Tarlac State University

COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND FINE ARTS

Tarlac City

Architectural Tropical Design

SUN PATH DIAGRAM

Submitted by:
LORAINE JANE G. MAGAT
Arch. 2-A

Submitted to:
Ar.

SUN PATH
Sun path refers to the apparent significant seasonal-and-hourly positional changes
of the sun (and length of daylight) as the Earth rotates, and orbits around the sun.
The relative position of the sun is a major factor in the heat again of buildings and in
the performance of solar energy systems.Accurate location-specific knowledge of
sun path and climatic conditions is essential for economic decisions about solar
collector area, orientation, landscaping, summer shading, and the cost-effective use
of solar trackers.

Sun paths at any latitude and any time of the year can be determined from basic
geometry. The Earth's axis of rotation tilts about 23.5 degrees, relative to the plane
of Earth's solar system orbit around the Sun. As the Earth orbits the Sun, this creates
the 47-degree peak-to-peak solar altitude angle difference, and the hemisphere-
specific difference between summer and winter.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter sun rises in the southeast, peaks out at a
low angle above the southern horizon, and then sets in the southwest. It is on the
south (equator) side of the house all day long. Vertical south-facing (equator side)
glass is excellent for capturing solar thermal energy.

In the Northern Hemisphere in summer (June, July, August), the Sun rises in the
northeast, peaks out nearly straight overhead (depending on latitude), and then sets
in the northwest. A simple latitude-dependent equator-side overhang can easily be
designed to block 100% of the direct solar gain from entering vertical equator-facing
windows on the hottest days of the year. Roll-down exterior shade screens, interior
translucent-or-opaque window quilts, drapes, shutters, movable trellises, etc. can be
used for hourly, daily or seasonal sun and heat transfer control (without any active
electrical air conditioning). The latitude (and hemisphere)-specific solar path
differences are critical to effective passive solar building design. They are essential
data for optimal window and overhang seasonal design. Solar designers must know
the precise solar path angles for each location they design for, and how they
compare to place-based seasonal heating and cooling requirements.

In the U.S., the precise location-specific altitude-and-azimuth seasonal solar path

numbers are available from NOAA ?the "equator side" of a building is south in the
Northern Hemisphere, and north in the Southern Hemisphere, where the peak
summer solstice solar altitude occurs on December 21. The sun rises roughly in the
east and sets in the west everywhere on Earth, except in high latitudes in summer-
and winter-time.

On the equator, the sun will be straight overhead and a vertical stick will cast no
shadow at solar noon on the equinoxes. On the vernal equinox, north of the subsolar
point (on the equator) the vertical stick's shadow will point a little westwards of
true north (NNW) reading 336.5 from true north and little eastwards of true
south (SSE) reading 156.5 from true north. On the autumnal equinox, north of the
subsolar point (on the equator), the shadow will point a little eastwards of true
north (NNE) reading 23.5 from true north (and south of the subsolar, the shadow
will point a little westward of true south (SSW) reading 203.5 from true north).

The same stick will cast no shadow on the summer solstice in the Northern
Hemisphere when the subsolar point is on the Tropic of Cancer 23.44 north of
equator. Although north of 23.44 N the shadow will point towards true north and
south of 23.44 N the shadow will point towards true south. The reverse occurs on
the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere when the subsolar point will be on
the Tropic of Capricorn 23.44 S and a vertical stick will cast no shadow along that
point. But north of the Tropic of Capricorn solar noon shadows will point towards
true north and south of the Tropic of Capricorn shadows will point towards true
south.

The solar noon shadows of objects on points beyond and below subsolar points will
point towards true north and true south respectively only when the solar declination
has its maximum positive (?= +23.44 ) or maximum negative value. On the
other hand, on the equinoxes when the sun is neither declined north nor south (?
= 0 ) and solar time noon shadows point NNW north of the equator and SSE south
of the equator on the vernal equinox (and point NNE north of the equator and SSW
south of the equator on the autumnal equinox).

North of the Arctic circle and south of the Antarctic circle, there will be at least one
day a year when the sun is not above the horizon for 24 hours during the winter
solstice, and at least one day when the sun is above the horizon for 24 hours during
the summer solstice.

In the moderate latitudes (between the circles and tropics, where most humans live),
the length of the day, solar altitude and azimuth vary from one day to the next, and
from season to season. The difference between the length of a long summer day and
a short winter day increases as one moves farther away from the equator. [

Reading Sun Path Diagrams

Sun path diagrams can tell you a lot about how the sun will impact your site and
building throughout the year. Stereographic sun path diagrams can be used to read
the solar azimuth and altitude for a given location
How to read
Sunpath
Diagrams

At 9am... on
April 1... the
azimuth is
62o the
altitude is
30o

Stereographic Sun Path Diagrams

Stereographic sun path diagrams are used to read the solar azimuth and altitude
throughout the day and year for a given position on the earth. They can be likened to
a photograph of the sky, taken looking straight up towards the zenith, with a 180
fish-eye lens. The paths of the sun at different times of the year can then be
projected onto this flattened hemisphere for any location on Earth.

Note that these stereographic diagrams are not exactly like a fish-eye photo: such an
image would be flipped left-to-right. These diagrams are from the point of view of
the sky looking down at the ground, you can superimpose it on a map or a plan of
the building without being confused. (You can see this by following the hour lines
from east to west on the diagram.)

Azimuth Lines - Azimuth angles run around the edge of the diagram.
Altitude Lines - Altitude angles are represented as concentric circular dotted
lines that run from the center of the diagram out.
Date Lines - Date lines start on the eastern side of the graph and run to the
western side and represent the path of the sun on one particular day of the
year. In Ecotect, the first day of January to June are shown as solid lines, while
July to December are shown as dotted lines.

1. Locate the required hour line on the diagram.

2. Locate the required date line, remembering that solid are used for Jan-June
and dotted lines for July-Dec.
3. Find the intersection point of the hour and date lines. Remember to intersect
solid with solid and dotted with dotted lines.
4. Draw a line from the very center of the diagram, through the intersection
point, out to the perimeter of the diagram.
5. Read the azimuth as an angle taken clockwise from north. In this case, the
value is about 62.
6. Trace a concentric circle around from the intersection point to the vertical
north axis, on which is displayed the altitude angles.
7. Interpolate between the concentric circle lines to find the altitude. In this
case the intersection point sits exactly on the 30 line.
8. This gives the position of the sun, fully defined as an azimuth and altitude.