BIPV building integrated photovoltaic systems in mediterranean climate

The Mediterranean region is particularly sunny, with around 2650 to 3400 hours of sunshine per year and an average radiation up to 3200 kWh/m² per year. Despite these favorable climatic conditions, the development of solar energy in the Mediterranean region is still limited by institutional financial and technical obstacles. The objective of this paper is to explore the potential of solar photovoltaic PV technologies by identifying the best ways of integrating these systems in the building envelope (walls, windows, pergola, etc.). The work begins with a literature review and synthesis of existing PV systems, and a description of the different types and ways of PV systems building integration. Then, simulations of several scenarios were carried out for a typical commercial building (the scenarios include different regions, orientation, and size of the system integrated PV); the importance of building integrated photovoltaic BIPV is highlighted as building materials and renewable energy for sustainable architecture. Indeed, the replication of the simulations results on a national level, showed that BIPV could compensate up to 22 % of the total energy consumption of buildings in Lebanon.