For my project, I chose to place my building at the Jasper Biological Preserve. A Google Earth image of the site is shown below:
Since there is not much existing infrastructure on this site, I won’t have to consider other buildings besides the existing school building on the site and the parking lot. The untouched landscape will complement the building nicely and I plan to bring in lots of natural vegetation around the building and within it.
I would have liked to do a solar analysis on this building, but I was unable to download the updated package on the computer lab computers since I am not an admin. I am hoping to still do this as I find out how to do this or download directly onto my computer’s Revit.
I was able to look at the sun’s path, however, in July and in January to see where the sunlight would hit at different parts of the day. In the winter, the sun will stay lower, allowing for more light to enter the windows around the building and minimizing the need for artificial lighting and heat. (see below)
In the summer, the sun will enter the windows when it is low to the ground and not too hot, but will hit the green roof when it sits higher in the sky in the middle of the day. (see below)
Interestingly, it seemed like adjusting the number of window glass panes for the south facing windows did not do much nor did adding an overhang to the building. What contributed most to reduction in energy usage was adjusting the building operating hours, adding a green roof/insulated roof, and adding solar panels. The left is before adjusting these values, and the right image is after.
