Real-Time Estimation of Urban Solar Rooftop Potential: A Case Study
Abstract
Accurate on-the-fly estimation of solar rooftop potential is a valuable tool for optimizing solar energy harvesting in urban photovoltaic (PV) system design. In densely populated areas, precise determination of available rooftop or façade space is challenging due to the complex geometry of buildings, shading by surrounding structures etc. While several tools exist in the market such as MapdWell, Google Project Sunroof, Cadastre Solaire Luxumburg, they typically rely mostly on static, annual estimates and often simplify or avoid complex geometries of the buildings and atmospheric data. In this paper, we present a case study showcasing the dynamic, real-time estimation of solar rooftop potential using in-situ measurements from ground-based sensors combined with high resolution building geometry. We validate our results using plane-of-array irradiance that we collected via pyranometers at two distinct tilt angles. The proposed approach can be replicated for higher resolution city-wide solar potential analysis.
Keywords
Dynamic Solar Cadaster, Rooftop Solar Potential, Urban Photovoltaics.