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.

Norway

A Snapshot of the Norwegian solar market

Norway is situated far north of the globe meaning it does not receive as much sunlight as most nations. A significant proportion of the country’s energy stems from hydro. Still, it has made huge strides in adopting solar energy even though its lunar resources are limited. According to a recent report, there is a considerable rise in public support for the Norwegian solar industry.

As of December 2019, Norway had a cumulative installed solar capacity of 120 Megawatts. This capacity came into being through the addition of 51 Megawatts, the highest added capacity in a single year. Commercial and industrial installations made up 60% of the additional solar capacity while residential installations came second with 35%.  

Norway’s estimated installed solar capacity in 2020 was 152 Megawatts. This reveals that the Scandinavian country’s solar capacity is growing steadily along with its solar market. What does this mean for you as a solar installer? Well, lucrative opportunities tend to sprout up as any market continues to grow.

Solar equipment production and supply capacity in Norway

The Norwegian solar market enjoys a healthy presence of solar equipment manufacturers and distributors. They deal with the supply of solar panels and several other components. Do you need a trustworthy supplier for your current or next project?

If the answer is yes, consider yourself lucky because you are in the right place. Our website hosts several leading solar equipment suppliers. Please feel free to go to our inquiry page and request quotes. Rest assured that the Solarfeeds family has got your back.

Ports and logistics in Norway

Norway’s transport infrastructure is something to smile about. Apart from a highly competitive logistics and forwarding services sector, it has several freight ports. Some of the country’s major ports include;

•         Port of Tromso
•         Port of Narvik
•         Port of Bodo
•         Port of Bergen
•         Port of Haugesund
•         Port of Stavanger
•         Port of Oslo
• ·         Port of Drammen