WEB-BASED DECISION SUPPORT TOOL FOR BUILDING-INTEGRATED SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS

Abstract. A web-based multi-criteria decision support tool is designed to support the planning, control and deployment of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) in the City of Cape Town, South Africa. Solar energy is one of the renewable sources for generating electricity by means of photovoltaic systems, and it offers a viable and expedient means of generating electricity within a short period of time. Nevertheless, there are some impediments to the extensive deployment of solar photovoltaic systems. The most prominent among these are generation potential and the high capital cost of initial set-up. Hence, the location, design and yield of building-integrated photovoltaic systems have to be well thought-out before their deployment. The interactive web-based tool designed utilises JavaScript and Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML) to implement a map mashup, which can be queried to retrieve vital information about the solar photovoltaic potential of a building roof. From results generated and the system developed, it becomes possible to remotely and sufficiently evaluate buildings in the city in order to make decisions about solar photovoltaic potentials, designs and installations.