Visual-SOLAR: Modeling and Visualization of Solar Radiation Potential on Individual Building Rooftops

Software · Wed May 01 04:00:00 EDT 2013

OSTI ID:1232367

We have developed a modeling framework for estimating solar radiation potentials on individual building rooftops that is suitable for utility-scale applications as well as building-specific applications. The framework uses light detection and ranging (LIDAR) data at approximately 1-meter horizontal resolution and 0.3-meter vertical resolution as input for modeling a large number of buildings quickly. One of the strengths of this framework is the ability to parallelize its implementation. Furthermore, the framework accounts for building specific characteristics, such as roof slope, roof aspect, and shadowing effects, that are critical to roof-mounted photovoltaic system. The resulting data has helped us to identify the so-called "solar panel sweet spots" on individual building rooftops and obtain accurate statistics of the variation in solar radiation as a function of time of year and geographical location.

• Short Name / Acronym: VISUAL-SOLAR; 003661IBMPC00
• Version: 00
• Programming Language(s): Medium: X; OS: Windows XP; Compatibility: IBM PC
• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• Contributing Organization: Olufemi A. Omitaomu, Budhendra L. Bhaduri, and Jeffrey B. Kodysh
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1232367
• Country of Origin: United States