Lighting and

Accoustics
Solar radiation and visible light
Color
Visual comfort
Daylighting of interiors : Principles and techniques
 Electromagnetic energy from the sun comes to Earth in the
Solar form of radiation. The sun radiates energy equally in all
radiation directions, and the Earth intercepts and receives part of this
energy. The power flux reaching the top of the Earth's
atmosphere is about 1400 Watts/m 2.
Electromagneti
c spectrum

The range of electromagnetic energy emitted by the sun is known as the

solar spectrum, and lies mainly in three regions: ultraviolet, visible, and
infrared.
 ● The human eye can only
detect a part of this solar
spectrum, that is, the visible
light that ranges from 400 nm
to 700 nm.
● Our eyes even recognize parts
Visible light of the visible light spectrum as
the sensations of color. Thus
400 nm radiation is perceived
by the eye as violet, and 700
nm radiation is perceived as
red.
 ● The visible light from the solar radiation consists of 7 colors:
Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red.
● Our perception of the color of an object depends on the color of
Color the light with which it is illuminated and on the way the object
itself reflects light.
● Selecting an adequate color for a space contributes a great deal to
the efficiency, safety and general well-being of the users.
 Lamps can be classified into three categories depending on the
appearance of the light they emit:
● color with a warm appearance: a white, reddish light
recommended for residential use
Color ● color with intermediate appearance: a white light recommended
for worksites
● color with a cold appearance: a white, bluish light recommended
for tasks that require a high level of illumination or for hot climates.
 ● Colors may also be classified
Warm and as warm or cold according
cold colors to their tonality.
 The color of light, its distribution, and the colors used in a given space
are, among others, key factors that influence the sensations a person
feels.
● Bright colours produce comfortable, stimulating and serene feelings,
while dark colours tend to have a depressing effect.
● Sources of warm-coloured light help reproduce warm colours well.
Warm-coloured objects are more pleasing to the eye in warm light
than in cold light.
● Clear and dull colours (like pastels) are very appropriate as background
colours, while objects should have rich and saturated colours.
Sensations ● Warm colours excite the nervous system and give the sensation that
temperature is rising.
produced by ● Cold colours are preferable for objects. They have a calming effect and
can be used to produce the effect of curvature. Cold colours help
colors. create the sensation that temperature is dropping.
● The sensation of colour of an object depends on the background colour
and on the effect of the light source on its surface.
● Environments that are physically cold or hot can be tempered by using
warm or cold lighting, respectively.
● The intensity of a colour will be inversely proportional to the part of
the normal visual field that it occupies.
● The spatial appearance of a room can be influenced by colour. A room
will seem to have a lower ceiling if its walls are painted a bright colour
and the floor and ceiling are darker, and it will seem to have a higher
ceiling if the walls are darker and the ceiling is bright.
 ● Visual comfort is defined as “a subjective condition of visual well-
being induced by the visual environment”.
● It depends (i) on the physiology of the human eye, (ii) on the
physical quantities describing the amount of light and its
distribution in space, and (iii) on the spectral emission of the light
source.
● Visual comfort is characterized by
Visual comfort - Amount of light
- Uniformity of light
- the quality of light in rendering colors
- the prediction of the risk of glare for occupants.
Amount of ● A good visibility is defined by the presence of an adequate amount
of light allowing an occupant to accomplish his tasks. Discomfort
light can be caused by either too low or too high level of light.
 ● The uniformity of light describes how evenly light spreads over a
Uniformity of task area. A good uniformity of light contributes to avoiding visual
stress due to frequent eye adaptations from over-lit to under-lit
light areas, and thus reduces the risk of visual discomfort.
 ● Glare is a light phenomenon that causes a difficulty seeing to the
occupants of a luminous environment due to too bright artificial or
natural lighting. In general, glare can be defined as “the sensation
Glare produced by luminance within the visual field that is sufficiently
greater than the luminance to which the eyes are adapted to cause
annoyance, discomfort or loss in visual performance and visibility”
 ● People are prone to preferring natural light in the living and
working spaces. It implies great benefits both for health and well
being of occupants.
- it allows improved visual quality in terms of the color rendering
Quality of properties
light in -it is characterized by changing intensity, direction and even color
and these features of daylight connect people to the time of the day
