Solar Radiation Studies

This study aims to systematically apply a range of analytical methods for the quantification of solar radiation effects on the exterior building surfaces and ground planes on a selected project site. Further, develop an advanced understanding of the interactive effects of building & site design (such as building orientation), external elements (such as static shading devices), and local climate on solar resources in the form of time-aggregated radiation gains for improved environmental responsiveness and awareness of local environmental/natural sources.

Axonometric view of our building case model. The highlighted gray portion is our case
study building and the blue highlighted portions are the glazing on our case study building

In the first section, we extracted the climate data using the grasshopper script for the building case located in Los Angeles, CA. As per the ASHRAE climate zone, LA comes under the 3B-Dry climate zone. We carried out solar performance simulations, which includes solar energy density simulations for our building case, a shading design proposal, and sun-shadow butterfly diagrams.