Impacts of surface model generation approaches on raytracing-based solar potential estimation in urban areas

Raytracing-based methods are widely used for quantifying irradiation on building surfaces. Urban 3D surface models are necessary input for raytracing simulations, which can be generated from open-source point cloud data with the help of surface reconstruction algorithms. In research and engineering practice, various algorithms are being used for this purpose; each leading to different mesh topologies and corresponding performance. This paper compares the impacts of four different reconstruction algorithms by investigating their performance using DAYSIM raytracing simulations. The analysis is carried out for five configurations with various urban mor-phologies. Results show that the reconstructed models consistently underestimate the shading influence due to geometrical shrinkages that emerge from the various model generation procedures. The explicit algorithms, with Generic Delaunay a notable example, have better performance with less embedded error than the implicit al-gorithms in both daily and annual simulations. Results also show that diffuse irradiance is responsible for larger contributions to the overall error than direct components. This effect becomes more prominent when modeling reflected irradiation in urban environments. Additionally, the work shows that solar elevation and shading ge-ometry types also affect the error magnitude. The paper concludes by providing reconstruction algorithm se-lection criteria for photovoltaic practitioners and urban energy planners.

Automated summary

This paper compares the impacts of four different reconstruction algorithms on the performance of raytracing simulations, and finds that the reconstructed models consistently underestimate shading influence. Explicit algorithms perform better with less embedded error, and diffuse irradiance contributes more to the overall error than direct components. The error magnitude is also affected by solar elevation and shading geometry types.