Must Watch! Traditional Photovoltaic Companies Entering BIPV: Four Key Transformations to Note

In today's increasingly fierce competition and serious homogenization in the traditional photovoltaic market, more and more photovoltaic companies are turning their attention to BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaics), an emerging field. On one hand, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Energy Administration have introduced Document No. 136 which clearly requires that by the end of 2025, all new energy projects such as wind and photovoltaic power must fully enter the electricity market, with on-grid electricity prices formed through market transactions. This means the era of traditional photovoltaic power stations relying on fixed on-grid prices is coming to an end. On the other hand, with the rapid growth of photovoltaic and wind power installations in recent years, the issue of insufficient grid absorption capacity has become increasingly prominent, and the traditional photovoltaic market growth is clearly sluggish. Meanwhile, several provinces in China, including Shanghai, Beijing, and Zhejiang, have successively introduced mandatory regulations for installing solar photovoltaic power generation systems on buildings. Driven by both policy enforcement and the increasing maturity of domestic BIPV technology, the BIPV market scale is growing rapidly. Data shows: In 2022, China's BIPV curtain wall market size was 6.569 billion yuan, and it is expected to reach 457.342 billion yuan by 2027. The future development potential of the BIPV industry is enormous. For partners in the traditional photovoltaic industry, understanding and embracing BIPV will be the best choice to cope with industry transformation and open new growth points. So, what mindset shifts and challenges must be overcome when transitioning from traditional photovoltaics to BIPV?

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Mindset Shift: From Power Generation Components to Building Components Entering the BIPV field requires establishing a "building mindset" and deeply understanding the building material attributes of BIPV products. The traditional photovoltaic industry is accustomed to a "product mindset." They sell components, inverters, and photovoltaic brackets, focusing on power generation capacity, cost, and economic efficiency. The core of BIPV lies in integrating photovoltaic product technology with architecture to achieve integration, providing a power generation system perfectly combined with the building. It is primarily a building material that must meet the building's safety, aesthetics, and thermal requirements, and only secondarily a power generation device. For architects and owners, besides focusing on project economics and power generation, they pay more attention to the safety, aesthetics, thermal insulation performance of photovoltaic components, and their compatibility with the overall architectural style. This requires deep involvement of photovoltaic technology in the early design and planning stages of BIPV projects, treating BIPV as an architectural element for integrated design rather than the traditional photovoltaic approach of "adding on" after the main building is completed. This collaboration with architects or owners from the outset influences the success of BIPV projects.
 

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Rule Shift: From Electrical Standards to Building Standards Traditional photovoltaic projects only need to meet relevant electrical industry standards, whereas BIPV products must first be "qualified building materials" and comply with relevant building industry design standards, especially strict requirements in structural compatibility, mechanical performance, thermal performance, fire safety, electrical safety, waterproofing, and lightning protection. For example, they must comply with the "Building Structure Load Code" GB 50009-2012 regulating wind pressure, snow load, and structural bearing capacity; the "Photovoltaic Power Station Design Code" GB 50797-2012 covering rooftop power station layout and safety requirements; the mandatory engineering construction code "General Code for Building Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Utilization" GB 55015; as well as photovoltaic-related standards such as "Technical Requirements for Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Systems" GB/T 19939-2005, "Photovoltaic Power Engineering Construction Code" GB 50618-2011, and "Technical Regulations for Building Solar Photovoltaic Systems" DB33/1106. Some main standards and codes referenced include: 1. General Design Codes GB 50797-2012: "Photovoltaic Power Station Design Code" (covering rooftop power station layout and safety requirements); GB 50009-2012: "Building Structure Load Code" (wind pressure, snow load, component bearing, etc.); GB 50016-2014: "Building Design Fire Code (BIPV Fire Design)"; GB/T 51368: "Technical Standard for Building Photovoltaic Systems"; GB 50009: "Building Structure Load Code"; GB 50011: "Building Seismic Design Code"; GB 50015: "Building Water Supply and Drainage Design Code"; GB 50016: "Building Design Fire Code"; GB 50057: "Building Lightning Protection Design Code"; GB 50176: "Thermal Design Code for Civil Buildings"; GB 50345: "Roof Engineering Technical Code"; GB 55015: "General Code for Building Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Utilization"; GB 50352: "Unified Standard for Civil Building Design"; GB/T 21086: "Building Curtain Wall"; GB 50009: "Building Structure Load Code". 2. Photovoltaic Components and Systems GB/T 18911: Photovoltaic System Performance Monitoring and Evaluation; GB/T 19939-2005: Technical Requirements for Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Systems; GB/T 20046-2006: Photovoltaic System Grid Interface Characteristics; GB 50797: "Photovoltaic Power Station Design Code". 3. Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) GB/T 30184-2013: General Technical Requirements for Photovoltaic Glass Components for Buildings; GB 8624-2012: Classification of Combustion Performance of Building Materials and Products (BIPV Fire Requirements); JGJ/T 450-2018: Technical Standard for Building Photovoltaic Systems (covering design, construction, and acceptance); JG/T 492: General Technical Requirements for Building Photovoltaic Components; DB33/1106: Technical Regulations for Building Solar Photovoltaic Systems. 4. Installation and Construction GB 50618-2011: Photovoltaic Power Engineering Construction Code; GB 50794-2012: Photovoltaic Power Station Construction and Acceptance Code. Safety and reliability are lifelines for BIPV products; any negligence can cause serious consequences. Design standards, construction norms, and quality acceptance requirements in the building industry are areas traditional photovoltaic companies need to quickly catch up on.
 

