Decorated Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Modules: Power Loss, Color Appearance and Cost Analysis

We evaluate three design solutions for BIPV modules: colored encapsulants, ceramic printed glass covers and spectral-selective photonic Morpho structures, regarding their electrical performance, their optical appearance and their cost. We built single-cell samples on which we perform IV measurements at STC and normal-hemispheric reflectance measurements. We derive color coordinates in CIE L*a*b* space out of the reflectance spectra to quantify color and intensity. Colored encapsulants as well as ceramic prints show low color saturation and high power loss relative to a conventional module (-6 to -31%). The spectrally selective Morpho structure shows strongest color saturation, enhanced brightness and best electrical performance (-3 to -7%). We research module component prices and perform a manufacturing cost analysis for glass-glass modules with the respective decoration and find that decoration of BIPV modules increases the specific module cost, caused by less power output and higher material cost. We find the manufacturing cost of decorated BIPV modules (74-163 e/m²) is within the range of classic cladding materials, such as bricks (60-100 e/m²) or wood (50-180 e/m²) but provide additional benefits regarding power generation.