Potential Applications of Photovoltaic Technologies for Biomimetic Adaptive Solar Building Envelopes

Building envelope as an interface between the outside and inside of the building serves more than its loadbearing function and has a pivotal role in regulating and saving energy. This role necessitates the adaptability of the building envelope to the surrounding environment like what natural organisms do in response to different stimuli in nature. Solar energy as one of the momentous renewable energy resources can be harvested and regulated following principles inspired by natural organisms’ strategies through the building envelope. Nowadays, photovoltaic technologies have advanced significantly and therefore could offer lots of possibilities for the design of biomimetic adaptive solar building envelopes (Bio-ASBEs). In this regard, this research’s focus lies in providing a comparative analysis between three PV technologies including crystalline silicon, perovskite, and organic solar cells in order to provide a context for their potential application for the design of Bio-ASBE