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The building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system have recently drawn interest and have demonstrated high potential to assist building owners supply both thermal and electrical loads. In this paper, the BIPV technology has been reviewed, in terms of its performance, efficiency and power generation capacity. Specifically, the applications of the BIPV in tropical climate regions have been discussed, together with its prospects and challenges. For these schemes to be implemented in a tropical climatic region, the following issues must be considered: 1) Certain studies must be done relating to electrical load demand, predicted PV output, location of the buildings and its integration and constraints associated with roof design; 2) For the highest energy production from solar PV, the solar collectors need to be with the right tilt depending on the location; 3) Design criteria such as safety, efficiency, durability, flexibility and constructive issues need to be considered; 4) The government of such countries must train electricians and carpenters on PV installations; 5) The BIPV roofing must perform same function as normal roofing materials, such as noise protection, water tightness, insulation and climate protection, and 6) As practiced around the world, these countries must establish design standards for the BIPV.

Hydro kinetic water wheel turbines are known to be conventional systems for energy harvesting in rural communities around the globe. Different turbine systems have been analyzed to produce promising energy with a head difference ranging from 1-100's of meters but little has been done to come up with a zero head system for energy harvest mainly due to the fact that their efficiencies have not being studied well and optimized. The concept of this research concentrates on the angle of inclination of this turbine with respect to the water flow in an undershoot zero head system. In this research, series of experiments were conducted on 3 different turbines with equal width and diameter of 220(mm) each. Angle of inclination of this turbines varies in to 30 o , 60 o and 90 o with respect to the water flow. Performance of these turbines is studied and the output power, torque, and efficiencies are compared to ascertain the best in such condition. Each turbine was designed using a plastic plate of 2(mm) thickness. Potential of this type of turbine is displayed to be used in a zero head flow to harness the loss energy of free flowing waters in irrigation canals and water streams.

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