Historically commercial construction did not consider future use of distributed renewable energy sources such as solar energy. Sustainable energy was not a major driver for building innovations. The value that could be added to a building by making it suitable for solar energy generation was underestimated. As a result, in its current state only some of the existing commercial buildings are highly suitable for solar technology applications.

Current energy realities change this perception. Solar energy represents a perfect distributed energy resource for commercial and residential buildings; even more, very often it is the only available local energy resource. Increasing energy prices, energy security and climate change issues make suitability for solar energy generation an important requirement to and component of architectural design.

Applying sustainable energy approach to “elite” or advanced new construction only does not seem to be a solution any more. We need massive deployment of solar energy applications in existing buildings and all of the new construction. This deployment is becoming an integral part of community energy plans. But how many existing and currently designed buildings and houses allow efficient solar energy generation? What is or could be the role of solar component in their energy mix? What could be the contribution of this component in CO2 reduction measures? And how could we advance the market acceptance and preference for buildings that are more suitable for solar generation and as a result may have considerably lower “life cycle costs”?

There is one basic answer to these questions: solar suitability of all existing and future buildings should be assessed and documented, and the results of this assessment should be presented in the format easily usable by a broad group of construction and real estate professionals and the general public.

Commercial solar suitability studies conducted by Green Power Labs provide building professionals – developers, architects, engineers, commercial property owners and managers – with comprehensive information on the role solar energy can play in building’s energy mix: solar suitability of building surfaces – roofs and walls, amount of energy that can be generated on these surfaces, applicable technologies and their costs, and finally return on investment and positive environmental impact.