The Heliodon

This tool simulates the geometric relationship of the Earth to the sun for any site location, season or time of day. The tabletop represents the Earth’s ground plane and tilts relative to a spotlight, which represents the sun. Using an architectural model, the Heliodon can simulate shading, solar access and inferred/calculated radiation of a building site, assuming clear sky conditions. The integrated camera and software capture still frames and time-lapse videos of interior and exterior building surfaces. The Heliodon tool reveals areas of exterior and interior building surfaces that are in direct sun or shadow. A Heliodon session can identify opportunities for energy savings through climate-responsive architectural design. Designers can use the information they receive to bring daylight into a building while controlling glare, and reduce heating and cooling loads for low-energy use design strategies.

Download Heliodon factsheet (PDF, 293 KB)

Request a Heliodon session by contacting PECArchitecture@pge.com

Food Service Technology Center

The Food Service Technology Center is an industry leader in commercial kitchen energy efficiency and appliance performance testing. It is funded by PG&E and operated by Fisher-Nickel, Inc., which has developed standard testing methods for evaluating commercial kitchen appliance and system performance.

Visit FishNick.com