Multilevel Solar Potential Analysis of Building Based on Ubiquitous Point Clouds

Abstract

Solar potential analysis is essential for Building Information Modeling (BIM) applications, like photovoltaic installation. The estimation of solar potential on rooftops has been widely discussed, whereas the study on façade is still limited. Benefit from the development of various sensors, ubiquitous point clouds are now widely and easily captured by photogrammetry, laser scanning or other technologies, to represent the building geometry. This paper proposes a method for solar potential analysis on both rooftops and façades, using ubiquitous point cloud collected by Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS). One building with different orientations is selected for the case study. Results show that the proposed method is valid for multilevel solar potential analysis of buildings.