Log in Sign up

ELiterature and regulations

In brief

This appendix lists all regulations, technical publications and data sources on which PV-GlareCheck and this manual rely, each with publisher, year and edition. The chapters give short citations in the text; the full reference is given here.

E.1 Regulations and guidelines

How the regulations are classified, their criteria and their implementation in PV-GlareCheck are described in part VI. How a regulation is applied in an individual case is the responsibility of the user.

Germany

  • Bund/Länder-Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Immissionsschutz (LAI): Hinweise zur Messung, Beurteilung und Minderung von Lichtimmissionen. Resolution of 13 Sep 2012, as of 8 Oct 2012; Annex 2 „Empfehlungen zur Ermittlung, Beurteilung und Minderung der Blendwirkung von Photovoltaikanlagen“, as of 3 Nov 2015, with formula correction 03/2018. Used in Ch. VI.1.
  • Fernstraßen-Bundesamt (FBA, Federal Highway Authority): Eckpunktepapier Photovoltaik – Blendwirkungen und Blendgutachten. As of November 2025. Used in Ch. VI.2 and Ch. VI.3.
  • Fernstraßen-Bundesamt (FBA): Erforderliche Unterlagen bei der Errichtung von Photovoltaikanlagen in den Nahbereichen der Bundesfernstraßen. As of January 2025. Used in Ch. VI.2.

Austria

  • OVE Österreichischer Verband für Elektrotechnik: OVE-Richtlinie R 11-3, Blendung durch Photovoltaikanlagen. Edition 2016-11-01, Vienna. Formally withdrawn on 1 Dec 2024 (OVE Standardization News 1/2025, p. 1), unofficially still often used for orientation. Used in Ch. VI.1 to Ch. VI.4.
  • Österreichische Forschungsgesellschaft Straße – Schiene – Verkehr (FSV): RVS 05.06.11, Visuelle Störungen – Kriterien zu Standorten von Informationsträgern. Information sheet, edition 1 Dec 2011, Vienna. Used in Ch. VI.2 and Ch. VI.3.

Switzerland

  • EnergieSchweiz, Swissolar et al.: Leitfaden zum Melde- und Bewilligungsverfahren für Solaranlagen. Edition June 2023, Bern (predecessor February 2021). Used in Ch. VI.1.

Aviation

  • European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA): Certification Specifications and Guidance Material for Aerodromes Design (CS-ADR-DSN), GM1 ADR-DSN.M.615. Issue 7, ED Decision 2025/004/R, applicable since 24 May 2025; same wording in Issue 6, ED Decision 2022/006/R, 29 Mar 2022; previously Issue 4, ED Decision 2017/021/R. Used in Ch. VI.4.
  • Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): Federal Aviation Administration Policy: Review of Solar Energy System Projects on Federally-Obligated Airports. Federal Register Vol. 86, No. 89, 11 May 2021, pp. 25801–25803, FR Doc. 2021-09862. Used in Ch. VI.4.
  • Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): Interim Policy, FAA Review of Solar Energy System Projects on Federally Obligated Airports. Federal Register Vol. 78, No. 205, 23 Oct 2013, pp. 63276–63279, FR Doc. 2013-24729. Superseded by the 2021 policy; used in Ch. VI.4.
  • Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): Technical Guidance for Evaluating Selected Solar Technologies on Airports. November 2010, updated April 2018. Used in Ch. VI.4.
  • Ente Nazionale per l’Aviazione Civile (ENAC): Linee Guida LG–2022/002-APT, Valutazione degli impianti fotovoltaici nei dintorni aeroportuali. Edition 1, 26 Apr 2022, not binding. Used in Ch. VI.4.

E.2 Technical literature

Reflection, glare and low-glare modules

  • Ruesch, F.; Battaglia, M.; Brunold, S. (2016): Methode zur Quantifizierung der Blendung durch Solaranlagen – Vergleich mit anderen Materialien der Gebäudehülle. 26. Symposium Thermische Solarenergie, Bad Staffelstein, 20–22 Apr 2016. Institut für Solartechnik SPF, Rapperswil. Used in Ch. 8.6.
  • Toggweiler, P.; Bohren, A.; Bucher, C.; Rechsteiner, T. (2024): Stand der Technik zu blendarmen Oberflächen bei PV-Modulen. Report commissioned by EnergieSchweiz, Swiss Federal Office of Energy, October 2024. Proposals for revising the guideline, not binding. Used in Ch. 8.6, Ch. V.5, Ch. VI.1 and Ch. VI.4.
  • Bucher, C.; Halle, L.; Burri, M. (2026): Praxistest blendfreie Photovoltaik-Module. Final report, Bern University of Applied Sciences, 2 Feb 2026, version 3.0. Used in Ch. 8.6.
  • Bucher, C.; Wüthrich, P.; Danaci, Ş.; Wandel, J. (2021): Glare Hazard Analysis of Novel BIPV Module Technologies. ISES Solar World Congress 2021, Conference Proceedings. Used in Ch. 8.6.
  • Bucher, C. (2024): Blendung an PV-Anlagen: Erfahrungen mit blendarmen Produkten. Presentation, Solar Update Swissolar, 19 Nov 2024. Used in Ch. 8.6.
  • Babin, M.; Thorsteinsson, S.; Jakobsen, M. L.; Spataru, S. V. (2022): Glare Potential Evaluation of Structured PV Glass Based on Gonioreflectometry. IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics 12(6), 1314–1318. DOI 10.1109/JPHOTOV.2022.3189779. Used in Ch. 8.6 and Ch. V.
  • Ho, C. K.; Ghanbari, C. M.; Diver, R. B. (2011): Methodology to Assess Potential Glint and Glare Hazards From Concentrating Solar Power Plants: Analytical Models and Experimental Validation. Journal of Solar Energy Engineering 133(3), 031021. DOI 10.1115/1.4004349. Used in Ch. V.5.
  • Rogers, J. A.; Ho, C. K.; Mead, A.; Millan, A.; Beben, M.; Drechsler, G. (2015): Evaluation of Glare as a Hazard for General Aviation Pilots on Final Approach. FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine, DOT/FAA/AM-15/12. Used in Ch. V.6 and Ch. VI.4.
  • Jurado-Piña, R.; Pardillo Mayora, J. M. (2009): Methodology to Predict Driver Vision Impairment Situations Caused by Sun Glare. Transportation Research Record 2120, 12–17. Used in Ch. VI.2.

