Nonlinearity analysis of the shading effect on the technical-economic performance of the building-integrated photovoltaic blind

This study aims to conduct the nonlinearity analysis of the shading effect on the technical-economic performance of the building-integrated photovoltaic blind (BIPB), which is designed as a preliminary study to evaluate the feasibility of the BIPB before its implementation. First, in terms of the technical performance of the BIPB, the shading effect due to the blind's slat in the BIPB can have a nonlinear effect on the amount of electricity generation per unit area (AEGunit) from the BIPB. Particularly, as the width of the PV panel increases, the AEGunit from the BIPB tends to decrease. Second, in terms of the economic performance of the BIPB, the feasibility of the BIPB depends on the type of investment values. Specifically, as the width of the PV panel increases, the NPV25 (net present value at year 25) tends to increase; however, the SIR25 (saving-to-investment ratio at year 25) tends to decrease. That is, while the NPV25 is determined to be highest at US$82,869 when the width of the PV panel is 50 mm, the SIR25 is determined to be highest at 2.90 times when the width of the PV panel is 10 mm. The main findings of this study can be used to clearly define the design specifications of the BIPB before its implementation, which ensure to meet the client expectations on various objectives, such as technical performance (e.g., the AEGunit from the BIPB) and economic performance (e.g., NPV25 and SIR25).