Exergoeconomic assessment of a building integrated photovoltaic ( BIPV ) system : a case study of Yasar University , Izmir , Turkey

The present study deals with the performance assessment of a building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system through exergoeconomic analysis method. The system was installed at Yasar University in Izmir, Turkey within the framework of a EU/FP7 funded project, the so-called REELCOOP (REnewable ELectricity COOPeration). Some preliminary experimental, modeling and numerical simulation studies have been performed by a research team from the University of Reading, which is one of the partners. Accordingly, the best design was chosen for the BIPV system to be installed at Yasar University. The PV glass was designed and manufactured by another partner, Onyx Solar, with glass/glass configuration and mono-crystalline PV technology, through 6“ (156 mm) pseudo-square cells. The BIPV system consists of a total of 48 Crystalline Silicon (c-Si) modules in 4 rows and 12 columns, with a gap of 150 mm between the modules. The façade area is totally 57.6 m 2 with a cell area of 42.8 m 2 while the total peak installed power is 7.44 kW with a peak power per PV unit of 155 Wp. Exergoeconomic evaluation methodology is a combination of exergy analysis and economic aspect analysis. Based on the literature survey, some limited studies on exergetic assessment of BIPV/T (PV/Thermal) systems have been done while no studies on exergoeconomic analysis and evaluation of a BIPV system using long term actual operational data have appeared in the open literature to the best of the authors‟ knowledge. This was the primary motivation behind this contribution. In this study, the BIPV system was introduced first. The exergy, cost, energy and mass (EXCEM) method was then applied to the BIPV system considered. Finally, the results obtained were presented. Exergoeconomic parameters based on energetic and exergetic terms range from 0.001 to 0.714 W/€, and 0.001 to 0.664 W/€, with daily average values of 0.315 and 0.293, respectively.