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Solar: SunCast
User Guide
IES Virtual Environment
Copyright © 2014 Integrated Environmental Solutions Limited. All rights reserved.
No part of the manual is to be copied or reproduced in any form without the express agreement of Integrated Environmental Solutions Limited.
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Contents
1 Introduction to SunCast .............................................................................................................. 3
1.1 SunCast Features .................................................................................................................3
1.2 Getting Help ........................................................................................................................3
2 Starting SunCast ......................................................................................................................... 3
2.1 Application Bar ....................................................................................................................3
2.2 Mode ...................................................................................................................................4
3 The Model View ......................................................................................................................... 5
3.1 Model Browser ....................................................................................................................5
3.2 Room Obstruction Status .....................................................................................................7
3.3 Surface Obstruction Status ...................................................................................................8
4 The Image View .......................................................................................................................... 8
4.1 Copy an Image .....................................................................................................................9
4.2 Save Image(s) .................................................................................................................... 10
4.3 Zoom All Images ................................................................................................................ 11
4.4 Create AVI Movie ............................................................................................................... 11
5 The Analysis View ..................................................................................................................... 12
5.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................... 12
5.1.1 Solar Energy Analysis ................................................................................................................................. 13
5.1.2 Solar Exposure Analysis ............................................................................................................................. 13
5.1.3 Methodology Notes ................................................................................................................................... 13
5.1.4 Other Notes ............................................................................................................................................... 14
5.2 Simulation Setup ............................................................................................................... 14
5.3 Display Setup ..................................................................................................................... 15
5.4 Results Persistence ............................................................................................................ 17
5.4.1 Load ........................................................................................................................................................... 18
5.4.2 Save ............................................................................................................................................................ 19
6 The SunCast Toolbar ................................................................................................................. 19
6.1 Load Settings ..................................................................................................................... 19
6.2 Save Settings ..................................................................................................................... 20
6.3 Select Zone(s) .................................................................................................................... 20
6.4 Image Script ....................................................................................................................... 20
6.5 SunPath ............................................................................................................................. 21
6.6 Sun Up/Down Times .......................................................................................................... 21
6.7 Sun Rise/Set Graph ............................................................................................................ 21
6.8 Solar Shading Analysis ....................................................................................................... 21
7 SunCast Menu .......................................................................................................................... 21
7.1 Load Settings ..................................................................................................................... 22
7.2 Save Settings ..................................................................................................................... 22
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7.3 Load Shading Results ......................................................................................................... 22
7.4 Load Images ...................................................................................................................... 22
7.5 Save Images ....................................................................................................................... 22
7.6 Load AVI Movie ................................................................................................................. 22
7.7 Export GSK file ................................................................................................................... 22
8 Site Menu ................................................................................................................................. 23
8.1 Location............................................................................................................................. 24
8.2 Plan ................................................................................................................................... 24
9 Image Menu ............................................................................................................................. 25
9.1 Single Image ...................................................................................................................... 25
9.2 Timed Images .................................................................................................................... 26
9.3 Fly-Round .......................................................................................................................... 26
9.4 Sun-view Images ................................................................................................................ 26
10 Calculation Menu ..................................................................................................................... 26
10.1 Solar Shading for Apache ................................................................................................... 27
10.2 Sun Up/Down Data ............................................................................................................ 29
10.3 Sun Up/Down Graph .......................................................................................................... 30
10.4 SunPath ............................................................................................................................. 31
11 Options Menu .......................................................................................................................... 32
11.1 Ground Plane Settings ....................................................................................................... 33
11.2 Surface/Shading Colours .................................................................................................... 33
11.3 Clock Position in Images ..................................................................................................... 34
11.4 Model Obstructions ........................................................................................................... 35
12 View Menu ............................................................................................................................... 35
13 Help Menu ................................................................................................................................ 37
14 Miscellaneous ........................................................................................................................... 37
14.1 Zoom to an Area of an Image ............................................................................................. 37
14.2 Definition of Azimuth and Altitude ..................................................................................... 38
14.2.1 Azimuth ...................................................................................................................................................... 38
14.2.2 Altitude ...................................................................................................................................................... 40
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1 Introduction to SunCast
1.1 SunCast Features
SunCast can be used at any stage of the design process to perform shading and solar insolation studies and can generate images and animations quickly and easily from a model created by the IES ModelBuilder.
