Why our shading calculators are essential in smart façade design

While sun responsive architectural designs such as louvres, overhangs and vertical fins generally remain static, they need to work with the sun's dynamics to provide the best possible shading solution. Whether they are designed for solar gain or protection, they’re expected to adapt to the ever-changing position of the sun in the sky and to perform their desired function on various days of the year.

Let’s take a closer look at the importance of understanding the functionality of sun shading systems in the design process, and how our Shading Calculators can help you gain more insight into how your design could work in real life.

Using shading in your next design? See how your sun shading measures up with our Shading Calculators. Find out more here.

Exactly how much solar protection or exposure will a window shading provide on, say, any given day in April day at 4pm? Waiting until your shading system is installed to see how it will perform could lead to an ineffective system and potentially an unhappy client. On the other hand, having a clear expectation of the systems performance during design development will help you manage functional expectations better.

The year-round performance of sun shadings depends on their exact position, orientation, and measurements. All of these aspects come together to bring you the exact shading solution required. Changing the positioning and measurements can significantly alter the amount of sun that is either gained or blocked at any given time during the day.

The good news is, it’s possible to calculate in advance the effect any adjustments may have on the sun shade of buildings. With so many factors at play though, it can be time consuming to do the math correctly on your own.

That’s why we've created our Shading Calculators for louvre systems, vertical fins and horizontal overhang shades. Just input the position of the window and the measurements of the shading system, and the calculators will show you the shading provided throughout the day at various times of the year. They’re free to use, and can be used as many times as you like.

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Updated April 2021.