HOW SHADECALENDAR WORKS

Using a climate index called Apparent Temperature, ShadeCalendar assesses the annual climate data and UV Index of your location and creates a model for climate-responsive, solar protective shade.

Apparent temperature is a measure based on human comfort. Using temperature, humidity, wind speed and radiance (the main factors affecting thermal comfort) it computes an index based on some typical human factors, such as perspiration rates, radiation absorption and metabolism.

In computing Apparent Temperature at different locations, ShadeCalendar uses location-specific annual temperature and humidity data and 'typical' values for wind speed (based on a slight breeze) and radiation (based on moderate sunlight under clear sky conditions). To decide on a cut-off point, ShadeCalendar uses a 'bioclimatic chart' of human comfort and calculates the corresponding Apparent Temperature.

To assess the intensity of UV radiation, the monthly average maximum UV Indexes as provided by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) and the New Zealand National Institute of Weather and Atmosphere (NIWA), are used. Combining UV Index and Apparent Temperature results in three shade options for different times of year.

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