1.0 INTRODUCTION With the world moving towards the post-oil era, the attention and demand for renewable and non-polluting energy sources is increasing rapidly. The construction sector, and in particular the buildings sector, is the main consumer of global energy resources. In addition to construction, operation and maintenance, that is, the demand on the lifespan of a building is far greater. Therefore, in this context, it is crucial that the building is able to harvest its own energy to offset its own demand and reduce dependence on non-renewable energy sources. For this reason, among all the possible sources, the sun or solar energy is the one that is easily available and therefore the most powerful source. Photovoltaics (PV) is the means of harvesting this energy where the radiant energy of solar insolation is converted and stored as electrical energy. Building Integrated Photo-Voltaics (BIPV) takes this notion one step further where photovoltaics are simply not an addendum to the building envelope, but the envelope itself becomes a photovoltaic, thus serving a dual purpose, hence the name BIPV. Therefore BIPVs can be defined as photovoltaic materials that replace conventional construction systems or materials mainly of different types of building envelopes, such as the roof or the facade. This is clearly illustrated in the figure below: As such, BIPV systems themselves represent a new and versatile tool for meeting the energy demands of built space. However, although it is powerful, its full potential has yet to be realized and will depend on the parallel advancement of technology. By replacing the construction systems themselves, BIPVs offer an option that can be aesthetic, economical and technical and at the same time MULTIFUNCTIONAL. Thus the BIPV... in the center of the paper... a system is fundamental. This is because this system is very elaborate, expensive and must be considered from the beginning of the design process. The associated benefits can be identified and evaluated based on:• direct economic impact,• indirect economic impact, and• qualitative value. These three categories are defined below and are integrated with a series of notions. Direct economic impactThe integrated energy system of the building will have to be achieved through the construction budget. On the other hand, the electricity generated by the BIPV system offsets the operational energy demand of buildings and creates savings that reduce operating budgets. Since the BIPV system is multifunctional, it can also reduce construction costs as it replaces conventional building materials and serves as both a building system and an energy system..
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