energy capacity stands at 172 Megawatts. Nevertheless, the British territory’s installed solar aptitude is growing progressively along with its solar market share.

This nascent solar market is en route to becoming the most lucrative market in the Caribbean islands.  This is because it is backed by the Guyanese government’s supportive policies. Favorable policies such as exemption from excise tax make Guyana a promising market for solar installers and other photovoltaic professionals.

Solar equipment supply capacity in the Cayman Islands          

Like most Caribbean Islands’ states, the Cayman Islands has a substantial solar equipment supply capacity. It plays host to several local and multinational solar equipment manufacturing companies and distributors. This does not mean you have to spend valuable time moving around requesting quotes from multiple suppliers.

 Solarfeeds.com is your best choice for solar equipment suppliers.  We work with leading solar equipment manufacturers serving the Cayman Islands. Do you want to save time? Simply request quotes via the website’s inquiry page.

The ports and logistics situation in the Cayman Islands

Ports and logistics services are essential resources in any market. Well, the Cayman Islands boast of two major ports of entry that facilitate receipt of equipment from overseas markets. The British territory’s transport and logistics sectors are also pretty advanced.