rendering -its use would permit a reduction of the electricity consumption for
colors artificial lighting
-At the same time, to date, artificial light is not able to reproduce
neither the spectrum, nor the instantaneous variability of daylight
 ● Daylighting is not a window thing . It’s an integrated design
concept that involves the whole building and factors in climate, the
building’s orientation, how the floor plan is laid out, and interior
DAYLIGHTING lighting design and controls.
● Low energy bills, high quality indoor environment, low
construction costs — daylighting is one sustainable building
strategy that can help achieve all these goals.
 ● Daylight provides high illuminance and permits excellent colour
discrimination and colour rendering. These two properties mean
that daylight provides the condition for good vision.
● Daylighting strategies and architectural design strategies are
IMPORTANCE inseparable. Daylight not only replaces artificial lighting, reducing
lighting energy use, but also influences both heating and cooling
OF loads. Planning for daylight therefore involves integrating the
perspectives and requirements of various specialities and
DAYLIGHTING professionals. Daylighting design starts with the selection of a
building site and continues as long as the building is occupied.
 Daylighting planning has different objectives at each stage of building
design:
● • Conceptual Design: As the building scheme is being created,
daylighting design influences and/or is influenced by basic decisions
about the building’s shape, proportions, and apertures, as well as about
the integration and the role of building systems.
● • Design Phase: As the building design evolves, daylighting strategies
OBJECTIVES must be developed for different parts of the building. The design of
facades and interior finishing, and the selection and integration of
OF systems and services (including artificial lighting), are all related to the
building’s daylighting plan.
DAYLIGHTING ● • Final/Construction Planning: The selection of materials and products
is affected by the building’s daylighting strategy; final details of the
daylighting scheme must be worked out when construction plans are
created.
● • Commissioning and Post-Occupancy: Once the building is
constructed, lighting controls must be calibrated, and ongoing
operation and maintenance of the system begins.
 The performance of a daylighting strategy for rooms depends on:
● daylight availability on the building envelope which determines
FACTORS the potential to daylight a space;
AFFECTING ● physical and geometrical properties of window(s), and how
windows are used to exploit and respond to available daylight;
DAYLIGHTING ● physical and geometrical properties of the space.
 A BAKER’S DOZEN OF DAYLIGHTING PRINCIPLES
Don’t overcomplicate the daylighting process.
Don’t waste money on daylighting features if you don’t
control artificial lighting first.
Position lighting for maximum effectiveness.
Use tall windows to maximize light penetration.
PRINCIPLES Eliminate glazing below sill height.
Focus on “effective aperture.”
OF Make sure the building program relates to natural daylighting.
DAYLIGHTING Calculate daylighting depth.
Address light shelf design.
Account for climate and geography.
Use appropriate materials and colors to finish spaces.
Take into account the payback period of daylighting
components.
Focus on new construction.
 Site Maximization
● The most obvious site consideration is
orientation. Elongating the building on
an east-west axis and locating high
priority spaces on the north and south
exposures can enhance cost-effective
daylighting.
TECHNIQUES
Roof Monitors and Lightshelves
OF ● Roof monitors or side lighting with south-
DAYLIGHTING facing lightshelves or high, north
transoms can reduce lighting and
cooling loads. Lightshelves are typically The lightshelf reflects daylight deep into the
the system of choice for multistory space and shades the lower view window.

buildings because they can bounce

sunlight deep into moderately sized
rooms through high glazing areas on the
south side of buildings.
 South-Facing Roof Monitors
Roof monitors with vertical south glazing,
interior baffles and properly sized overhangs can
create uniform lighting having less contrast,
provide daylight in spaces far from the perimeter
of the building, provide passive heating benefits,
and effectively diffuse and filter lighting.
Unfortunately, roof monitors can only be used
in singlestory designs or on the top floor
TECHNIQUES of multistory designs.
North-Facing Roof Monitors
OF North-facing monitors, although
effective in providing natural light,
DAYLIGHTING typically require at least 25% more
glazing than south-facing monitors
to achieve the same annual daylighting
contribution. Because of the
additional glazing needed and the
lack of passive heat benefits in winter,
they are not as cost-effective The south-facing roof monitor with baffles blocks direct beams.

as south-facing monitors .
DIFFERENT
WAYS OF
LETTING
DAYLIGHT IN
SHADING
STRATEGIES
SHADING
STRATEGIES
SHADING
STRATEGIES