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<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="publisher">ISPRS-Annals</journal-id>
<journal-title-group>
<journal-title>ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences</journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="publisher">ISPRS-Annals</abbrev-journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="nlm-ta">ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci.</abbrev-journal-title>
</journal-title-group>
<issn pub-type="epub">2194-9050</issn>
<publisher><publisher-name>Copernicus Publications</publisher-name>
<publisher-loc>Göttingen, Germany</publisher-loc>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.5194/isprs-annals-X-4-W8-2025-379-2026</article-id>
<title-group>
<article-title>Evaluation of U-Net3+ and Attention U-Net for Solar Energy Estimation on Urban Rooftops using LiDAR DSMs</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Hosseini</surname>
<given-names>Maryam</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Irannejad</surname>
<given-names>Sina</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Bagheri</surname>
<given-names>Hossein</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
</contrib-group><aff id="aff1">
<label>1</label>
<addr-line>Faculty of Civil Engineering and Transportation, University of Isfahan, Iran</addr-line>
</aff>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>29</day>
<month>05</month>
<year>2026</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>X-4/W8-2025</volume>
<fpage>379</fpage>
<lpage>387</lpage>
<permissions>
<copyright-statement>Copyright: &#x000a9; 2026 Maryam Hosseini et al.</copyright-statement>
<copyright-year>2026</copyright-year>
<license license-type="open-access">
<license-p>This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit <ext-link ext-link-type="uri"  xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</ext-link></license-p>
</license>
</permissions>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://isprs-annals.copernicus.org/articles/X-4-W8-2025/379/2026/isprs-annals-X-4-W8-2025-379-2026.html">This article is available from https://isprs-annals.copernicus.org/articles/X-4-W8-2025/379/2026/isprs-annals-X-4-W8-2025-379-2026.html</self-uri>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://isprs-annals.copernicus.org/articles/X-4-W8-2025/379/2026/isprs-annals-X-4-W8-2025-379-2026.pdf">The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://isprs-annals.copernicus.org/articles/X-4-W8-2025/379/2026/isprs-annals-X-4-W8-2025-379-2026.pdf</self-uri>
<abstract>
<p>This study investigates the feasibility of employing deep learning models, specifically the U-Net3+ and Attention U-Net architectures, to estimate annual solar energy potential maps (ASM) using high resolution LiDAR-derived digital surface models (DSMs). As urban areas increasingly seek sustainable energy solutions, precise localization of rooftop solar panels becomes essential. While accurate, traditional physical models, such as the Area Solar Radiation (ASR) model, are often computationally intensive and time consuming, limiting their application over large areas. This research proposes a novel framework that integrates deep learning techniques to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of solar energy potential estimation. The methodology includes data collection, generation of reference ASMs from LiDAR DSMs using the ASR model, and training various U-Net models on patches of DSM data. The U-Net 3+ model demonstrated the highest correlation with reference ASMs with an RMSE of 94.353 (MWh/m&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;) and R&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; of 0.91, indicating its effectiveness in capturing the spatial relationships between topographical features and solar radiation. The results suggest that deep learning models can be a viable alternative to traditional physical models, facilitating quicker and more reliable solar energy potential mapping.</p>
</abstract>
<counts><page-count count="9"/></counts>
</article-meta>
</front>
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