Urban patterns without highly designed buildings increase the urban heat and energy demands. Solar control techniques encompass strategies that, if properly designed and applied, can decrease solar radiation and cooling demands. The aim of this research is to establish and recommend the most effective and balanced solutions to decrease insolation and increase energy savings while balancing daylighting and visibility. Four main classes were reviewed: facade self-shading, shading devices, window-to-wall ratio and building orientation. The results showed that the cases with such passive strategies effectively lowered the insolation and achieved potential energy savings of 4.64% to 76.57%. The strategies selected for six cases were suitable for subtropical and temperate zones. The most recommended solutions were complex designs of fagade self-shadings and shading devices; their strategic placements and accurate designs can further'improve their performance. The optimal building orientation is essential for determining optimal fagades for the strategic placement of both complex and simple designs. A worldwide guide of azimuth angles was calculated for 59 locations. The results show that 58.62% locations should apply complex designs to the east, 24.13% to the northeast, 12.06% to the west and 5.17% to the southeast orientations for solar protection. In tropical and subtropical zones, complex designs can be integrated with renewable technologies. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.