Abstract
Downward shortwave incoming irradiance plays a key role in urban areas, especially in those located in complex terrains. Accurate modelling of this weather variable is crucial for the characterization of physical processes, and in particular heat exchanges, occurring between buildings and the urban atmosphere. In this framework, the present research evaluated the capabilities of the Solar Energy on Building Envelopes (SEBE) model, which can be used to describe the urban geometry through 2D high-resolution DSMs and simulate total irradiation on buildings’ façades. Specifically, this work focused on the urban area of Bolzano, a city located in the north-eastern Italian Alps in a basin where three valleys join, and assessed the SEBE output by comparison with the total daily irradiation on a vertical building façade for a six-month period (i.e. July-December 2018). Meteorological forcing for simulations was provided by the observed hourly data of shortwave radiation (i.e. global GHI and diffuse DHI horizontal, and direct normal DNI irradiance), collected at rooftop level in the urban area of Bolzano. The overall performance of the model was found to be accurate, both for different analysed periods and for daily climatic classification.