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2025 Vol.19, Issue 1 Preview Page

Research Article

Development of a SketchUp-based PV System Performance Evaluation Tool

SketchUp 기반의 태양광 시스템 발전 성능 평가 툴 개발

Jun-Hwan Park1
,
Seung-Hyo Baek2*
박 준환1
,
백 승효2*
1Master Course Student, Department of Architecture, Graduate School, Mokwon University, Daejeon, Korea
2Assistant Professor, Division of Architecture, Mokwon University, Daejeon, Korea
1목원대학교 일반대학원 건축학과 석사과정
2목원대학교 건축학부 조교수
*Corresponding Author
28 February 2025. pp. 22-34
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Abstract

The adoption of photovoltaic (PV) systems in buildings has recently increased to support the implementation of Zero Energy Buildings. The placement of PV systems on building facades is partly determined by the building design. Since the energy performance of PV systems varies with their placement, it is crucial to consider their performance during the building design process to meet targeted energy goals. This study developed a tool to evaluate the energy performance of PV systems installed on buildings using the 3D architectural design software SketchUp. A comprehensive process was established by integrating SketchUp’s modeling capabilities with PV performance calculation features. Two key algorithms were developed: one for calculating the PV energy performance and another for analyzing shading effects caused by surrounding structures. These algorithms were implemented as a SketchUp plugin using Ruby within the Visual Studio development environment. To validate the tool’s accuracy, its performance calculations were compared with results from SAM, a representative PV performance simulation tool, under two scenarios in the Seoul region: shading caused by adjacent PV systems and shading caused by surrounding buildings. The results showed that, when adjacent PV system shading was considered, the CV (RMSE) of AC energy generation was up to 1.8%. For shading caused by surrounding buildings, the CV (RMSE) was up to 1.48%, confirming the tool’s high accuracy.

Keywords
제로에너지 건축물
스케치업
태양광 시스템 발전성능 평가 툴
키워드
Zero Energy Building
SketchUp
PV System Performance Evaluation Tool
References
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Information
  • Publisher :Korean Institute of Architectural Sustainable Environment and Building Systems
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국건축친환경설비학회
  • Journal Title :Journal of Korean Institute of Architectural Sustainable Environment and Building Systems
  • Journal Title(Ko) :한국건축친환경설비학회논문집
  • Volume : 19
  • No :1
  • Pages :22-34
  • Received Date : 2024-12-17
  • Revised Date : 2025-01-01
  • Accepted Date : 2025-01-02
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.22696/jkiaebs.20250003
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