SunCast can be used to investigate:
External obstruction and self-shading of a building.
Solar mapping through windows and openings.
The effects of changing orientation of building.
SunCast generates shadows and internal solar insolation from any sun position defined by date, time, orientation, site latitude and longitude. This shadow information can be stored for subsequent analysis by:
Viewing shadows from any eye position.
Animating the solar analyses by generating a sequence of images and creating an *.avi movie to send to your client.
Making opaque surfaces "transparent" to permit the user to better view the solar insolation on internal surfaces e.g. “removing” roofs or surfaces to identify internal solar insolation paths.
Displaying solar surface shading/insolation statistics.
Output data for thermal simulation (see documentation on Apache).
SunCast can be used in a variety of studies including passive solar design and is essential at the planning stage to visualize the effect of the building on surrounding buildings. SunCast has also been used to study problems such as grass growth in sports stadia and ‘right of light’ issues. In addition, because it is possible to remove surfaces to investigate solar penetration, SunCast can be used to investigate internal design issues from office layouts to positioning of art in museums.
1.2 Getting Help
In SunCast the user can get help at any time on the current section.
To do this press the F1 function key .
2 Starting SunCast
2.1 Application Bar
SunCast is activated from the “Solar” group in the Application bar (it is currently the only application in this group).
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2.2 Mode
SunCast operates in three modes:
The traditional “Model” view showing the Model Browser and Viewport of the model, with all the standard features of this view (see ModelIT documentation for more information) -
An alternative “Images” tab showing image generation options and stored images, this is unique to SunCast and is explained in more detail below.
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And an “Analysis” tab for visual analysis of Solar Energy and Solar Exposure on your building using the new Model Viewer II.
3 The Model View
3.1 Model Browser
This has the standard “Model Browser” window which can be used to navigate through the model in the traditional way by selecting rooms or surfaces using the “Up” and “Down” to change the “level of decomposition”.
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The two reasons to do this are to change the “Status” of the selected object and to browse through the Solar Shading data (see section 10.1).
First selecting the room either from the browser or graphically from the Viewport.
Right-click on room to bring up the pop-up menu:
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Drag the cursor over the menu to highlight the option required.
The “Set Surfaces ►” option can be used to set the status of all “Floors”, “Walls” and “Ceilings” in the selected zone –
3.2 Room Obstruction Status
Each room/zone in the model can be set to one of the following obstruction states:
Opaque - this is the “normal” obstruction state of a room.
Invisible - this obstruction state hides the room from view but still allows it to cast shadows on other objects in the model.
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Ground Obstruction - a separate obstruction state used to represent terrain.
3.3 Surface Obstruction Status
Every surface in the model can be set to one of the following obstruction states:
Opaque - this is the “normal” obstruction state of a surface.
Invisible - as with rooms when a surface is set to hidden it cannot be seen in any generated images but still casts shadows.
Transparent - the surface when flagged as transparent acts in the same manner as an opening and allows all light to pass through it.
Null - when the obstruction state is set to superficies (“hole”) the surface is left out of the calculations.
4 The Image View Clicking on the “Images” tab will bring up the images window enabling the creation and selection of the images.
At the top of this tab is a toolbar (the Image toolbar) –
Add images to the list.
Delete the selected images from the list.
Delete all the images.
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Copy the current image to the clipboard.
Save the images.
Print the image.
Zoom all the images to the current setting.
Create a movie (AVI) of the images
We then have the image generation tabs, followed by the “Progress Bar” which is active when a series of images is being generated, followed by the list of images. The slider to the left of the list can be used to scroll through the images.
The “Cancel” button can be used to interrupt the generation of images.
The four image tabs are described in the following sections and can also be activated from the “Image” menu.
The “Create New Image(s)”, “Delete Image(s)” and “Delete All Images” can also be activated from the “Image” menu rather than the toolbar.
4.1 Copy an Image
Select the image required from the image list.
Click on the “Copy” button on the “Image List” toolbar.
The image is now in the system clipboard and can be pasted into most applications.
When pasted, details of the image taken are included, giving: view time, latitude, longitude, model bearing, and sun and eye azimuths and altitudes, as shown below –
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4.2 Save Image(s)
Select the image(s) required from the image list.
Click the “Save” icon on the image list toolbar .
