Analyses of Insolation and Shading Effects in High-rise Building

Insolation in the form of direct or diffuse sun radiation on a building has an important influence on the thermal behavior of the building, as well as on daylighting and hence energy consumption. With regard to high-rises, this issue is discussed in detail under the heading of Heat in this research. For building users, interior daylight conditions are also important beyond energy-consumption considerations. Glass as a building material plays a key role in this context, although it seems to be more focused on the image of the building than on supplying daylight. Thus the concept of transparency, a term derived from lighting technology, has come to symbolize an architectural era. However, since each glass surface also reflects a greater or lesser percentage of daylight, reflections across large areas can result on sunny days, which are not necessarily experienced as positive. It is therefore sensible to take the effect of a high-rise on the daylight conditions in the immediate surroundings into account for urban planning concepts. In this paper, key factors of insolation within shading items are discussed by the aid of case studies with simulation in high-rise buildings.