Aesthetic perception of photovoltaic integration within new proposals for ecological architecture

Architecture has become an important field of research on the mitigation of climate change. The literature contains a number of environmental studies of buildings and energy efficiency improvements analysis. Important advances have also been made by integrating renewable energies within the building envelope. In architecture, however, it must be remembered that the formal aspect is as important as the functional one, and therefore rating the aesthetic perception of these new technologies is very interesting to better integrate more sustainable technologies in the city. This work focuses on the real opinion of the citizens about the aesthetic impact resulting from the use of photovoltaic systems in buildings. A survey was conducted using the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) to evaluate the feelings through two classic dimensions of affect: hedonic valence (pleasant-unpleasant) and arousal (activation or emotional intensity). Overall, results (error range of 5%) show that all the prototypes were rated positively and with a medium level of arousal, although the integrated systems obtained higher values in both dimensions of affect. The degree of appreciation of the installation by the observer has proved to be a powerful factor. On a socio-demographic level, respondents' age was observed as an influential factor in these subjective evaluations.