Question-and-Answer Resource for the Building Energy Modeling Community
 | 1 | initial version |
EnergyPlus does not have the capability to change surface orientation dynamically.
Part of the challenge in implementing this in the EnergyPlus source code, is that EnergyPlus performs shading calculations periodically throughout the year. That is, each surface is given a daily shading profile based on the suns position for each timestep on a specific day. You can have this update every day of the year, but it will drastically increase the simulation time.
If you were to add this capability to the EnergyPlus source, it would probably be best to approach it similar to the window blind model, where the actual surfaces are not defined as part of the geometry, but as a modifier on the transmitted and reflected solar energy incident on the window.
How difficult is this to do depends on your familiarity with C++ and your patience in learning the EnergyPlus source structure.
