The Direct Sunlight Hours analysis tool calculates daily sun exposure for each point during the concept stage, helping architects evaluate sunlight impact, optimize building orientation, and make informed design decisions early in the process. (Note that this analysis cannot be conducted on a BIM model.)
Step 1: Begin by importing your topography. Navigate to the Import tab & select Load Topography.
Step 2: Adjust the topography by entering a location or providing the coordinates for your site. Optionally, you can import surrounding buildings with the topography.
Step 3: Finally, click on Load Import to bring your topography to the site.
Step 4: Adjust and position your topography and building on the site.
For more information on working with topography, refer to our Import Topography tutorial. You're now ready to start your sunlight hour analysis.
Initiating the Analysis Process
Step 1: Navigate to the Views tab.
Step 2: Find and select the Direct Sunlight Hours analysis option.
Note: If the user has not imported topography then they will see the following error as soon as they select the analysis option, they can add topography from the error pop-up or from the import section
Step 3: In the dropdown menu, select the start and end date for your analysis.
Step 4: Click on Run Analysis. The analysis will then start.
If you need to cancel your analysis, click on the Cancel button.
Step 5: Once the analysis is complete, a heat map will be created on the concept model.
The regions with the most sunlight exposure will be in red, while those with less or no sunlight exposure will be in blue. Compare these to the legend provided which depicts the average daily direct sunlight hours, varying from 1 to 9 hours.
This way conduct an analysis of sunlight hours on your conceptual model to facilitate early-stage design evaluation prior to finalizing your design.