Study on the impact of valley orientation on solar radiation shading of roofs in western Sichuan

Abstract

Solar energy is a commonly used renewable energy source in buildings. In the high-altitude mountainous regions of western Sichuan, solar energy resources are abundant, but the complex and variable terrain significantly affects the shading of solar radiation on building roofs. In the mountainous regions of western Sichuan, towns located in valley terrain are the most prevalent, accounting for as much as 42.14%. Therefore, based on the mountainous solar radiation estimation method, this study estimates the direct radiation shading rate and diffuse radiation shading rate for building roofs in the valley towns of western Sichuan. The research delves into the analysis of the impact of valley terrain characteristics on the shading of solar radiation on building roofs. The study reveals that, for a specific valley town, the orientation of the valley has a more significant impact on the shading of direct radiation compared to its impact on diffuse radiation. When the town's orientation approaches an east-west direction, both direct and diffuse radiations are less affected by terrain shading.