Evaluation of Direct Sunlight Availability Using a 360° Camera
One important aspect to consider when buying a house or apartment is adequate solar exposure. The same applies to the evaluation of the shadowing effects of existing buildings on prospective construction sites and vice versa. In different climates and seasons, it is not always easy to assess if ther...
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MDPI AG
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Solar |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9941/4/4/26 |
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| author | Diogo Chambel Lopes Isabel Nogueira |
| author_facet | Diogo Chambel Lopes Isabel Nogueira |
| author_sort | Diogo Chambel Lopes |
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| description | One important aspect to consider when buying a house or apartment is adequate solar exposure. The same applies to the evaluation of the shadowing effects of existing buildings on prospective construction sites and vice versa. In different climates and seasons, it is not always easy to assess if there will be an excess or lack of sunlight, and both can lead to discomfort and excessive energy consumption. The aim of our project is to design a method to quantify the availability of direct sunlight to answer these questions. We developed a tool in Octave to calculate representative parameters, such as sunlight hours per day over a year and the times of day for which sunlight is present, considering the surrounding objects. The apparent sun position over time is obtained from an existing algorithm and the surrounding objects are surveyed using a picture taken with a 360° camera from a window or other sunlight entry area. The sky regions in the picture are detected and all other regions correspond to obstructions to direct sunlight. The sky detection is not fully automatic, but the sky swap tool in the camera software could be adapted by the manufacturer for this purpose. We present the results for six representative test cases. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f48e459bb09d439e9af4669c1156f7b5 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2673-9941 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Solar |
| spelling | doaj-art-f48e459bb09d439e9af4669c1156f7b52025-08-20T02:01:19ZengMDPI AGSolar2673-99412024-10-014455557110.3390/solar4040026Evaluation of Direct Sunlight Availability Using a 360° CameraDiogo Chambel Lopes0Isabel Nogueira1Ci2—Smart Cities Research Center, Polytechnic Institute of Tomar, 2300-313 Tomar, PortugalCi2—Smart Cities Research Center, Polytechnic Institute of Tomar, 2300-313 Tomar, PortugalOne important aspect to consider when buying a house or apartment is adequate solar exposure. The same applies to the evaluation of the shadowing effects of existing buildings on prospective construction sites and vice versa. In different climates and seasons, it is not always easy to assess if there will be an excess or lack of sunlight, and both can lead to discomfort and excessive energy consumption. The aim of our project is to design a method to quantify the availability of direct sunlight to answer these questions. We developed a tool in Octave to calculate representative parameters, such as sunlight hours per day over a year and the times of day for which sunlight is present, considering the surrounding objects. The apparent sun position over time is obtained from an existing algorithm and the surrounding objects are surveyed using a picture taken with a 360° camera from a window or other sunlight entry area. The sky regions in the picture are detected and all other regions correspond to obstructions to direct sunlight. The sky detection is not fully automatic, but the sky swap tool in the camera software could be adapted by the manufacturer for this purpose. We present the results for six representative test cases.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9941/4/4/26sunlight availabilitybuildingsdirect sunlight obstructions360° imagessolar energy |
| spellingShingle | Diogo Chambel Lopes Isabel Nogueira Evaluation of Direct Sunlight Availability Using a 360° Camera Solar sunlight availability buildings direct sunlight obstructions 360° images solar energy |
| title | Evaluation of Direct Sunlight Availability Using a 360° Camera |
| title_full | Evaluation of Direct Sunlight Availability Using a 360° Camera |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of Direct Sunlight Availability Using a 360° Camera |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of Direct Sunlight Availability Using a 360° Camera |
| title_short | Evaluation of Direct Sunlight Availability Using a 360° Camera |
| title_sort | evaluation of direct sunlight availability using a 360° camera |
| topic | sunlight availability buildings direct sunlight obstructions 360° images solar energy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9941/4/4/26 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT diogochambellopes evaluationofdirectsunlightavailabilityusinga360camera AT isabelnogueira evaluationofdirectsunlightavailabilityusinga360camera |