AR6303‐CLIMATE & BUILT ENVIRONMENT

EARTH-SUN RELATIONSHIP
The earth is almost spherical in shape, some 12 700 km in diameter and it revolves around the sun in
a slightly elliptical (almost circular) orbit. The earth - sun distance is approximately 150 million km,
varying between152 million km and147 million km
The full revolution takes 365.24 days (365 days 5 h 48’ 46” to be precise) and as the calendar year is
365 days, an adjustment is necessary: one extra day every four years (the ‘leap year’). This would
mean 0.25 days per year, which is too much. The excess 0.01 day a year is compensated by a one day
adjustment per century.
The plane of the earth's revolution is referred to as the ecliptic. The earth's axis of rotation is tilted
23.45⁰ from the normal to the plane of the ecliptic (Fig.1). The angle between the plane of the earth's
equator and the ecliptic (or the earth - sun line) is the declination (DEC) and it varies between
+23.45⁰ on June 22 (northern solstice) and -23.45⁰ on December22 (southern solstice, Fig.2)

FIGURE-1

FIGURE-2

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SUMMER SOLSTICE
In June, the Earth's tilted rotation axis and
position in its orbit means that the northern
hemisphere is more exposed to radiation
from the Sun than the southern hemisphere.
In the northern hemisphere the Sun appears
more overhead (i.e. is at a higher altitude)
and is visible for more hours of the day.

This effect is at its peak on the 21st of June,

which is the Summer Solstice in the
northern hemisphere. Of course, on the 21st
of June in the Southern hemisphere the
opposite is true. It is tilted further away
from the Sun and is experiencing its Winter
Solstice.

WINTER SOLSTICE
At this point in the Earth's orbit, the
Northern hemisphere is tilted further away
from the Sun - meaning that it appears
much lower in the sky (i.e. at a lower
altitude) and there are fewer hours of
daylight than night time.

This effect is at its peak on the 21st of

December, which is the Winter Solstice in
the northern hemisphere. Of course, on the
21st of December in the Southern
hemisphere the opposite is true. It is tilted
towards the Sun and is experiencing its
Summer Solstice.

EQUINOX

Most of the time, the direction of the earth’s rotation around its own axis, and the direction of its orbit around the sun, vary from one
another. However, as the earth tilts backward and forward in its orbit, relative to the sun, these two angles coincide from time to time.
This event is known as an Equinox, and happens twice a year, in March (the Vernal Equinox) and in September (The Autumnal
Equinox).

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The Equinox represents the mid-way point between the two seasonal
extremes. It occurs twice within the year - first on the 21st of March and
again on the 21st of September. At the Equinox the rays of solar radiation
align with the Equator and are evenly distributed between the northern and
southern hemispheres. This date is also significant in that the hours of
daylight are exactly equal to the hours of night. In fact, the literal translation
of equinox means "equal night".

WHAT CAUSES THE SEASONS?

The tilted earth revolves around the sun on an elliptical path. The orientation of the axis remains
fixed in space, producing changes in the distribution of solar radiation over the course of the year.
These changes in the pattern of radiation reaching earth’s surface cause the succession of the
season
SUN PATHS
Have you ever wondered why the sun rises in the east and sets in the west? For centuries, this natural
phenomenon has always amazed mankind. Being the closest star to us, the sun certainly brings about a great
interest for everyone to study its movement and behaviour, especially its position at different times of the day
and month during the year. However, we first have to understand that viewing the sun from different locations
on the earth, the sun will rise and set from a different point on the horizon and move along different paths
across the sky.
Though knowing that the sun rises in the east and set in the west, do you know that the sun does not rise
exactly due east or sets exactly due west? Instead the sun may rise further north of east or further south of east,
depending on which part of the earth you are at. To understand where you stand on the earth, it is specified by
the latitude and longitude coordinates.
On a globe model, lines of latitude are circles of different sizes. The largest circle is the equator, whose
latitude is zero, while at the poles- at latitudes 90° north and 90° south (or -90°); the circles shrink to a point as
shown below (Figure 3). Whereas for longitude they are lines, or arcs, extend from pole to pole as shown in
the diagram below (Figure 4).

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FIGURE-3 FIGURE-4

The base values for the latitude and longitude are the equator and the prime meridian respectively.
The latitude and longitude will have significant effects on the sun path and hence affects the
behaviour of the sun’s lighting and heating characteristics.
SOLAR AZIMUTH AND SOLAR ALTITUDE

To measure the angle of the sun in its motion across the sky, we need to take its altitude and azimuth reading.
Altitude is the angular distance above the horizon measured perpendicularly to the horizon. It has a maximum
0
value of 90 at the zenith, which is the point overhead. Azimuth the angular distance measured along the
horizon in a clockwise direction. The number of degrees along the horizon corresponds to the compass
direction. Azimuth starts from exactly north, at 0 degrees, and increases clockwise to a full angle of 360⁰

SUNPATH DIAGRAM

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EQUIDISTANT ORTHOGRAPHIC STEREOGRAPHIC

The orthographic (or parallel) projection is the method used in technical drafting. The figure shows how
points of the hemisphere would be projected onto the horizon plane, giving the positions of the corresponding
altitude circles on the horizon plane. Note that the altitude circles (of equal increments) are spaced very close
together near the horizon and are widely spaced nearer the zenith. Consequently such a graph would give a
rather poor resolution for low solar positions. The stereographic (or radial) representation uses the theoretical
nadir point as the centre of projection. This is the most widely used method.

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THE SKY DOME AND THREE SUN PATHS AN EAST ELEVATION OF THE SKY
DURING VARIOUS SEASONS OF A DOME
YEAR

``

THIS ILLUSTRATES THAT THE SKYDOME WITH EQUIDISTANT PLAN

MEANINGFUL ORIENTATION FOR PROJECTION SHOWING AZIMUTH
WINTER SUN EXPOSURE IS SOUTH. IN AND ALTITUDECOORDINATES
SUMMERS, EAST AND WEST
EXPOSURES ARE WORST AND CAUSES
OVERHEATING

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DERIVATIION OF THE VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL SUNPATH DIAGRAM

A MODEL OF THE SKY DOME. THE SUN PATHS FOR THE 21ST DAY OF EACH
MONTH ARE SHOWN. ONLY SEVEN PATHS ARE NEEDED FOR TWELVE
MONTHS BECAUSE OF SYMMETRY (i.e. MAY 21 IS THE SAME AS JULY 21)

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CONSTRUCTION OF A STEREOGRAPHIC SUNPATH DIAGRAM

1. Draw a circle of selected radius (r). In this work r = 60 mm is used, several publications use r = 75
mm (for a 150 mm diameter). Draw a horizontal and a vertical diameter to indicate the four cardinal
compass points.

2. Extend the vertical in the polar direction to give the locus for the centres of all sun-path arcs.
For each sun-path arc (for each selected date) calculate its radius (rs) and the distance of its centre
from the centre of the circle (ds):

rs = r * cosDEC/(sinALT + sinDEC)
ds = r * cosLAT /(sinLAT + sinDEC)

Where LAT = geographical latitude

DEC = solar declination angle

For March 22 and Sept.21 DEC = 0⁰

June 22 DEC = 23.45⁰
December 22 DEC = -23.45⁰

3. For the construction of the hour lines calculate the distance of the locus of centres from the centre of
the circle (dt) and draw this locus parallel to the east-west axis.

dt = r * tanLAT

4. For each hour calculate the horizontal displacement from the vertical centreline (dh) and the radius of
the hour-arc (rh):

dh = r /(cosLAT * tanHRA)
rh = r /(cosLAT * sinHRA)

Where HRA = hour angle from noon, 15⁰ for each hour
E.g. for 8:00 h: HRA = 15 * (8-12) = -60⁰
Or for 16:00 h: HRA = 15 * (16-12) = 60⁰

5. Draw the arcs for the afternoon hours from a centre on the right-hand side and for the morning hours
from the left-hand side. A useful check is that the 6:00 and 18:00 h lines should meet the equinox sun-
path exactly at the east and west points of the circle respectively.

6. Mark the azimuth angles on the perimeter at any desired increments in a clockwise direction, from 0⁰
to 360⁰ (north) and construct a set of concentric circles to indicate the altitude angle scale
.
For any altitude (ALT) the radius (ra) of the circle will be

ra = r * cosALT /(1+sinALT)

7. For a shadow angle protractor draw a semi-circle to the same radius as the chart. Extend the vertical
axis downwards to give the locus for the centres of all VSA (vertical shadow angle) arcs. For each
chosen increment of VSA find the displacement of the centre (dv) and the radius of the arc (rv):

dv = r * tanVSA
rv = r / cosVSA

8. Mark the HSA (horizontal shadow angle) scale along the perimeter: the centreline is zero, then to 90⁰
to the right (clockwise) and to -90⁰ to the left (anticlockwise).

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9. Two useful checks:

a) All the VSA arcs should meet at the corner of the semicircle and the base line
b) Along the centreline of the protractor the VSA arcs should coincide with the corresponding
altitude circles of the sun-path diagram.

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COMPONENTS OF A SUNPATH DIAGRAM

Azimuth Lines

Azimuth angles run around the edge of the diagram in 15° increments. A point's azimuth from the reference position
is measured in a clockwise direction from True North on the horizontal plane. True North on the stereographic diagram is
the positive Y axis (straight up) and is marked with an N.

Azimuth angle indicators.

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Altitude Lines

Altitude angles are represented as concentric circular dotted lines that run from the centre of the diagram out, in 10°
increments from 90 to 0. A point's altitude from the reference position is measured from the horizontal plane up.

Lines of equal altitude.

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Date Lines

Date lines represent the path of the sun through the sky on one particular day of the year. They start on the eastern side of
the graph and run to the western side. There are twelve of these lines shown, for the 1st day of each month. The first six
months are shown as solid lines (Jan-Jun) whilst the last six months are shown as dotted (Jul-Dec), to allow a clear
distinction even though the path of the Sun is cyclical.

Lines showing daily sun-path on 1st day of each month.

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Hour Lines

Hour lines represent the position of the sun at a specific hour of the day, throughout the year. They are shown as figure-8
style lines that intersect the date lines. The intersection points between date and hour lines give the position of the sun.
Half of each hour line is shown as dotted, to indicate that this is during the latter six months of the year.

Hour lines showing the analemma effect.

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CALCULATION OF AZIMUTH AND ALTITUDE ANGLES

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CALCULATION OF AZIMUTH AND ALTITUDE ANGLES

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CALCULATION OF AZIMUTH AND ALTITUDE ANGLES

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SHADING DESIGN
Solar radiation incident on a window consists of three components: beam-(direct-) radiation, diffuse-(sky-)
and reflected radiation. External shading devices can eliminate the beam component (which is normally the
largest) and reduce the diffuse component. The design of such shading devices employs two shadow angles:
HSA and VSA.
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 (HSA) is the difference in azimuth between the sun's position and the orientation of
the building face considered, when the edge of the shadow falls on the point considered (Figure 5):
HSA = AZI – ORI

FIGURE 5 – Horizontal shadow Angle

By convention, this is positive when the sun is clockwise from the orientation (when AZI > ORI) and negative
when the sun is anticlockwise (when AZI < ORI). When the HSA is between +/- 90⁰ and 270⁰, then the sun is
behind the facade, the facade is in shade, there is no HSA. Algorithm gives two further checks for results
beyond 270⁰. The horizontal shadow angle describes the performance of a vertical shading device. Figure 6
show that many combinations of vertical elements can give the same shading performance.

FIGURE 6 – Vertical shading device giving the same Horizontal Shadow Angle

The vertical shadow angle (VSA) (or 'profile angle') is measured on a plane perpendicular to the building
face. VSA can exist only when the HSA is between -90⁰ and +90⁰, i.e. when the sun reaches the building face
considered. When the sun is directly opposite, i.e. when AZI = ORI (HSA = 0⁰), the VSA is the same as the
solar altitude angle (VSA =ALT). When the sun is sideways, its altitude angle will be projected, parallel with
the building face, onto the perpendicular plane and the VSA will be larger than the ALT (Figure 7).
Alternatively, VSA can be considered as the angle between two planes meeting along a horizontal line on the

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building face and which contains the point considered, i.e. between the horizontal plane and a tilted plane
which contains the sun or the edge of the a shading device (Figure 8).

FIGURE 7 & FIGURE 8 – Relationship between HSA and ALT

THE SHADOW ANGLE PROTRACTOR

This is a semi-circular protractor, showing two sets of lines (Figure 9):
 Radial lines, marked 0 at the centre, to -90o to the left and +90o to the right, to give readings of the
HSA
 Arcual lines, which coincide with the altitude circles along the centreline, but then, deviate and
converge at the two corners of the protractor; these will give readings of the VSA.

FIGURE 9 – The shadow angle protractor

Figure 10 shows a pair of vertical devices in plan: two fins at the sides of a window. Connection of the edge of
the device to the opposite corner of the window gives the shading line, which defines the HSA of the device.
Superimposing the protractor the HSA can be read (centre of protractor to left edge of window: HSA = +60⁰,
to right hand edge gives -60⁰) and a shading mask can be constructed (traced). The shading mask will be
sectoral in shape (Figure 11). This shading mask, when superimposed on the sun-path diagram (according to
the orientation of the building), will cover all the time-points (dates and hours) when the point considered will
be in shade (Figure 12).

FIGURE 10 – HSA of a pair of Vertical fins FIGURE 11 – Shading mask of the vertical fins

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FIGURE 12 as 11, superimposed on sunpath diagram

Figure 13 shows the section of a window, with a canopy over it. The line connecting the edge of the canopy to
the window sill gives the shading line. The angle between this and the horizontal is the VSA of the device. If
the corresponding arcual line of the protractor is traced, this will give the shading mask of the canopy (Figure
14). Placed over the sun-path diagram it will cover the times when the device is effective (Figure 15).

FIGURE 13 – VSA of a horizontal device FIGURE 14 – Shading mask of this device

FIGURE 15 as 14, superimposed on sunpath diagram

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THE DESIGN PROCESS

1. Determine the overheated period, i.e. the dates and times when shading should be provided. This can
be taken as the time when the monthly mean temperature is higher than the lower comfort limit. The
daily temperature profile should be looked at to ascertain the hours when shading is necessary.
(A more precise definition of this overheated period should take into account also the type of building,
the amount of internal heat gain and even the relationship of solar gain to the building mass available
for heat storage. This is beyond the scope of the present Note.)
2. By using the appropriate sun-path diagram and the protractor establish the necessary horizontal or
vertical shadow angles (or a combination of the two), as performance specification for the device to
be designed.
3. Design the actual device to satisfy these performance specifications.

A WORKED EXAMPLE
Design a shading device for a house located at LAT = -28º (Brisbane) for a window 1.2 m high and 1.5 m
wide, facing north.
1. The temperature plot (Figure 16) shows that the mean temperature reaches the lower limit of the
comfort band at the beginning of November and drops below the comfort band at the beginning of
April. The overheated period is therefore the five months, November to March, inclusive. Full shading
is to be provided for this period. From April onwards an increasing amount of sun penetration is
desirable, with a maximum in June - July (the southern hemisphere winter).

FIGURE 16 – Temperature plots and comfort band for Brisbane

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2. The sun-path diagram (Figure 17) shows that the April 1 sunpath (between March 22 and April 15,
nearer to the former) is quite different from the November 1 line (interpolated half-way between the
October 15 and November 13 lines). This is a clear indication that the variation of temperatures lag
behind the sun's movement: the maximum occurs late January, a month after the summer solstice and
the minimum in late July, a month after the winter solstice. The following requirements can be read:

April 1: VSA = 57⁰

November 1: VSA = 77⁰

For an exact solution a fixed device of 77⁰ VSA could be provided, with a retractable extension down
to 57⁰ (Figure 18).
The compromise of 67⁰ would give cut-off dates as about October 3 and March 10, but overheating is
less tolerable than a slight under heating, therefore the compromise should be biased in the direction
of more shading: say 62⁰ VSA. This would give cut-off at the equinox dates. N.b. as the window faces
due north, the 62⁰ VSA exactly matches the equinox sun-path, thus there is no need to use the
protractor and VSAs coincide with the ALT circles along the centreline of the diagram (always
coincide with the centreline of the protractor).

FIGURE 17 – Sunpath diagram for Brisbane

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FIGURE 18 – Combined fixed and retractable devices

3. If the window were to face (say) 20⁰, then the protractor would have to be used, turned to the 20⁰
direction. (Figure 19). This shows that a horizontal device is impractical for early morning low angle
sun. A vertical device, a baffle on the eastern side of the window should be used to assist.
For cut-off at the equinox dates several combinations are possible, e.g.
VSA 50o with an HSA of 40⁰
VSA 40o with an HSA of 53⁰
One may also argue that some early morning solar heat input, say up to about 9:00 h, does not have
any adverse effects, in which case a horizontal device with a VSA of some 48o is satisfactory, without
any side baffle.

FIGURE 19 – The protractor superimposed for ORI = 20⁰

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4. Figure 20 shows a plan and section of this window. If the edge of the shading is level with the window
head, then the projection must be
x = 1.2 / tan50⁰ = 1m or
x = 1.2 / tan40⁰ = 1.43m respectively.
The east-side baffle should project
y = 1.5 / tan40⁰ = 1.78 or
y = 1.5 / tan53⁰ = 1.13m
Choosing the first alternative: The 1m eaves projection, the 1.78m vertical baffle is clearly
impractical. Perhaps two fins (as shown) of 1.78 / 2 = 0.89m would be acceptable.

FIGURE 20 – Section and plan of the device designed and its shading mask

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OVERSHADOWING
The concept of shading masks can be extended to evaluate the overshadowing effect of adjacent buildings or
other obstructions. This technique is best illustrated by an example.

Question: For what period is a point A of a proposed building overshadowed by the neighbouring existing
building?

Assume that the building is located at 42⁰ latitude and it is facing 135⁰ (S/E). Take a tracing of the shadow
angle protractor and transfer onto it the angles subtended by the obstruction at point A, both on plan and
section, as shown on Figure 21. This gives the shading mask of that building for the point considered. This can
then be superimposed on the appropriate sun-path diagram (for 42⁰), with the correct orientation (135⁰) and
the period of overshadowing can be read for the various dates.

FIGURE 21 – Plan, Section and Shading mask

In this instance just examine the three cardinal dates (Figure 22):
- June 22: no overshadowing
- Equinoxes: shade from sunrise to 11:00 h
- Dec 22: shade from sunrise to about 10:40 h

Figure 23 shows a more complex situation, where two existing buildings can cast a shadow over the point
considered. To determine the outline for the altitude angles measured from sections use the shadow angle
protractor so that its centreline is in the plane of section, e.g. direction X for section AA and direction Y and Z
for section B-B, as indicated in Figure 24, which explains the construction of the shading mask.

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FIGURE 22 – Shading mask laid over sunpath diagram

FIGURE 23 – Overshadowing by two buildings

FIGURE 24 – Construction of shading mask

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The technique can also be used for a site survey: to plot all obstructing objects that may overshadow a selected
point of the site. Figure 25 shows plan and sections of the site, with the existing buildings and Figure 26
explains the construction of the shading mask.

FIGURE 25 – Site survey: Plan and four sections

FIGURE 26 – Construction of Shading mask

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This shading mask can then be laid over the appropriate sun-path diagram and the period of overshadowing
can be read, as indicated by Figure 27.

FIGURE 27 – Shading mask laid over sun path diagram

If a full-field camera, having a fish-eye lens were to be placed at point A, pointing vertically upwards, the
photograph produced would be similar to this shading mask. A set of sun-path diagrams may be adapted for
use as overlays to such photographs.

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Performance of various types of shading devices

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