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The following dialogue window will appear:
Here you can choose to save the images that have been selected in the image list. The images can have header information (as seen on printed output) by checking the box at the bottom of the window.
4.3 Zoom All Images
If you have zoomed in (or out) on a particular image and want all the other images in the sequence you
have created to have the same zoom settings, then click on the “Apply zoom to all other images” button.
4.4 Create AVI Movie
Clicking on the “Create video” button pops-up the following window -
Make the required adjustments to the parameters and click the “Make the video” button, this pops-up the following window -
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Once again make the required adjustments to the parameters and click the “OK” button to create the AVI.
5 The Analysis View
5.1 Overview
The Solar Analysis feature allows you to visually evaluate the sun intensity and exposure of your building’s façade in 3D (using Model Viewer II) over a specified time period and at a more granular level of detail if required. This can be used, for example, to assess your building for potential placement of PVs; access to sun, pedestrian comfort and landscaping. Access to this feature is through the “Analysis” tab as seen below.
There are two solar analysis options to choose from: Energy Analysis and Exposure Analysis. These are described in more detail below.
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5.1.1 Solar Energy Analysis
This calculation uses SunCast and Apache to generate hourly solar shading and external incident solar flux data which is then used to produce the energy results in kWh or kWh/m² for the specified period.
Calculation (for each external surface):
1. Summate the hourly solar flux values. ∑(W/m²) => Wh/m²
2. Convert the value to kWh/m². Wh/m² ÷ 1000
3. Optionally then convert the value to kWh. kWh/m² × Area
See section 5.1.3 for more info.
5.1.2 Solar Exposure Analysis
This calculation uses SunCast’s generated hourly solar shading data to produce the exposure results in hours and percentage of available hours for the specified period.
Calculation (for each external surface):
1. Summate the hourly percentage area values. ∑(% area) => Hours
2. Optionally then convert the value to % available. (Hours ÷ Available Hours) × 100
See section 5.1.3 for more info.
5.1.3 Methodology Notes
There are some general points to note when using the Solar Analysis feature. These are listed below:
Results are only produced for the external surfaces of Rooms. Adjacent Buildings, Topographical Shades and Local Shades are ignored.
External surfaces include: walls, roofs and windows but not floors or doors.
As with normal SunCast calculations, a single design day is used for each month. This result is then used for every day of the month. Please note Apache still produces results for each and every day as normal.
For each hour the sun is considered either up or down for that hour. The exact sun up/down time isn’t taken into account.
The SunCast surface results returned are for ‘Percentage Area’. Percentage Area = Area In Sun ÷ Total Surface Area. See section 10.1 for more details.
The Apache surface results returned are for ‘Ext surface incident solar flux’. See ‘Calculation of Incident Solar Flux’ for more details.
The results displayed are an accumulation of the hourly results for the display period specified. As the results output from SunCast/Apache are on the hour, the accumulation of results is inclusive of the start and end time, i.e. the number of results = (end − start) + 1. For example: A single day analysis between 0800 and 1800 is the accumulation of 11 results.
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5.1.4 Other Notes
When viewing results in Model Viewer II, please be aware that turning shadows on will apply lighting/shading to the model and therefore affect the false colours shown. This means you may not be able to match up the surface colours with the legend colours accurately.
Energy Analysis - Model Viewer II, like SunCast, does not take into account daylight savings time (DST), so please be aware of this when viewing shadows on your model during the DST shift. Please note Apache does produce results which take into account DST.
5.2 Simulation Setup
Setting up your simulation is easy and comes with a range of options as seen below.
The first option lets you choose your desired simulation period. This can be a full year, a single month, a single day, or a specific date range.
The next option is whether or not you want to take into account diffuse shading factors when running your simulation. The will make your Energy Analysis results more accurate; however it comes at the cost of increasing your simulation time. The Exposure Analysis is not affected by this output but the option is still there in case you want to then go on and perform Energy Analysis.
The last option allows you to get a more detailed analysis and visual result by slicing up your building’s façade into square metre (or feet) grid cells. Again this option comes at the cost of increasing your simulation time. Below is an example with the ‘hi-resolution grid’ option turned off and on.
Once results have been generated they can be saved and opened again later (see section 5.4).
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5.3 Display Setup
When you have results to work with you can then view them in Model Viewer II.
