Key Project Datasets¶

Primary datasets used in our prject.

Description: A high-resolution surface model capturing the elevation of "first return" features, including the tops of buildings and tree canopies (920GB).
URL: https://data.linz.govt.nz/layer/53621-nz-lidar-1m-dsm-2013-2024/
Project Use: Used to calculate specific roof slopes and azimuths, and to model solar shading caused by local vegetation and neighboring structures.
Limitations: Very large dataset.

Description: A national-scale elevation model describing the bare ground level, excluding surface objects like trees or buildings (18.84GB).
URL: https://data.linz.govt.nz/layer/51768-nz-8m-digital-elevation-model-2012/
Project Use: Provides the foundation for low-granularity shading analysis caused by large-scale terrain and mountain ranges.

Description: A dataset containing polygons representing the footprints of buildings across New Zealand (440MB).
URL: https://data.linz.govt.nz/layer/101290-nz-building-outlines/
Project Use: The primary dataset for identifying individual building locations and footprints for solar potential mapping.
Future: Integrate NZ Building Outlines (All Sources) which seems to have more buildings, as well as duplicates.

Description: An administrative dataset that links individual meshblocks to higher-level statistical and local government boundaries (160MB).
URL: https://datafinder.stats.govt.nz/layer/123519-meshblock-higher-geographies-2026/
Project Use: Used to append administrative attributes to building data, enabling the aggregation of results by region or district.

Reporting Boundaries¶

Boundary	Title	Aggregates
MB	Meshblock: Street Block (60–120 residents)	—
SA1	Statistical Area 1: Neighborhood (100–500 residents)	MB
SA2	Suburb/Township (1,000–4,000 residents)	SA1s
SA3	Sub-District	SA2s
TA	Territorial Authority: Council/District	SA3s
REGC	Regional Council: Water Catchment Area	MB (does not always align with TAs)