Integrating Solar PV Systems into Residential Buildings in Cold-climate Regions

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The integration of solar energy systems to residential buildings is emerging as a new trend in today's housing industry. To optimize solar energy systems, the capacity of solar Photovoltaic (PV) panels needs to be designed to match the electricity loads of the building. Meanwhile, the economic aspects of these systems and their impact on utility grids need to be evaluated to ensure the selection of the optimal system for a given building. The proposed research focuses on the optimization of solar PV systems for high energy efficiency and sustainability in the cold-climate regions of western Canada. This study combines on-site energy performance measurements, numerical simulation, and comprehensive review of the latest solar technology in industrial applications. Fifty different types of homes will be selected in this research in order to measure their electricity loads, test the newly designed energy storage system, and study the performance of the solar PV panels. The energy consumption will be measured in each home, and the data will be analyzed to identify the impacts of specific building characteristics and occupant behaviours on electricity loads. Battery banks will be installed in some of the solar power systems, and their impact on the electricity grid, as well as the ability of the installed banks to alleviate monthly electricity bill amounts for residents, will be evaluated. The performance of the solar PV panels influenced by local solar resources and weather conditions will be investigated. To determine the optimal size of the PV panels and the capacity of the batteries during the system design process, a numerical tool will be developed. Based on the research results, the parameters of building characteristics and occupant habits will be used as inputs for the tool, based upon which the optimized solar power system design can be obtained. It is expected that the performance and cost analysis of the solar power system, as well as the technologies developed in this research, will assist homebuilders to develop more sustainable building engineering practices, and will also benefit policy makers as they seek to formulate policies to encourage both builders and home buyers to choose solar energy for residential buildings.