There are various options to change what and how you visualize you results.
The first option allows you to select what values you want to apply to your model and depends on the analysis performed, for example in kWh/m² or kWh.
The second option allows to you to filter results by only applying colour to surfaces that have values above or below a certain threshold. This could possibly be used to easily identify ‘hot’ or ‘cold’ spots on the façade of your building. For example:
The third option allows you to only apply colours to certain types of surfaces on your model. You can choose from: the entire building; walls only; roofs only; or windows only. See below:
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The fourth option lets you choose what colour scale is applied to the model.
There are 13 colour scales in the list to choose from as standard.
Infrared Standard
Infrared Cold
Infrared Warm
Infrared Hot
Spectrum Full
Spectrum Part
Spectrum Cold
Spectrum Mid
Spectrum Warm
Spectrum Hot
Mono Brown
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Mono Sepia
Mono Blue
You can add to this list by creating your own colour scales. These should be in bitmap image format (.bmp; 24bit; 512x1px), and added to the <VE>’s Shared Content directory under the ‘media/gradients’ folder (i.e. ‘C:\Program Files (x86)\IES\Shared Content\media\gradients’). For example:
The fifth option allows you to change how each surface value is scaled in order to determine the final output colour. The three options are ‘Relative’ and ‘Absolute’ and ‘Custom’. The colours are calculated as follows:
Relative [min..max] ( value − minimum ) ÷ ( maximum − minimum )
Absolute [0..max] ( value ÷ maximum )
Custom* [min..max] ( value − minimum ) ÷ ( maximum − minimum )
* - user defined scale
The difference is shown below:
And finally the last option is the display range allowing you to change cumulative value applied to the model. The range can be anything within the simulated range.
Once you have setup your display options, click ‘Apply’ to bring up / update your model in the viewer.
5.4 Results Persistence
As performing the Solar Analysis simulations can be time consuming you have the ability to save the results out to (a cab) file and load them back in again for future reference.
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5.4.1 Load
When loading in previous results for Solar Analysis you will be presented with the dialog below which gives you two options - Simple and Advanced.
Simple mode:
This option will list all cab files under your current project’s ‘SunCast/Analysis’ folder. These cab files are generated by the Solar Analysis save feature (see section 5.4.2 for more details). Simply selected the cab file you want to load and click OK. This will load in the results and display the model contained within the cab file.
Advanced mode:
This option allows you to specify, separately, the Geometry (.gsk), the Shading (.shd), and Apache (.aps) files to apply. The Geometry files listed (if any) will be all the ones under the ‘SunCast’ subfolder that were created using the ‘Export GSK file’ option in the SunCast menu. The Shading files listed (if any) will be all the ones under the ‘SunCast’ project subfolder. The Apache files listed (if any) will be all the ones under the ‘Vista’ project subfolder that contain ‘External incident solar flux’ data. (Please refer to the Apache Simulation > Output Options documentation for more details.) Using this option is not recommended unless you know what you’re doing, and is mainly for when you haven’t run Solar Analysis before but have results you could use. Once you have selected the Shading and Apache files you want to load, basic checks will be performed on the files - against the model and each other - to see if they can be used. Please note, due to the simplicity of the checks, it is possible that invalid data could be applied to your model. You should always try to use the Solar Analysis save feature and load the results back in from the cab file as they’re guaranteed to match the model.
Once you have loaded the results, you can then go and visualize them as normal. The UI will be marked as below indicating you are using loaded results/model to avoid any confusion.
Please note if you make any changes to the simulation options and hit ‘Simulate’ the loaded results (and model) will be wiped and your current model will be used to perform the analysis calculations as normal. Unfortunately there is no way to make changes to the previously loaded results/model.
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5.4.2 Save
Once a simulation has been run you can save the analysis results for later investigation.
Upon clicking the ‘Save’ button you will be presented with the dialog below:
This allows you to specify the name of the cab file. The location of the cab file is fixed to the ‘SunCast/Analysis’ subfolder of your project.
Results are saved as encrypted cab files (to protect against tampering) containing the SunCast and Apache results, as well as a copy of your model in its current state. This allows you to load the model back into the VE regardless of whether the actual model has changed since saving the results.
