Towards Innovative Building Renovation Through Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV): A Comprehensive Review

Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs) offer significant potential for energy-efficient building renovations by seamlessly integrating renewable energy generation into the built environment. This work highlights the strategic opportunity for BIPV within the current European and international context, where the building stock faces an increasingly urgent need for large-scale rehabilitation. BIPV solutions and products for building retrofit are reviewed holistically considering thermal insulation, solar control, daylighting, architectural design, aesthetics, and electrical performance to optimise energy savings and increase social acceptance. A selection of nine international case studies illustrates the versatility of BIPV across diverse building typologies, including projects focused on heritage preservation for which targeted measures are proposed. Despite the opportunities, BIPV adoption remains limited, primarily due to regulatory, economic, and socio-cultural barriers. The specific challenges of BIPV retrofitting in heritage and protected buildings are also examined. Multiple studies have demonstrated BIPV cost-effectiveness, especially when fiscal incentives, environmental co-benefits, and architectural factors are considered. Nonetheless, affordability remains a barrier for many households, highlighting the need for comprehensive financial support to accelerate market uptake. This review is intended to provide a broad audience—including researchers, architects, building professionals, and decision-makers—with a comprehensive, structured overview of BIPV renovation opportunities.