By: Michael Franzolini (York University)
The solar potential points were collected on the Markham Convergence Centre rooftop using the Solmetric SunEye 210, calculated in Microsoft Excel to incorporate the shading values, and illustrated in ArcGIS. The points were collected and edited to represent the typical insolation values for January 1st and July 1st. This was done so that the solar analysis can account for the two important seasons in terms of irradiance variation; summer and winter. Figure 2 is a map of the Markham Convergence Centre, with an overlay of the collected Solmetric points. Twenty roof top points were collected. Once the Solmetric data was collected, and retrieved, a minor calculation was made in Microsoft Excel. The Solmetric device takes the shading value of each point, but does not automatically incorporate it into the solar irradiance value. This is done in Microsoft Excel. The last method is importing the data into ArcGIS to create a solar potential layer of the rooftop. An Inverse Distance Weighted interpolation of the twenty roof top points is done to account for the unknown values on the roof. An IDW interpolation is an interpolation method in which unknown values are assigned values based on their proximity to a known value. The closer an unknown cell is to the known cell, the stronger influence that known cell’s value will have on the unknown cell’s value. Figure’s 3 and 4 illustrate the solar potential of the Markham Convergence Centre’s roof top for January 1st and July 1st.
Figure 2.The 20 points collected by the Solmetric SunEye 210 on the MCC roof top (Solar one, 2012).
Work Cited
Greater Toronto Area (GTA) Orthophotography Project 2007 – ORTH176340485402007FBS1 Image [GeoTiff File]. (2007) Ontario: Ministry of Natural Resources. Available: Scholars GeoPortal 2201565305 [Feb. 21st, 2012].
Greater Toronto Area (GTA) Orthophotography Project 2007 – ORTH176350485402007FBS1 Image [GeoTiff File]. (2007) Ontario: Ministry of Natural Resources. Available: Scholars GeoPortal 2201565305 [Feb. 21st, 2012].
Solar One Group. (2012). Comparing Methods For Accessing Solar Irradiance Potential in the area Surrounding the Markham Convergence Centre.
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