Numerical Modeling and Analysis of Shadow Flicker Using Solar Path Functions for Enhanced Predictive Accuracy

Energies, vol. 18, pp. 352

Abstract

Shadow flicker caused by wind turbine blades passing through sunlight can significantly affect nearby residential buildings, raising environmental and regulatory concerns in wind farm development. The accurate assessment of shadow flicker exposure is critical for compliance and minimizing community impacts. We present a novel method for accurately determining the exposure of shadow flicker from wind turbines on residential buildings, addressing a key regulatory concern in wind farm planning. Current simulation techniques rely on discrete sampling of solar positions, resulting in potential inaccuracies tied to sampling resolution. Our proposed approach models shadow flicker as a continuous function and applies numerical minimization and numerical root finding to compute the duration of exposure. Our evaluation proves that this method achieves a superior balance between precision and computational efficiency, significantly improving existing techniques.

Authors 3

1. Nicolai Radke corresponding Aachen Theory of Hybrid Systems Research Group

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Theory of Hybrid Systems Research Group, RWTH Aachen University, 52062 Aachen, Germany

2. Patrick E. M. De Smet

   University of Vienna

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Computer Science, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria

   Faculty of Compupter Science, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria

3. Erika Ábrahám Aachen Theory of Hybrid Systems Research Group

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Theory of Hybrid Systems Research Group, RWTH Aachen University, 52062 Aachen, Germany