Sensitivity analysis studying the impact of reflectance values assigned in climate-based daylight modelling

Abstract

The recent development of climate-based daylight modelling (CBDM) and its application in various commercial tools, as well as its introduction in building simulation guidelines, created the need of more common procedures and quality checks on input values. Between these, the optical properties to be assigned to the modelled building can be very influential on the final results and on the building performance evaluation. In this study, the reflectance values of the opaque surfaces are analysed in detail, taking as a case study the model of a real classroom and performing the evaluations with various methods, all based on the Radiance lighting simulation system but employing significantly different procedures. A Sensitivity Analysis (SA) is carried out to rank the outputs, expressed with both traditional and CBDM metrics.