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Solar intensity into a space

QUESTION:

Is it possible to calculate the solar intensity penetrating glazing and striking individual internal surfaces of a zone ?

ANSWER:

Yes.

You first need to select the internal surface you are interested in and make sure its surface normal is pointing in the direction you expect the Solar Radiation to come from (using Ctrl+R to reverse it if necessary). As an example, if you are interested in the insolation falling on the floor of a zone, you will need to reverse its normal from the standard "outside" (downwards) orientation you would have in a normal thermal calc.

Then use the Calculate » Solar Exposure function, and choose the time period that you are interested in - and that's basically it.

You will get a graph of the W/m2 over either a day or year, as well as a table of numerical data for the object. This calculation will also consider the effect of any (semi-)transparent objects that may lie between your selected object and the Sun.

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Solar radiation on an exposed surface


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