6 The SunCast Toolbar The main toolbar for SunCast is as follows:
Load settings
Save settings
Select zone(s)
Create script
Model orientation
SunPath diagram
Sun up/down times
Sun rise/set graph
Solar shading calculations
Note this should not be confused with the Image toolbar (on the Image tab).
These functions are now described below.
6.1 Load Settings
Allows the user to load specific settings for the model. This function can also be activated from the “File” menu.
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6.2 Save Settings
This allows the user to save specific settings for the model. This function can also be activated from the “File” menu.
6.3 Select Zone(s)
Allows the user to select zones from the Viewport – this is the default condition that is active.
6.4 Image Script
This is activated from the button on the toolbar.
The toolbar buttons have the following functions -
Add image(s) from current setting to script.
Remove selected images from script.
Remove all images from script.
Open an existing script file.
Save the script.
In addition to user defined scripts, SunCast comes supplied with some standard scripts which can be used with any model.
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The “Create Images” button will generate the images in the script and the “Close” button will exit from this option.
6.5 SunPath
This function can also be activated from the “Calculation” menu – see section 10.4 for more information.
6.6 Sun Up/Down Times
This function can also be activated from the “Calculation” menu – see section 10.2 for more information.
6.7 Sun Rise/Set Graph
This function can also be activated from the “Calculation” menu – see section 10.3 for more information.
6.8 Solar Shading Analysis
This function can also be activated from the “Calculation” menu – see section 10.1 for more information.
7 SunCast Menu This menu has the following options:
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7.1 Load Settings
This allows the user to load specific settings for the model (zone/surface visibility settings). This function can also be activated from the SunCast toolbar.
7.2 Save Settings
This allows the user to save specific settings for the model (zone/surface visibility settings). This function can also be activated from the SunCast toolbar.
7.3 Load Shading Results
This allows the user to load previously created shading results. The table of results is automatically displayed when the data has been read in.
7.4 Load Images
Load the images selected, also activated by the icon on the Image toolbar.
7.5 Save Images
Save the selected images, also activated by the icon on the Image toolbar.
7.6 Load AVI Movie
This plays the selected AVI file.
7.7 Export GSK file
This is primarily useful for people wanting to use the new ‘VE-Cloud’ service which lets you run your solar shading calculations in a fraction of the time it would take on a standard desktop.
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Below is a list of all the models that can be exported. Note most of these models have to be created by you in order to show up in the menu. What shows up also depends on what VE modules/licences you have installed.
Real Building
VE Compliance (UK & Ireland) Actual Building
VE Compliance (UK & Ireland) Notional Building
VE Compliance (UK & Ireland) Reference Building
GreenMark Real Building
GreenMark Proposed Building
GreenMark Reference Building
GreenMark Proposed Building for ETTV
GreenMark Reference Building for ETTV
PRM Proposed Building
PRM 0° Baseline Building
PRM 90° Baseline Building
PRM 180° Baseline Building
PRM 270° Baseline Building
Solar Analysis Model FP1
Unlike the other options, this model is created on the fly. When you select the menu item you will be prompted to enter a grid size for your model to be exported at.
Enter a value of between 10cm and 10m to create a hi-resolution version of your model, or use a value of 0m to export it as is.
Once you have uploaded your .gsk file to the cloud, and then downloaded the related .shd file, place it in your project’s SunCast subfolder. Once you have done that you can view the results using the Advanced ‘Load Results for Solar Analysis’ option.
8 Site Menu This menu has the following options:
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8.1 Location
Site data for the model is inherited from the <VE> and can only be changed by going back into ModelIT and running ApLocate.
This data can be viewed from the “Site” → “Location” menu:
8.2 Plan
A plan view of the model showing the orientation can be created from the “Site” → “Plan” menu -
This image is added to the list of images -
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9 Image Menu This menu has the following options -
The “Create New Image(s)”, “Delete Image(s)” and “Delete All Images” can also be activated from the
Image toolbar rather than the “Image” menu, by using the , and buttons.
The “Image Creation Method” pull-down menu is as follows -
Clicking on these options will switch to the appropriate tab on the “Image” view.
Click the icon to create image.
9.1 Single Image
Here the user selects a single image for the given date and time from a fixed eye point defined by the Azimuth and Altitude (see section 14.2 below).
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9.2 Timed Images
Here the user can generate a series of images at a fixed time interval over the given date from a fixed eye point defined by the Azimuth and Altitude.
