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

Wholesalers

Solar Products Wholesalers 

Wholesaling refers to buying some products or goods directly from its manufacturer usually at a discount and then reselling it to the retailers for a comparatively higher cost than the original. Basically, wholesalers handle products and package them in small quantities and then sell them to retail customers, either for commercial or personal use. 

Many industries have wholesalers, and that will not skip the solar industries. Nowadays, many solar wholesale stores/firms are operating across the globe, making it much easier for retailers to go solar. Sometimes retailers find it hard to reach direct manufacturers of solar products because some companies do not have their solar stores/shops in public, with that they are not also offering solar products per piece. Through wholesale solar stores/shops, these individuals can easily buy the solar products that they need to replace or maintain their solar systems. 

If you are in need of solar product suppliers for an individual purpose, you may visit some solar outsourcing marketplace to get an updated list of solar wholesalers near your location. There are many solar platforms that provide enough information and data about the solar industry in your region, including all the reliable solar wholesalers in town.

Malta

A Brief Analysis of Malta’s nascent solar market

The Maltese consume an estimated 2.12 billion Kilowatts-hours of electricity per year. This energy consumption rate is the second-lowest across all European Union member states. Malta does not have any domestic fuel resources thus, forcing it to rely on imported fossil fuels. However, the country is working towards a renewable energy future under the European Union’s energy efficiency directive stipulations. What is the current state of Malta’s solar market?

As of 2017, renewable energy accounted for only 4.9 % of the Central Mediterranean state’s total installed capacity. This was one of the lowest renewable energy capacities in Europe. Fortunately, the Maltese Ministry of energy stepped up its renewable energy adoption efforts. At the end of 2019, Malta’s installed solar capacity stood at 154 Megawatts.

There are no recent statistics on the Maltese installed capacity. Still, the country’s rooftop PV sector is growing fast due to the government’s support. Essentially, this nascent solar market is most likely to continue growing and offer more lucrative opportunities for solar installers.

Solar equipment supply capacity in Malta

Malta has a small number of solar equipment suppliers that mainly deal with common equipment categories such as solar panels. This may limit your range of options in case you have a project lined up. Nevertheless, there is no need for concern because Solarfeeds has got you covered.

As a leading e-commerce marketplace for solar equipment, we host several leading equipment suppliers. If you don’t find the equipment needed locally, you can choose to import affordable and quality equipment from any of our partners. Just go to our inquiry page and request quotes.

Ports and logistics in Malta

Any solar installer or professional will agree that ports and quality services are essential amenities in any market. Well, most of Malta’s logistics service providers are highly experienced and dependable. You also have access to two major ports, namely;

• The Valletta Grand Harbor
• The Port of Marsaxlokk