Benefit Mechanism and Enhancement Strategy of High‐Proportion Building Photovoltaic Systems Under Carbon Reduction Constraints

ABSTRACT Photovoltaics (PV) are a key pathway towards carbon neutrality in the building sector. However, under high‐proportion PV applications, intensified source–load mismatch and declining export value cause divergence between overall system benefits and PV utilisation benefits, whereas the related mechanisms remain unclear. This study establishes a benefit evaluation framework considering carbon reduction constraints, equivalent grid absorption costs and multi‐stakeholder benefit differences, revealing the contradiction between ‘overall benefit optimisation’ and ‘PV utilisation optimisation’. Based on a retrofit office building in Beijing, three technology‐oriented pathways, including thermal performance enhancement (I), heating and cooling electrification (II) and sole PV capacity expansion (III), were comparatively analyzed under a unified zero‐carbon constraint. Results show that the system comprehensive benefit rate follows III > I > II (13.3%/12.2%/10.4%), indicating that PV provides more direct economic returns than demand‐side energy‐saving measures under the current pricing mechanism. In contrast, the PV utilisation benefit rate follows II > I > III (16.8%/13.7%/13.3%), demonstrating that stronger source–load coordination improves the economic value of PV electricity. Further analysis indicates that benefit enhancement depends on the dual‐driven mechanism of ‘effective generation–effective utilisation’. Finally, a zero‐carbon building demonstration project was implemented, providing support for the benefit evaluation and optimisation of high‐proportion building PV systems.

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Publication Details

Journal
IET Smart Energy Systems
Published
2026-08-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1049/ses2.70040
Primary Topic
Integrated Energy Systems Optimization
Type
article
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article

Benefit Mechanism and Enhancement Strategy of High‐Proportion Building Photovoltaic Systems Under Carbon Reduction Constraints

Xinyu Zhang, Wenbo Cai, Yongzhi Zhou, Zhifeng Sun et al.
IET Smart Energy Systems
Integrated Energy Systems Optimization
article

Benefit Mechanism and Enhancement Strategy of High‐Proportion Building Photovoltaic Systems Under Carbon Reduction Constraints

Xinyu Zhang, Wenbo Cai, Yongzhi Zhou, Zhifeng Sun, Yi Zhang, Huishan Xiao, Boyuan Wang, Xiaochao Guo
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Photovoltaics (PV) are a key pathway towards carbon neutrality in the building sector. However, under high‐proportion PV applications, intensified source–load mismatch and declining export value cause divergence between overall system benefits and PV utilisation benefits, whereas the related mechanisms remain unclear. This study establishes a benefit evaluation framework considering carbon reduction constraints, equivalent grid absorption costs and multi‐stakeholder benefit differences, revealing the contradiction between ‘overall benefit optimisation’ and ‘PV utilisation optimisation’. Based on a retrofit office building in Beijing, three technology‐oriented pathways, including thermal performance enhancement (I), heating and cooling electrification (II) and sole PV capacity expansion (III), were comparatively analyzed under a unified zero‐carbon constraint. Results show that the system comprehensive benefit rate follows III > I > II (13.3%/12.2%/10.4%), indicating that PV provides more direct economic returns than demand‐side energy‐saving measures under the current pricing mechanism. In contrast, the PV utilisation benefit rate follows II > I > III (16.8%/13.7%/13.3%), demonstrating that stronger source–load coordination improves the economic value of PV electricity. Further analysis indicates that benefit enhancement depends on the dual‐driven mechanism of ‘effective generation–effective utilisation’. Finally, a zero‐carbon building demonstration project was implemented, providing support for the benefit evaluation and optimisation of high‐proportion building PV systems.

IET Smart Energy Systems
China Academy of Building Research (CN), Zhejiang University (CN), Tsinghua University (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 18%
Integrated Energy Systems Optimization
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