Pyrano - A Python package for LiDAR-based solar irradiance simulations

Solar irradiance is a key input for modeling solar heat gains, daylighting and photovoltaic (PV) performance. However, solar irradiance is often affected by the surrounding urban environment, which is labour-intensive to take into account in building performance simulations. This paper introduces Pyrano, an opensource Python package for simulating solar irradiance on external built surfaces using Digital Surface Model (DSM) point clouds as shading geometry, aiming to bridge the gap between building energy, solar irradiance and PV power simulations. The working principles of Pyrano are explained, including its role in the software ecosystem consisting of EnergyPlus, Radiance and PVMismatch, and the functionality of Pyrano is demonstrated with a PV-equipped case study building, situated in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.