Solar Analysis on Surfaces

[AlexanderKoll]

All.

 

We are an Architecture and Urban Design firm in Sydney. We are looking for a tool / functionality that can measure the percentage of sunlight falling on the surface of an object.

We do a fair bit of building envelope modelling for feasibility studies, and large scale urban projects. We are looking for a tool that can specifically tell us the percentage of a surface, or a collection of surfaces on those envelopes that receive 2 hours of sunlight at different times of the year in Sydney. (measuring one date of the year at a time)

 

The tool would need to be able to graphically demonstrate the results as a "heat map" or otherwise, but specifically give us the percentage of selected surfaces receiving 2 hours. We would need the model to be able to calculate the overshadowing of adjacent envelopes, but give us specific info in individual surfaces, as well as an aggregated whole of all surfaces selected.

 

We are prepared to spend some money to get the right tool to do the job, and prepared to look at software packages outside of Vectorworks if need be. The only thing that would be particularly useful to us is if the tool worked on a Mac. We keep everything up to date OS + VW are the latest on all machines.

 

Attached is some imagery of similar tools we are aware of in alternative CAD packages, and some manual modeling that we have prepared for previous projects.

 

PERCENTAGE_01.pdf

PERCENTAGE_02.pdf

[Tom Klaber]

 

I am interested in this too.

There were whisperings of an integration like this a couple of years back - but it never came to fruition.  I was hoping that Energos would be that, but it is just analytical and not graphical.  I used Ecotect back in the day  - but then it was bought by Autodesk - mothballed - and eventually rolled into Revit.  

It would be great if VW could do this type of analytic rendering.

 

[lilah]

This tool is also very necessary for us

[zoomer]

Not 100% sure but I think latest Enscape offers also a light intensity view.

Not sure if it offers all what you need.

 

And there was a free App from the light industry, forgot the name.

Dialux (?) https://www.dialux.com/en-GB/

Early 2000s it worked still by radiosity ....

Edited September 3, 2022 by zoomer

[unearthed]

There's a sketchup plugin Chronolux https://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=40569, I played with it several years ago when I wanted that kind of output, it made useful files. Written by a Russian architect https://ls-software.com/, but may have to hunt the web for a copy.

 

Google scholar: chronolux sketchup -  has some useful current cases so looks like it works in newer Sketchup.

[lilah]

Is it possible to change the lighting shades to match the solar radiation index?

[GatRed]

Looks like Chronolux is only available through LSS Arch extension now.

Would it be possible to get this kind of tool through Script or Marionette ?

We also would need this kind of tool  > be able to get images with gradients depending of the number of hours of direct insolation but also to get the number of hours of direct insolation of a specific area and for a defined duration.

 

Here is an example of a report available on the internet with comparison values of insolation we would like to manage to get :

https://perie-archi.fr/medias/etude-ensoleillement-exemple.pdf

 

@sbarrett?

Edited March 14, 2023 by GatRed

[GatRed]

I found the Lady Bug Tools, open source, written with Python which are awesome : https://www.ladybug.tools

Unfortunatly, they run on Rhino/Grasshopper, but they are really awesome.

I think Vectorworks Inc. should have a look…