Conference Paper

Proceedings of Building Simulation 2021: 17th Conference of IBPSA

Tree shading factor as input for thermal model through hemispherical photography

Suyashi Srivastava ¹, Swati Puchalapalli ², Dr. Marshal Maskarenj ^3
1 Building Energy Performance, CEPT University
² Terra Viridis, Hyderabad
³ Universite Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26868/25222708.2021.30272
Abstract: Solar irradiation contributes to heat gain through building envelopes and has a significant impact on building energy consumption. Trees help reduce incident irradiation and need to be considered as exterior obstructions in energy models. Deploying robust models in early design stages is integral to designing energy efficient buildings. The challenge lies with the limited research on individual tree shade characteristics, in the domain of building energy simulation. A simplified methodology considering tree shade factors incorporating the essence of the complex underlying geometry - without compromising on data accuracy for detailed energy estimation in various engines - is thus required. This work presents Shading Factor (SHF) as a dynamic temporal schedule, calculated using data measured from on-site hemispherical photographs and simulations performed in Honeybee tools in Rhino Grasshopper, for modellers to use as alternative to arbitrary shading values.
Keywords: Transmissivity, Tree shading factor, Indian tree species, Hemispherical photography
Pages: 1341 - 1348
Paper: