Materials, Methods & Technologies, Volume 8, 2014

Abstract: Mid-rise and high-rise buildings in dense urban areas have higher exposure to sunlight and heat, due to heat island gain, flatness of facades and improper use of insulation materials with regards to thermal comfort. Use of proper materials and adequate facade design methods, as building specific parameters, can optimize the solar insolation to suit a specific geographical location. This paper will focus mainly on the influence of various facade extrusion types, specifically balconies, horizontal and vertical extrusions. Their influence on the solar insolation and sunlight exposure of the accompanying facade throughout the year, for a specific geographic location and orientation is analyzed and compared amongst one another. Such information can further be used as input parameters for optimizing urban planning algorithms on a major scale, focusing on desired solar exposure, considering orientation.