Life cycle assessment of a building added concentrating photovoltaic system (BACPV)

This article compares the environmental and energy performance of a novel Building Added Concentrating Photovoltaic (BACPV) system to a conventional Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) system through their entire life cycle. We have found that the overall life cycle environmental impact of the BACPV system is a factor of 1.5 lower than that of the BIPV system. Referring to the energy profile, the Energy Payback Time of the BACPV system has been estimated as 1.0 year, while that of the BIPV system has been estimated as 2.2 years. Similarly, the Energy Return Factor is 32 for the BACPV system and 14 for the BIPV system. Additionally, suggestions for improvements for the BACPV system are proposed. This is mainly summarized in modifying the design through replacing some system components.