On a terrace in Anna Nagar, Chennai, the roof over an office café is made of solar panels. There is no metal sheet above the glass and no second roof below it. The solar glass is the roof. It makes power all day, lets soft daylight through, and keeps the rain out.
What is a BIPV canopy?
BIPV means building-integrated photovoltaics. In a normal rooftop system, panels sit on top of a roof that already exists. In BIPV, the panels replace a building material: a facade, a skylight or, here, a canopy roof.
That changes the job. A normal panel only has to make power. A BIPV canopy must also be a good roof: strong in cyclone winds, safe to sit under, and dry through a Chennai monsoon.
The project at a glance
- 58.9 kWp of solar on the terrace of the IMI (Inter Mode International) office
- Two canopies on a steel frame, sloped at 10°
- Glass-glass solar panels with clear gaps between the cells, so daylight filters through
- Underneath: a shaded café and breakout space with seating, fans and plants
Why this canopy is leak-proof
Most solar canopies leak at the joints. Panels are clamped to rails with gaps between them, and rain runs straight through. That is fine over a car park. It is not fine over tables and laptops.
We designed this one the way glass skylights are built:
- Sealed joints. Rubber gaskets grip each glass edge from above and below, and an aluminium capping clamps them shut.
- A second line of seals. More gaskets close the cross-joints, and a push gasket seals the edge where the canopy meets the staircase room.
- A 10° slope. Rain runs off to the edges and rinses dust off the glass on the way.
- A walkway on top. A custom metal walkway between the two canopies lets our team clean and service the panels without stepping on the glass.
The frame, the seals and the walkway were designed for this one terrace, around its stair room and water tank. No off-the-shelf kit. The result is a leak-proof solar roof.
Built for a real Chennai rooftop
Real terraces have water tanks, stair rooms and coconut trees. Here, every one or two panels has its own optimizer, so a palm frond shading one corner does not drag down the whole row. After commissioning, we surveyed the shade on site, and we track each panel's output online.
Is a BIPV canopy right for your building?
It makes sense where you need a roof anyway: a terrace café, a car park, a walkway or a pergola. You pay once and get both a roof and a power plant.
It costs more per kWp than a standard rooftop system, because the frame and the seals do more work. In return, you get space people can actually use. For the full picture, read our BIPV explainer or see more case studies.
Got a terrace that could be a roof?
Send us 3 or 4 photos of the space on WhatsApp. An engineer will tell you whether a solar canopy fits, and roughly what size. No charge.
Send photos on WhatsAppFAQ
Does a solar canopy leak?
One built from panels clamped to rails can, because rain gets through the gaps. A sealed BIPV canopy uses rubber gaskets and an aluminium capping at every joint, the way a glass skylight does.
Can you sit under a solar canopy?
Yes, if it is built as a roof. Glass-glass panels let daylight through between the cells, and the steel frame is designed for wind loads, so the space below works as a café, walkway or car park.
How is BIPV different from rooftop solar?
Rooftop solar sits on top of a finished roof. BIPV replaces part of the building, such as a canopy, skylight or facade, so the same glass is both the roof and the power plant.