Abstract

In today's fuel-conscious economy, most developers and facility managers are searching for real ways of reducing energy and operational costs. At the same time, our fossil-fuel-dependent country is witnessing the design community working with numerous experts in the renewable energy fields, such as solar energy systems, to solve the need for real reductions in fuel consumption and environmental pollution. These two forces are not only “greening” the construction industry, they have changed the way projects are envisioned, undertaken, and financed. The theories behind these Renewable Energy systems have always sounded like such wonderful ideas, but were normally the first systems dropped from a project for reasons of initial installation costs, unfamiliarity in the construction industry, or risk considerations from facility and maintenance professions concerned about investing in unproven systems.

Photovoltaic solar panel arrays have become one renewable energy system that has been tried and proven in Europe for years and is now becoming a common reality in the U.S. marketplace. With more and more projects obtaining financial assistance through funding grants, the payback analysis has become more palatable as a cost-possible solution; and the cost of the systems are reducing as the supply and demand has changed. As more photovoltaic product innovations come onto the market and more manufacturers and suppliers come into the market, the initial installation costs are also becoming more competitive. Project owners, or stakeholders, are also taking the time to analyze the real savings to their long-term operational budgets and their environment. In addition to saving costs, and the environment, photovoltaic arrays provide simple, low-maintenance solutions that can be as “visible” or “invisible” to the surrounding neighborhood and community. Gone are the inflexible large solar panel systems that need to sit high above roofs at south-facing angles to best harvest the sun's energy. Today's products and systems can be installed in numerous ways, such as low-slope exterior window shading devices, or low slope flat roof installations, or integrated into the glass panes of a building's window system. These installation and system options give designers more site planning flexibility for optimal orientation to the sun, make more of the building's exterior surface areas available to the photovoltaic cells, and lend design solutions the flexibility for unique aesthetics and imagery or subtle integration into traditional or historic preservation designs.