Solar shading devices developed with parametric modeling and evolutionary algorithms

Abstract

Considering the importance of solar radiation control and daylighting admission on buildings performance, the solar control devices when properly used can significantly contribute to the comfort and energy efficiency in the built environment. At the same time can be highlighted in contemporary architectural production the growing influence of digital tools associated to the design process. In this context, this research aims to analyze the solar radiation admission and daylighting performance of solar control devices developed with parametric modeling and evolutionary algorithms. The methodology was organized in four steps: (1) parametric modeling of solar control devices; (2) computational simulations regarding the solar radiation admission and daylighting performance; (3) optimization using evolutionary algorithms and (4) analysis of shading masks generated by computational simulation. The computational tools used were: the parametric modeling suite Rhinoceros3D+Grasshopper, the environmental performance plug-in Diva-for-Rhino, the evolutionary algorithms tool Galapagos Evolutionary Solver and the solar geometry tools of the Ladybug plug-in. The results demonstrate that the developed elements were able to selectively control the  solar radiation admission and improve the daylight distribution in the analysis environment; highlighting respectively the importance of directional and horizontal components. Finally, in addition to the results of computational simulations, the shading masks shows that the solar geometry understanding is essential for solar control devices performance.