BIPV and PV in a Multidisciplinary Building Information Modelling (BIM) Planning and Asset Management System

Abstract

Photovoltaic power systems are today the energy technology with the highest annual investment worldwide. In the year 2023 about 375 GW of Photovoltaic Plants have been built, making up for nearly 40% of newly installed energy plant capacity according to the IEA International Energy Agency [1]. In contrast to the strong deployment and technical progress the digitalization of the PV system planning and management is fragmented and lacking worldwide standards for system representation and product data exchange, while the “Digital Twin” of Photovoltaic modules might become already in this decade obligatory in the European Union in a double manner: on the one hand regarding the system planning by the mandatory delivery of openBIM models (using IFC) for obtaining building permits and on the other hand due to the introduction of “Digital Building Log Books” in the frame of the renewed Energy Performance of Building directive (EPBD) [2]. Furthermore “Digital Product Passports (DPP)” were introduced for batteries in the framework of the “Ecodesign Directive” and are aimed for to be a duty for construction products by European legislators in a pending version of the Construction Product Regulation (CPR). The research project “BIM4BIPV – Future aspects of Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) in the cross system Building Information Modelling (BIM)” is evaluating the digital processes and data requirements for the representation of Photovoltaic modules in BIM. Due to the lack of harmonized digital openBIM data standards for the PV system planning the developed methods will be useful not only for Building Integrated Photovoltaic systems (BIPV) but as well for Building attached PV (BAPV), Agri-PV, and green field PV-systems alike.