Executive Summary
The new residential construction building industry can play a significant
role in deploying BIPV technology. The best methods to encourage this
industry to participate in the use of BIPV technology have not been significantly
studied by the BIPV and PV industry.
The study of innovation literature has shown that there are many aspects
that must be considered when making an effort to accelerate the adoption
and diffusion of innovative technologies. The aspects most relevant to
a specific industry must be determined and then
focused upon to make best use of any policy, market approach and market
structure. The innovation literature that was investigated indicated that
the construction industry is as innovative as many other industries in
terms of localized innovation, but can be considered a
“laggard” in systemic type innovation that requires multiple
firms to change their processes. The adoption and diffusion of BIPV can
be considered a localized innovation and therefore the focus
on “early adopter” residential building companies can result
in higher adoption and diffusion rates of BIPV rather than a generalized
approach to the building industry.