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Promotion Shift: From Investment Return to Multiple Values Traditional photovoltaic target customers are mainly power station investors, with promotion logic focusing on cost per watt and power station investment returns. BIPV needs to target completely different customer groups such as government departments, developers, architectural design institutes, general contractors, curtain wall companies, and local construction and urban investment companies, with promotion logic expanding from "cost per watt" to multiple value propositions including aesthetics, safety, thermal performance, incremental investment cost, energy-saving rate, carbon reduction, and total lifecycle cost. 。 Architectural design institutes are the "source" of BIPV projects. Architects care about the perfect presentation of their designs, the reliable implementation of building technologies, and strict compliance with relevant building codes. Therefore, aesthetic appeal and style compatibility should be the primary elements of communication, highlighting that customizable photovoltaic building materials can support the expression of the designer's style. At the same time, proactively communicating the physical performance indicators of photovoltaic modules such as fire resistance, waterproofing, and wind pressure resistance is more persuasive than simply emphasizing power generation. Government clients focus on the macro policy alignment of the project, social benefits, and demonstration effects, and are more interested in whether the project complies with the national "dual carbon" strategy, green building plans, and whether it can become a replicable and promotable benchmark project. The emphasis should be on explaining the carbon emission reductions the project can bring, as well as its contribution to local industrial upgrading and the shaping of a green city image after completion. Developers and general contractors pay more attention to costs, returns, and asset value. ， The messaging should directly address the commercial essence and calculate the economic accounts. It is necessary not only to calculate power generation revenue and incremental investment costs, clearly presenting the investment recovery model of the BIPV project, but also to make developers understand— compared with traditional building projects, building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) projects are not purely a cost item but an asset appreciation item. With the increase in service life, it is even possible to recover the incremental investment costs. In summary, the key to communication lies in "empathy": putting yourself in the other party's shoes, understanding their real pain points and demands, and communicating in language they can understand and care about.

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Shift in construction method from photovoltaic installation to building construction. The construction method of building-integrated photovoltaics differs significantly from traditional photovoltaic installation. Traditional photovoltaic projects can be completed by photovoltaic specialist teams alone, whereas BIPV project construction requires higher standards for craftsmanship, precision, and detail, needing multidisciplinary talents or project teams who understand both architecture and photovoltaics. Construction personnel are required to be proficient in fine techniques such as structural sealing and waterproofing, and strictly follow relevant building quality standards to ensure the overall safety and reliability of the building. Regarding operation and maintenance strategies, since the photovoltaic modules of completed BIPV projects have become an inherent part of the building, any repair or replacement will involve higher costs. Therefore, it is necessary to deploy more intelligent online monitoring systems to accurately locate system faults and detect and address issues early, thereby minimizing potential operational risks and maintenance costs. For traditional photovoltaic companies, entering the BIPV field is an important strategic transformation. The key to success lies in achieving a mindset shift, complying with building codes, adjusting promotion strategies, and building multidisciplinary teams. In the future, with the popularization of green buildings and zero-energy buildings, BIPV will no longer be just an additional function of buildings but an indispensable component. Photovoltaic companies that layout the BIPV field in advance must proactively adapt to the rules and demands of the construction industry and perfectly integrate photovoltaic technology with architectural art to gain a leading position in this round of building energy revolution, transforming from pure photovoltaic product suppliers into green building solution service providers.