Abstract
Natural lighting is a fundamental element in the habitability of dwellings. However, it is still difficult to calculate its effect on the façades of the buildings in detail, due to the morphological complexity of the property itself, as well as the environment that surrounds it. This study provides a methodological proposal that uses pre-existing open data to extrude buildings by using a GIS procedure. Based on three selected real estate properties with different characteristics in the city of Marbella (Spain), the hours of sunlight received by each building’s façade are calculated, taking into account the digital land model and the digital surface model of the area. The results confirm the usefulness of the method to measure and analyze differences in luminosity between buildings with similar urban characteristics and their surroundings, as well as to record the differences in luminosity between floors and the orientations of the same building at several heights. The methodological proposal opens a path for many applications related to energy efficiency, housing conditions, and property valuation.
Highlights
56% of the world’s population in 2019 were concentrated in them [1]
Sunlight has an important effect on property valuation and on the desirability of a property
The importance of luminosity is, one of the key climatic characteristics of a geographical area, especially in regions where the economy is based on climate tourism
Summary
56% of the world’s population in 2019 were concentrated in them [1]. Urban dwellers live in complex and heterogeneous geographical areas, which are composed of buildings, infrastructure, equipment, and vegetation. There are numerous previous works that, from an econometric approach, include solar lighting as fundamental [2]; many of these studies were carried out in another socioeconomic context and without the current geographic information system (GIS) and building information modelling (BIM) tools. With these technological advances, it is possible to analyze in greater detail the incidence of direct sunlight, to compare buildings with similar characteristics and even the difference in luminosity between the different floors in tall buildings. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
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