9.3 Fly-Round
Here the user generates a series of images for a fixed date and time by rotating the model at the given step interval through 360° around the model at a set altitude.
9.4 Sun-view Images
Here the user can generate a series of images at a fixed time interval over the given date from the position of the sun (calculated automatically).
10 Calculation Menu This menu has the following options -
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The functions can also be activated from the SunCast toolbar (see section 6).
10.1 Solar Shading for Apache
This option is activated from the button in the toolbar or from the “Calculations” menu -
The following window is shown -
From this window the user selects the time period for the calculations, the design day and has the option to include diffuse shading factors. There are also options about backing up existing shading files.
When the shading results have been calculated they are displayed in a flexgrid:
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Initially the grid shows the "Solar Altitude" values - when the user selects a particular surface or opening, this shows the insolation data (by default showing the Area of External insolation) -
If the Percentage Area option is selected the grid shows the Area of Insolation as a percentage of the surface area -
The value in the bottom right corner of the grid gives the Annual Average Percentage Area.
Data from previous shading files can be read in using the “File” → “Load Shading Results” menu option.
The area to the left of the flexgrid identifies the selected surface and gives two options for the results displayed -
The toolbar options have the following functions -
Copy the current image to the clipboard.
Save the images
Print the image.
Text report of average % exposure for each surface and opening.
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This example shows the “Internal” insolation -
This example shows the “External” insolation -
The display of this data can be switched from the “Calculations” menu -
10.2 Sun Up/Down Data
This option is activated from the button on the toolbar or from the “Calculations” → “Sunrise/Sunset Times” menu -
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This shows for each day of the year the “Sun Up” time and azimuth and the “Sun Down” time and azimuth.
The toolbar buttons have the following functions –
Copy the current data to the clipboard.
Save the data to file.
Print the data.
10.3 Sun Up/Down Graph
This option is activated from the button on the toolbar or from the “Calculations” → “Sunrise/Sunset Times” menu -
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The toolbar buttons have the following functions -
Copy the current data to the clipboard.
Save the data to file.
Print the data.
10.4 SunPath
The SunPath program is run by activating the button on the toolbar or from the “Calculations” menu -
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The diagram represents the sky with the apparent paths of the sun shown for one or more days. Compass directions are shown round the outside of the diagram (these give the azimuth of the sun), and each of the internal circles represents altitude. This gives a plot of the sun’s course for the given days.
The selected location (if any), the latitude and the longitude of the observer are also displayed at the top left.
For more details on SunPath see the separate document on this program.
11 Options Menu This menu has the following options -
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11.1 Ground Plane Settings
The ground plane is a virtual surface which simulates the surface on which the model is standing and onto which shadows are cast. The height (z-value) of this can be set by the user. This option can be switched OFF, as can the display of zones below this ground level. The option "Show DXF on ground plane" will draw an attached DXF on the ground plane (see ModelIT for details on attaching DXF files).
For the majority of circumstances you will not have to change this from the default value of 0.0.
11.2 Surface/Shading Colours
This option pops-up the following window -
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Clicking on a colour box pops-up the following window -
The selected colour can be changed using the standard options.
11.3 Clock Position in Images
The clock position can be set via the “Options” → “Clock Position in Images” menu.
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The default “Top, Left” option is shown below -
11.4 Model Obstructions
Turns the display of obstructions on/off, by selecting show/hide.
12 View Menu This menu has the following options -
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The “Rotation” pull-down menu is as follows -
The “Zoom” pull-down menu is as follows -
The “Colour” pull-down menu is as follows -
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These functions are as described in the ModelIT documentation.
13 Help Menu The usual Windows help features are present:
Contents
Search
Help on Help
About
14 Miscellaneous
14.1 Zoom to an Area of an Image
Select the required image from the list.
Click the “Zoom To User Window” button . Now left mouse click and drag the box across the image -
Release the mouse button to zoom in to the section.
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Note that this works in the same way as zooming in/out in the Model view.
14.2 Definition of Azimuth and Altitude
14.2.1 Azimuth
The angle range is from 0° to 360° clockwise from North, see below. The azimuth will not make a difference to the rotation of the graphic if the Altitude is set to 90°.
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14.2.2 Altitude
The angle range is from 0° to 90° from the horizontal, see below.
