Assesment of building integrated photovolatics for the residential section in representative Urban areas in Egypt

Power outages are very frequent in Egypt due to shortages of electricity generation. Previous work has explored the use of photovoltaics in specific residential sites in rural areas for providing the electricity needs of the residential complex [1]. However, the opportunity of employing building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) and energy efficient building designs for meeting the energy needs of representative residential buildings in urban areas has not been previously investigated. This paper provides a study of the use of BIPV methods for residential sector retrofit in three major urban cities in Egypt. This study assesses the life cycle costs and energy efficiency impacts of harnessing solar energy for use in residential buildings. The paper draws upon and further develops other research done in the field by analyzing energy savings and impacts of BIPV in different demographic and geographical settings for a representative building model type in an urban setting. Two benchmark building performance simulation models were used that reflect the average energy consumption characteristics of air-conditioned residential apartments in Cairo, Alexandria, and Asyut [2]. This study provides a background of the current Egyptian energy sector and a complete design of a photovoltaic system in the three geographical regions. It also discusses the challenges facing solar energy use in Egypt and possible methods to finance investment in the solar technology on a community scale. Government policy recommendations are proposed to promote the integration of renewable energy technology in the residential sector.