Paper Conference

Proceedings of SimBuild Conference 2012: 5th conference of IBPSA USA

     

Hardware Accelerated Computation of Direct Solar Radiation Through Transparent Shades and Screens

Nathaniel L. Jones, Donald P. Greenberg
Program of Computer Graphics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA

Abstract: Perforated and transparent shading devices can greatly reduce the amount of incident solar radiation on a building, but they present many challenges for building energy modeling. This paper describes two new methods for calculating direct solar gains on surfaces in geometrically complex environments. One handles shading surfaces containing irregular openings and intricate perforated patterns, while the other handles transparent shading surfaces. Both use fast shader programs written for graphics hardware to account for the effect of the shading surface's solar incidence angle on light transmission. The two methods can be used alone, together, or in conjunction with other shading algorithms. The effectiveness of these methods is graphically demonstrated on schematic design level architectural CAD models of real buildings with intricate shading devices. These fast algorithms allow the user to rapidly simulate thermal loads in EnergyPlus and compare the effects of many design alterations.
Pages: 595 - 602
Paper:
simbuild2012_09b_3_Jones