CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

The aim of this work is to advance the understanding of the solar potential of urban residential environments which, by their morphology and the impact of urban trees, present values of solar irradiance (W/m2) that are very different from full solar collection. The methodology involves monitoring the global solar irradiance on the vertical plane in North facades, completely sunny and partly sunny, affected by solid masking and masking woodland. Results obtained so far indicate that solar masking is critical for vertical surfaces, with a reduction of the available solar energy between 2% and 66% in the winter season, depending on the type of trees and the building morphology. In the summer season, the measured solar masking values range from a maximum of 83% and a minimum of 10% influence of surface shaded by the neighboring buildings and trees. The results demonstrate the impact of the main variables that determine access to the sun in an urban environment (Urban Tree Canopy, Building Morphology, Building Height, Urban Street Width).