Overview

this article shows how to perform a solar study with the help of visualization workflow of the OpenBuildings Designer. 

Method

To create a solar path study, follow the steps as below:

• Under Visualization workflow, go to the utilities tab, pick the Solar Study function shown below:

• The Solar Study tab contains a number of functions that contain various settings.

• The View should be the one on which you want to run the study on. (Views with Isometric nature with shadow works the best)
• Provide your resolution according to your choice. (Higher resolution creates a better display of the study, hence better to understand)
• No. of Frames interpret the smoothness of the video, the higher the frame number, the swifter is the transition.
• Speed describes the number of frames run per second, the higher the speed, the faster the video.
• Set your render mode to a suitable style, avoid wireframes as they do not provide any shadow.
• Select your start time, date and year; keep the date as provided in the lighting manager.
• Provide the duration according to the number of hours you would like to run the study for.

•  Upon saving, the software asks you to save the study recording to a location with a desirable format, select the same as per your preference.

• OBD then runs the study in the background and creates a recording of the same, you can access it from the location you selected.