As part of SOLAR BC, the District of North Vancouver has been working with the UBC Forestry Integrated Remote Sensing Studio (IRSS) on developing a new solar tool which allows residents to calculate their solar potential for hot water based on their roof orientation and size and other attributes.

 

The fully interactive tool has been developed by UBC PhD student Rory Tooke as part of his MSc, Prof. Nicholas Coops (Forestry faculty member) and the District using LiDAR remote sensing data. The team extracts dwellings automatically from the LiDAR data, then uses a solar radiation model to compute the total incoming radiation which intersects the roof tops. The algorithm is unique worldwide in that it takes into account local shading by trees and other buildings. The tool allows residents to click on their property and see their solar potential, the area available, the potential energy acquired, and the cost savings if a solar hot water device was installed.

 

Rory Took was awarded the best MSc thesis by the Canadian Remote Sensing Society due in part to this research.

 

The link for the application is:

Try it out !