Page 87 - Alternative Energy Systems in Building Design

CRYSTALLINE, AMORPHOUS, THIN-FILM, AND SUN-TRACKER TECHNOLOGIES 63

Figure 3.26 A Manufacturing process for film technology. Photo courtesy of Integrated
Solar Technologies.

solar roofing panel that rolls onto flat surfaces. Figure 3.26 shows the manufacturing
process for film technology and the single-ply PVC lamination process.
Until the introduction of this product, the installation of solar panels on large flat
area or low-slope roofs was limited owing to the heavy weight of traditional rigid crys-
talline solar panels. This lightweight solar product overcomes this challenge and elim-
inates any related roof penetrations.
Solar Integrated Technologies BIPV roofing product is installed flat as an integral
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element of the roof and weighs only 12 oz/ft , allowing installation on existing and
new facilities. Application of this technology offsets electric power requirements of
buildings, and where permitted in net metering applications, excess electricity can be
sold to the grid.
In addition to being lightweight, this product uses unique design features to
increase the total amount of sunlight converted to electricity each day, including better
performance in cloudy conditions (see Fig. 3.28). Both the single-ply PVC roofing
material and the BIPV solar power system are backed by an extensive 20-year package
operations and maintenance service warranty. Similar to all solar power cogeneration
systems, this technology also offers a comprehensive real-time data acquisition and
monitoring system whereby customers are able to monitor exactly the amount of solar
power being generated with real-time metering for effective energy management and
utility bill reconciliation.