Climatic Compatibility of Building Forms as Solar Receivers across Latitudes
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2026
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| author | STASINOPOULOS, THANOS |
| author_facet | STASINOPOULOS, THANOS |
| contents | <p class="MsoNormal"><span>The Form Insolation Index (m-index) established in a companion paper ["<span>A latitudinal study of insolation on geometric forms". Solar Energy, submitted May 2026</span>] quantifies the fraction of solar radiation received by a building envelope relative to a horizontal surface, and demonstrates a strong linear relationship with the base-to-surface ratio B/F governed by a latitude-dependent slope coefficient u. The present paper introduces a complementary metric: the Climatic Compatibility index (CC), defined as the Pearson correlation coefficient between the monthly temperature signal D and the monthly m-index m of each form across the 12 months of the year.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>A climatically compatible form receives more solar radiation when ambient temperatures are lower, and less when temperatures are higher – the desirable behaviour for a passive solar receiver across all climate types. CC was computed for 92 building form variants across the same 9 locations spanning 6.5°N (Lagos) to 64.1°N (Reykjavik).</span></p> <p><span>CC values range from +0.607 to −0.903, covering nearly the full theoretical range. A clear latitudinal pattern emerges, with the index losing physical meaning in isothermal tropical climates (Lagos, Dakar) and providing maximum discrimination at mid-latitudes (Riyadh, Bologna). Forms with consistently poor CC across all locations share a high B/F ratio and near-horizontal dominant surfaces, which peak in solar collection during summer. The best-performing forms are elongated boxes with the long axis oriented E–W, combining large south-facing vertical surfaces with a pronounced seasonal insolation swing. Together, the m-index and the CC index provide a two-dimensional geometric characterisation of a building form’s solar behaviour: quantity and timing.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span>Keywords: Climatic Compatibility, form insolation index, building geometry, solar receivers, seasonal insolation, Pearson correlation, passive solar design, latitudinal study</span></p> |
| format | Recurso digital |
| id | zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_20399340 |
| institution | Zenodo |
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| publishDate | 2026 |
| publisher | Zenodo |
| record_format | zenodo |
| spellingShingle | Climatic Compatibility of Building Forms as Solar Receivers across Latitudes STASINOPOULOS, THANOS <p class="MsoNormal"><span>The Form Insolation Index (m-index) established in a companion paper ["<span>A latitudinal study of insolation on geometric forms". Solar Energy, submitted May 2026</span>] quantifies the fraction of solar radiation received by a building envelope relative to a horizontal surface, and demonstrates a strong linear relationship with the base-to-surface ratio B/F governed by a latitude-dependent slope coefficient u. The present paper introduces a complementary metric: the Climatic Compatibility index (CC), defined as the Pearson correlation coefficient between the monthly temperature signal D and the monthly m-index m of each form across the 12 months of the year.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>A climatically compatible form receives more solar radiation when ambient temperatures are lower, and less when temperatures are higher – the desirable behaviour for a passive solar receiver across all climate types. CC was computed for 92 building form variants across the same 9 locations spanning 6.5°N (Lagos) to 64.1°N (Reykjavik).</span></p> <p><span>CC values range from +0.607 to −0.903, covering nearly the full theoretical range. A clear latitudinal pattern emerges, with the index losing physical meaning in isothermal tropical climates (Lagos, Dakar) and providing maximum discrimination at mid-latitudes (Riyadh, Bologna). Forms with consistently poor CC across all locations share a high B/F ratio and near-horizontal dominant surfaces, which peak in solar collection during summer. The best-performing forms are elongated boxes with the long axis oriented E–W, combining large south-facing vertical surfaces with a pronounced seasonal insolation swing. Together, the m-index and the CC index provide a two-dimensional geometric characterisation of a building form’s solar behaviour: quantity and timing.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span>Keywords: Climatic Compatibility, form insolation index, building geometry, solar receivers, seasonal insolation, Pearson correlation, passive solar design, latitudinal study</span></p> |
| title | Climatic Compatibility of Building Forms as Solar Receivers across Latitudes |
| url | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20399340 |