Analysis of electricity generation efficiency in photovoltaic building systems made of HIT-IBC cells for multi-family residential buildings

The purpose of this article is to analyze the efficiency of electricity generation in photovoltaic systems located on the building made on the basis of HIT-IBC cells for multi-family residential buildings. The comparative analysis of the efficiency of electricity generation by photovoltaic (PV) installations made of two cell types -Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin-layer-Interdigitated Back Contact (HIT-IBC) and classical mono-crystalline silicon (mono-Si) - showed that the efficiency of HIT-IBC cells is 60% higher. These cells were selected for use as photo-voltaic systems located on the building to cover the demand for electricity through an exemplary multi-family residential building, consisting of 35 apartments divided into two, three and four-person households. Considering the previous calculations, in which it was shown that a PV installation made of HIT-IBC cells (PV1) is able to generate 192,75 kWh/(m2·y), annual electricity production was calculated by the indicated photovoltaic installation. It was found that the photovoltaic installation located on the roof of the building, based on HIT-IBC cells, will allow to cover the total electricity demand by a selected multi-family building. In addition, the installation’s payback period of 9 years was calculated, which takes a high place in the lifespan of photovoltaic installations of 20-25 years and thus ensuring the economic efficiency of the adopted technical solutions.