The Contribution of Solar Energy to Green Buildings - Meeting Environmental and Economic Objectives

Focusing on green buildings does not only help to reduce climate change it also increases the quality of life by improving peopleís health and wellbeing. Solar energy is an important contributor to improving air quality as it is an emission free form of power generation. Solar energy contributes to new green buildings or renovations by producing energy for either direct use at the respective site or by feeding it into the energy grid, where feed-in tariffs have been established by the countryís government. The economic advantages of a solar system lie in its energy and revenue generating effects, in its capability to increase the value of a property and in the competitive advantages it provides to the owners business. Today most roofs are unused space. As traditional PV systems ñ framed in glass and tilted ñ are often too heavy for low load bearing industrial roofs the application of PV systems is restricted to a few heavy weight carrying industrial and residential roofs. To reduce climate change effects and the dependency on fossil fuels Solar Integrated has developed various lightweight PV products to make low-slope industrial roofs accessible for solar energy. As an example our Solar Membrane Roofing, which consists of a traditional roofing membrane with integrated PV elements. These modules are welded to existing or new membrane roofs. Such PV system adds only 4,9kg/m to the weight. As the PV system becomes an integrated part of the roof, it is aesthetically pleasing and allows taking advantage of higher feed in tariffs for building integrated PV in some countries. Products for metal roofs and for combination with green roofs make a wide range of roofing types available for solar power generation. In a case study the energy generation and emission saving benefits of an installed PV system will be explored in detail.