Daylight Analysis
Daylighting analysis
Sun and shade are a key factor into how people perceive the comfort of an outdoor space. Few people want to sit and bake in the midday sun while having lunch, or be in deep shade when they are visiting a local park.
Don’t wait until a space is built to discover that certain areas are undesirable and uncomfortable for people.
Why daylight analysis matters
Designing spaces that people want to spend time in, regardless of season or time of day, requires a detailed understanding of the local climate and solar motion. Sun and shade are key factors of overall thermal comfort.
Daylight analysis enables you to understand the interactions of building form and light availability, in different seasons and times of day, allowing you to shape the massing while you still can.
How daylight analysis works
Orbital Stack takes a statistical approach to daylighting analysis. It indicates where shadows would generally fall for the given season (month range) and time of day (hour range), assuming the sky was clear every day of the year. Plots are generated for each season + time-range indicating the solar potential (from 0% to 100%) for the given period. Our daylight analysis software enables you to understand the interactions of building form and light availability.
As a key driver of thermal comfort, being able to correlate and ultimately adjust the solar exposure of outdoor spaces is critical to achieving desirable outcomes.
What users are saying
“We cannot see wind—and it can be hard to explain to our clients—but Orbital Stack allows us to do just that. The tool brings an expert level of visibility into how wind—and solar—impacts pedestrian environments. With a better line of sight, we can alter illustrative designs earlier and, with better visuals, empower teams to make more informed decisions for people-first spaces.” — Allison Piehn, Commercial Director, Studio Egret West Limited
Want to learn even more about Orbital Stack wind comfort analysis? Visit our Help section