Impact of combining photovoltaic modules with buildings on air conditioning load of commercial and residential buildings

With the advancement of the “dual carbon” goal, the application of building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) in commercial and residential buildings is becoming increasingly popular. However, the existing HVAC system designs do not provide a calculation method for air conditioning load specific to BIPV. Based on EnergyPlus, this paper simulates the impact of non-ventilated photovoltaic roofs and windows on the annual air conditioning loads in five major climate zones and different window-to-wall area ratios in China. The results show that photovoltaic roofs in commercial buildings experience an increase in peak cooling load during summer, with a maximum amplitude of 4.72%, especially in the areas with strong solar radiation. Photovoltaic windows significantly reduce the cooling load of commercial buildings, with a peak reduction of 20% to 40%. In residential buildings, photovoltaic windows reduce summer cooling loads. When the window-to-wall area ratio increases, the cooling reduction can reach up to 13.5 kW, but the heating increase can reach up to 3.0 kW. Under different climatic conditions, the impact of photovoltaic windows on loads varies significantly, and the cities with abundant solar energy resources are more suitable for using photovoltaic windows.