UNIT 2 – Solar Control

• Solar geometry
• Solar Chart
• Sun angles and shadow angles
• Design of solar shading devices
LOCATING THE POSTION OF SUN
The position of sun on the sky hemisphere can be specified by two angles
• Solar altitude angle (γ) and
• solar azimuth angle (α)

SOLAR ALTITUDE ANGLE :

• The altitude angle (also known as the "solar
elevation angle") describes the angle γ
measured between a line from the
observer's position O to the sun and the
horizon.

SOLAR AZIMUTH ANGLE :

• In the Northern Hemisphere, the solar
azimuth angle is the angular distance
between due North and the projection of α
the line of sight to the sun N
 W

S N

E
Thus
• North= 0 deg or 360 deg
• East= 90 deg
• South = 180 deg
• West = 270
• These two angles can be read directly for any date of the year
and any hour of the day from the solar charts or sun path
diagrams.
• The sun’s paths at various dates are shown by a group of
curves extending from east to west which are intersected by
the short ‘hour lines’.
• The series of concentric circles establish a scale of altitude
angles and the perimeter scale gives azimuth angles.
1.Azimuth angle
2.Elevation angle
3.Sun's path today
4.Sun's path on the 21st June
5.Sun's path on the 21st December
6.Sun's path during the equinox
7.Sunrise
8.Sunset
9.Horizon
• Sun path diagram (also known as "solar path diagram", "sun chart" or
"solar chart") is a visualization of the sun's path through the sky.
• This path is formed by plotting azimuth (left‐right) and elevation (updown)
angles of the sun in a given day to a diagram.
• To find out the position azimuth = 60, elevation = 30, for example, imagine
standing at the center of the diagram heading to the true north.
• To find the azimuth angle 60, you must turn 60 degrees to the right.
• Now the altitude angle 30 can be located by raising your head 30 degrees
from the horizon.
• It can be seen from the diagram (3. "Sun's path today") that the sun rises
from the North‐East (azimuth = 60) in Tampere at 05:37. Sunset happens
at 21:20 when the sun is in the North‐West (azimuth = 300).
• On that day the elevation angle is approximately 50 degrees at noon.
Solar chart

Solar chart for Chennai

ANGLE OF INCIDENCE
• From these two angles the sun's position in relation to any wall surface of any
orientation (thus the angle of incidence) can be established.
• The horizontal component of angle of incidence (δ) will be the difference
between the solar azimuth(SA) and the wall azimuth(WA).
• The vertical component is same as the solar altitude angle itself (γ)

Definition:
• The angle of incidence (β) ,is the angle between a line perpendicular to the wall
and the sun's direction ,can be found by the spherical cosine equation
Cos β = Cos δ x Cos γ

Angle of incidence will be required

both for selecting the appropriate
solar gain factor in heat gain
calculations through windows and
for calculating the incident radiation
on an opaque surface. γ
β
SHADOW ANGLES
• Shadow angles express the sun's position in relation to a building face of given
orientation and can be used either to describe the performance of (i.e. the
shadow produced by) a given device or to specify a device.

Horizontal shadow angle (δ)

• Horizontal shadow angle (δ) is the

difference between solar azimuth and
wall azimuth, i.e the same as horizontal
component of angle of incidence.
• By convention, this is positive when the
sun is clockwise from the orientation
(when SA > WA) and negative when the
sun is anticlockwise (when SA < WA).
• When the HSA is between +/- 90 deg and
270 deg, then the sun is behind the
facade, the facade is in shade, there is no
HSA.
• The horizontal shadow angle describes
the performance of a vertical shading
device
Vertical shadow angle (ε)

• The vertical shadow angle is measured on a plane

perpendicular to the building face.
• Vertical shadow angle can exist only when the
Horizontal shadow angle is between -90 deg and
+90 deg, i.e. when the sun reaches the building
face considered.
• Vertical shadow angle characterizes a horizontal
shading device
• When the sun is directly opposite, i.e. when SA =
WA (HSA = 0 deg), the vertical shadow angle is
the same as the solar altitude angle (ε = γ).
• When the sun is sideways, its altitude angle will
be projected, parallel with the building face, onto
the perpendicular plane and the Vertical shadow
angle will be larger than the Altitude angle .
• Alternatively, vertical shadow angle can be
considered as the angle between two planes
meeting along a horizontal line on the building
face and which contains the point considered, ie.
between the horizontal plane and a tilted plane
which contains the sun or the edge of the a
shading device
SHADOW ANGLE PROTRACTOR:
• The shadow angle protractor gives a representation of the shadow angles
on a horizontal plan in stereographic projection and to the same scale as
the sun path diagram.
• This is a semi-circular protractor, showing two sets of lines-
• Radial lines marked 0 at centre to -90 to the left and +90 to the right, to
give readings of the horizontal shadow angle.
• Arcual lines , which coincide with the altitude circles along the centreline ,
but then deviate and converge at two corners of the protractor. These will
give readings of the vertical shadow angle.
SHADING DEVICES
External shading devices can be of three basic types

1. Vertical shading devices

2. Horizontal shading devices
3. Egg-crate shading devices.
 Vertical shading devices
• Vertical devices consist of louvre blades projecting fins in a vertical position.
• The horizontal shadow angle measures their performance.
• Narrow blades with close spacing may give the same shadow angle as broader
blades with wider spacing.
• Using shadow angle protractor, the shading mask of a given device can be
established.
• These devices are most effective when the sun is to one side of the elevation,
such as eastern or western elevation.
• A vertical device to be effective when sun is opposite the wall considered
would have to almost completely cover the whole window.
 Horizontal devices
• Horizontal device can be canopies,horizontal
louvre blades or externally applied venetian
blinds.
• Their performance will be measured by a
vertical shadow angle.
• The shading mask is of segmental shape.
• These will be most effective when the sun is
opposite to the building face considered and
at a high angle, such as north and south facing
walls.
• To cover low angles the device would have to
cover the window completely permitting only
downward view.
 Egg crate devices
• Egg crate devices are a combination
of horizontal and vertical shading
devices.
• The many types of grille-blocks and
decorative screens fall in to this
category.
• These can be effective for any
orientation depending on detail
dimensions