I like this AZ builders solution to overheated summer mass and solar glare through windows with interior and exterior "reflector decks". I just got no idea how you make a scaled down "gnomon ( 1/4 tall match stick"??)" model, put it in the sun to see how the sun is acting on it? Is that a new or existing home model below the SUNDIAL upper left? I'd like to know how he deflects water off the upper window sills with those exterior "reflector decks" draining water right at them? Perhaps a grilled gutter I can't see well in the pic to the cool looking rain trap water falls that can be seen from inside, he has a cistern storage under the garage floor. This builder is the cheet!  .....my new idol. Why pour ugly toxic concrete when we can pour beautiful earth at a lower cost. He uses fly ash and magnesium binders instead of portland cement to cut his carbon foot print down. 

Kitchen 1

Kitchen 2

Sail, go to the website link I posted in the gallery or recent projects where they explain the domed reflective surface by the upper windows, concave and convex shaped reflective domes above ground by the roof push light in “deep” through the upper windows...has nothing to do with ground deflection through lower windows, they are seeing 30% light much lower than average passive solar designs and even use shades that drop down off the upper refectors in summer.  The upper windows are taking in 70% light.  So if you had a flux load math model you have to figure what the load flux was normal to the domed surface(s) , three in this case, that is not an equal load across the ceiling....that is why on the website they call it too “complex” and go to old school methods.

Take some time to read the website.

You would need more than a passive solar design modeling here. You need a digital mockup of the entire house, paramertized each material with density, thickness, specific heat, surface finishes, conductivity, etc....just to begin to understand the effects of loading those material properties with heat or cool night time air. Once the model is parameterized you would take it CFD and add pressure, convective loops, heat, toxins, CO2, salt, humidity, etc. whatever is in the local atmosphere to get an accurate fluid dynamics model.....the BEST place for that in a hot box. At this point you have a TON of R&D cost associated that needs to pay back on sale. And we have not even started on the Finite Element Model (FEM) stress analysis, how heat or hot/cold cycling is knocking down material mechanical properties or fatiguing over a life cycle, say 40 years. Be interesting to see your math model compared to this guys build and compare to his test results. Perhaps you could teach us both something because I don’t see it happening, agree with him too complex, costly. I’ll probably be getting in touch with him let me know if interested? He probably has some thermocouple reading's off his domes we can see if your model matches? And, or, I run your model and will building in the next few months probably some domes. I'll be using pressure and heat gages to see where I am at and validate some models good or no good.