Building Integrated Photovoltaics 

[Transcript of video narration]
Canada’s natural resources are among the most diversified in the world. But the road to a low-carbon future has its challenges.
Here’s the situation: each year, the energy consumed by Canadian residential, commercial and institutional buildings accounts for nearly a quarter of our country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
But what can be done?
Every day, scientists and engineers at Natural Resources Canada’s CanmetENERGY research centres are working to find low-cost, renewable energy solutions to this issue.
Here’s how.
There are many ways to reduce the environmental footprint of our buildings, such as installing renewable energy technologies on buildings themselves.
In Canada, the most common clean technology installed on buildings are photovoltaic panels - also called solar panels -, which use the sun’s energy to generate electricity without emitting greenhouse gases.
Because photovoltaic systems are typically found on rooftops, the surface area that can be used to produce electricity is limited. These systems can also pose a challenge in terms of building aesthetics.
Today, one of the most promising technologies to generate on-site, green electricity for buildings is building-integrated photovoltaics.
Building-integrated photovoltaic products can replace construction materials and generate solar electricity. Photovoltaic cells are integrated directly into cladding materials, shingles or windows. They come in various colors, shapes and sizes, and look like traditional building materials.
Using this technology, almost any building component - including the roof, façade, windows, canopies or balcony railings - can become like a solar panel.
As a result, buildings can self-generate a larger portion of their electricity from a free and clean energy source.
Building-integrated photovoltaics are one of the many technologies that CanmetENERGY believes will help make Canada a safer, healthier place, and create a low-carbon economy.
And it’s only the beginning.
CanmetENERGY: science at the service of all Canadians.

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