HOW TO USE THE VERTICAL FIN SHADING CALCULATOR

The general question addressed by vertical fin shading is: how much shade does a vertical fin shading system provide each hour of day, each month of the year?

Vertical fins are a series of parallel, vertically oriented shading devices designed to provide shade at certain times, and admit sun at others. The basic output of the program is a chart showing the degree of shading provided by the vertical fins, for each hour of the day, for each month of the year. The entire year is depicted, so you can rapidly assess the shading systems performance on an annual basis and modify the inputs to achieve the optimum design. For instance, if the vertical fins are providing insufficient shade you can adjust the fin dimensions and spacing.

Inputs
Here are the tool's inputs. For more information, click on the name of the input on the main screen.

Fin depth
How deep each fin is, in cross-section.

Fin thickness
How thick each fin is, in cross-section.

Fin spacing
The on-centre spacing between fins.

Fin tilt
The number of degrees the fins are tilted with respect to the window, with zero degrees for normal, positive and negative degrees indicated a tilt to the left or right, respectively (click on the input name for helpful diagrams).

Latitude
The geographical latitude of your location, 0 to 90 degrees North or South. Please use integer or decimal format for the latitude.

Show values
Whether or not the output table lists the percentage of sun or shade, in addition to using colour to indicate the degree of shading. You can also calculate the relative solar power. Click on the input name for details.

Orientation
The compass direction the window or wall faces.

Outputs
To perform the calculation, set the inputs to the appropriate values and click the "Calculate" button. The output table will refresh. Every time you modify the inputs, click the "Calculate" button again to see the refreshed results.

The output table has a row for each month, and a column for each hour. The colour of the cell indicates the degree of shading provided by the vertical fins at that time on the 15th day of that month. A black cell indicates total shading. A white cell indicates complete sun (which you won't see unless your fins are extremely thin and the sun is at just the right angle). Gray cells indicate the degree of partial shading. A blank white cell indicates that the sun is below the horizon. A yellow cell indicates that the sun is above the horizon, but behind (i.e, not shining on) the facade shaded by the fins.