Sun position, radiation and luminous efficacy

  • Reda, I.; Andreas, A. (2004): Solar position algorithm for solar radiation applications. Solar Energy 76(5), 577–589. DOI 10.1016/j.solener.2003.12.003. Used in Ch. V.1.
  • Ineichen, P.; Perez, R. (2002): A new airmass independent formulation for the Linke turbidity coefficient. Solar Energy 73(3), 151–157. DOI 10.1016/S0038-092X(02)00045-2. Used in Ch. V.1 and Ch. V.5.
  • Holmgren, W. F.; Hansen, C. W.; Mikofski, M. A. (2018): pvlib python: a python package for modeling solar energy systems. Journal of Open Source Software 3(29), 884. DOI 10.21105/joss.00884. Used in Ch. V.1 and Ch. V.2.
  • Littlefair, P. J. (1988): Measurements of the luminous efficacy of daylight. Lighting Research & Technology 20(4), 177–188. DOI 10.1177/096032718802000405. Used in Ch. V.5.

Tracking

  • Lorenzo, E.; Narvarte, L.; Muñoz, J. (2011): Tracking and back-tracking. Progress in Photovoltaics 19(6), 747–753. DOI 10.1002/pip.1085. Used in Ch. V.2.
  • Marion, W.; Dobos, A. (2013): Rotation Angle for the Optimum Tracking of One-Axis Trackers. NREL/TP-6A20-58891, Golden, CO. DOI 10.2172/1089596. Used in Ch. V.2.
  • Anderson, K.; Mikofski, M. (2020): Slope-Aware Backtracking for Single-Axis Trackers. NREL/TP-5K00-76626, Golden, CO. DOI 10.2172/1660126. Used in Ch. V.2.

Verification

  • Commission Internationale de l’Éclairage (CIE): CIE 171:2006, Test Cases to Assess the Accuracy of Lighting Computer Programs. Vienna, 2006. Used in Ch. D.
  • Reda, I.; Andreas, A. (2008): Solar Position Algorithm for Solar Radiation Applications. NREL/TP-560-34302, revised January 2008, Golden, CO. DOI 10.2172/15003974.
  • Ward, G. J. (1994): The RADIANCE Lighting Simulation and Rendering System. Proceedings of SIGGRAPH 94, 459–472. DOI 10.1145/192161.192286. Version used: Radiance 6.0.2, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Used in Ch. D.

E.3 Data sources

The data date and licence of each source are also shown in the source line of the map or on the elevation value of the object (section 5.4 in Ch. 5, section 6.3 in Ch. 6).

Terrain models

  • Surveying authorities of the 16 German federal states: digital terrain model with 1 m grid (DGM1), from laser scanning, height reference NHN (DHHN2016). Data date per tile; authorities and licences (dl-de/by-2-0, dl-de/zero-2-0 or CC BY 4.0) in Ch. 6.6.
  • Bundesamt für Eich- und Vermessungswesen (BEV): ALS-DGM Austria, 1 m, INSPIRE grid, height reference EVRF2000 Austria. Data date 2019. CC BY 4.0, data.bev.gv.at.
  • Federal Office of Topography swisstopo: swissALTI3D, 0.5 m, height reference LN02. Year per tile. Free use (OGD).
  • Environment Agency, England: LIDAR Composite DTM, 1 m, height reference ODN (Ordnance Datum Newlyn). Composite 2022 from surveys 2000–2022. Open Government Licence v3.0 with attribution.
  • Google: Elevation API. Worldwide, without information on grid spacing or data date (Ch. 6.2).

Aerial images and maps

  • Surveying authorities of the 16 German federal states: digital orthophotos (DOP). Year of acquisition at the project site in the source line; licence per state dl-de/by-2-0, dl-de/zero-2-0 or CC BY 4.0.
  • basemap.at (administrative base map of Austria): orthophoto. CC BY 4.0.
  • Federal Office of Topography swisstopo: SWISSIMAGE. Free use (OGD).
  • Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN), Spain: PNOA Máxima Actualidad. CC BY 4.0, scne.es.
  • Google: Maps JavaScript API, map types “Satellite” and “Map”. Attribution and terms of use by Google.

Horizon

  • European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC): Photovoltaic Geographical Information System (PVGIS), horizon profiles. https://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/. Used in Ch. V.4.

See also