Cost-efficiency study of BIPV systems in Qatar Residential Houses

Abstract

Energy Consumption for the residential sector in Qatar is on the rise.  This high demand of electricity in this sector is of course due to urbanization and growth in population. The objective of this study is to assess the cost effectiveness of Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) panels in residential houses in Qatar.  A typical Villa-type house is assessed when BIPV is installed and the equivalent annual cost at different discount rates from 0% to 20% is calculated. The corresponding reduction of CO2 emission at the power station is also estimated. The results are then extrapolated for all residential houses in Qatar and the total CO2 savings are then calculated.  An economic analysis is performed and the payback period (PBP) for the BIPV is calculated taking into account the initial cost and the maintenance cost. The calculations performed showed that the cost per kWh is 6.85 cents, thus the annual cost per house at 0% discount rate is around $4,193 including savings on CO2 emissions. The PBP for the BIPV is calculated to be 34 years. The total CO2 emissions’ savings are estimated to be around 2.17 MtCO2 per year which is equivalent to 65 million USD per year.

Keywords

• Photovoltaic; solar energy; Qatar; electricity; CO2 emissions; cost