Technology: Solar Studies

I used my sketchup model to create solar studies showing the site in different times of year: 

Typical Spring/Summer morning. The site is under minimal shade from the University Library on the east:

Typical Spring/Summer midday. The site is under no shade:

Typical Spring/Summer afternoon. The site is under from the slightest shade from the west:

Typical Autumn/Winter midday. The site is under minimal shading from the row of trees to the south:

Typical Autumn/Winter afternoon. The site is under shading from trees to the south and Robinson College from the east:

Typical Autumn/Winter morning. The five-storey library cast long shadows over the east of the site:

The diagram below shows the area of most solar gain in summer, highlighted in orange. The solar panels are located in the area of most solar gain to optimise electricity production for the library. The grey shows the areas of least solar gain:

The diagrams below, collected from the Met Office, show that the south-east and Cambridge gets more sunlight than the rest of the UK. The maximum temperature recorded in Cambridge was 36.5 degrees Celsius, so all of this heat would be felt on site.