Analysis of research and development trends of solar photovoltaic buildings based on CiteSpace

To reduce carbon emissions from building operations, solar photovoltaic (PV) buildings have emerged as an important approach to integrating renewable energy into the built environment. This study conducts a bibliometric and visualization analysis using CiteSpace to systematically review 700 publications on solar PV buildings from 2004 to 2024. The aim is to identify key research hotspots, evolutionary trends, and future directions. Results reveal a steady growth in publications and a thematic shift from early studies on building-integrated PV design and energy efficiency optimization toward intelligent energy management and system integration. By analyzing co-occurrence networks and keyword clusters, this study highlights the transition of the field from an engineering-oriented focus to a holistic energy systems perspective. Compared with previous reviews, this work provides a more data-driven and evolutionary understanding of the research landscape, offering structured insights for future theoretical and practical advancements in solar PV building studies.