Predictive model of solar potential on building façades with the sky view factor as shading indicator

Building façades represent a considerable part of the urban surface and the solar energy they receive can significantly contribute to the whole urban solar potential. Extending the use of building facades to produce more renewable energy can help address the challenges of climate change, promote energy independence, and create economic benefits.

A major challenge in harnessing solar energy from vertical surfaces is the variation of solar availability on urban facades, which can be affected by orientation, neighboring buildings or vegetation. An easy, reliable and robust method for evaluating the solar potential of facades since the strategical stage of the building development can assist experts in designing façades where building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) can be efficiently implemented.

This study aims to identify a relationship between the variation of the sky view factor (SVF), a measure of the amount of sky that is visible from a given position, and the corresponding reduction of solar irradiation due to shading. This can then be used to predict the solar potential at each point on the façade on a monthly basis only depending on orientation, SVF value and geographical coordinates, drastically reducing the complexity of analysis and without requiring time-consuming tools.