BUILDING SCIENCE 2A

BUILDING SCIENCE 2A

Lecture 1: Day-lighting in Building design

Lawrence Ogunsanya
 Definition: Day-lighting
 Is the use of direct natural lighting to illuminate the interior of buildings
reducing the need for electric lighting
BUILDING SCIENCE 2A

 Lighting of the interior of a building by natural means; for example, by

windows or skylights.
 It is the practice of placing windows or other openings and reflective
surfaces so that during the day natural light provides effective internal
lighting
 Day-lighting is considered a sustainable building strategy in that it can
reduce reliance on artificial light (and reduce energy use in the process)
and when well designed, contributes to occupant comfort and
performance.
 The use of natural light to supplement or replace artificial lighting.
Strategies include the proper orientation and placement of windows, use
of light wells, light shafts or tubes, skylights, clerestory windows, light
shelves, reflective surfaces, and shading, as well as the use of interior
glazing to allow light into adjacent spaces.
 Day-lighting design pitfalls
 Incorrectly designed windows and/or skylights
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BUILDING SCIENCE 2A Day-lighting design pitfalls
BUILDING SCIENCE 2A Day-lighting design pitfalls
BUILDING SCIENCE 2A Day-lighting design pitfalls
 Day-lighting design pitfalls
 Glare: Discomfort in the eye and depression of central vision
produced when a bright light enters the field of vision
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Day-lighting design Successes
Day-lighting design Successes
Day-lighting design Successes
Day-lighting design Successes
Day-lighting design Successes
 Advantages of Day-lighting
 All buildings receive daylight. A natural well lit building, however, is
specifically designed to efficiently use daylight through adapted
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components and control strategies.

 Benefits of Day-lighting
 Improved lighting quality: Lighting quality refers to visual
performance, visual comfort and ease of seeing.

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Better occupant comfort and health: Another aspect of daylight

is its variability throughout the day, leading to peaked visual
interest. The eyes adapt easily to gradual illumination changes,
changes not easily attainable with artificial light.
 Increased productivity and retail sales: People exposed to
daylight are more productive and efficient.
 Reduced auxiliary lighting load: Day-lighting has become a
major feature in energy efficient design.
 Reduced cooling load: Compared with electrical lighting,
daylight delivers more of its energy as visible light and less as
heat.
 Reduction in electricity demand during the day
 Promotes Energy Sustainability
 Safety and security
 Improves learning concentration and performance
Benefits of Day-lighting
 Design Principles and Concepts
 Access to light
 Buildings should be arranged on site to ensure that they
have good access to daylight and do not shade close
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neighbors.
 Obstructions in front of windows can severely reduce the
quality of daylight in spaces.
 The quality of daylight in a space relates to the visible sky
angle measured from the centre of a window on an external
wall. The larger this angle the better the daylight quality will
be in the space.
 The no skyline position is the location on the working plan
(0.85m above floor in residential and
 0.7m above floor level in offices) where the sky can no
longer be seen. Space to the interior of this will usually
requires supplementary electrical lighting.
 Choice of internal materials/finishes that enhance
illumination
BUILDING SCIENCE 2A Design Principles and Concepts
 Design Principles and Concepts
 Building Orientation
 In general, the long section of buildings should be orientated to +/-
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15 degrees North.
 In addition, the extent of the façade facing north should be
maximized and the length of façade facing east and west
minimised.
 This enables good access to sunlight for the north façade, good
access to daylight through the north and south façades and
reduces unwanted heat gain from early morning and late
afternoon sunshine on the east and west façades.
BUILDING SCIENCE 2A Design Principles and Concepts
 Design Principles and Concepts
 Building form
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 Long and narrow footprints are better than square ones for access
to daylight. Buildings can be arranged as a series of wings to
minimize land requirements while still allowing access to daylight.
 Design Principles and Concepts
 Depth of the buildings
 The depth of the building should be limited to ensure that internal
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spaces that cannot be day lit are limited in area.

 A general rule of thumb is that daylight quality will be reasonable
within the space 2h from a window, where h is the height of the
head of the window from floor level (see figure below).
 Design Principles and Concepts
 Use of Atriums
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 Use atriums to maximize core daylight. The figure below illustrates

that by increasing the footprint of the building slightly, an atrium
can provide full floor daylight.

 Window Placement
 Use strip windows for uniform office lighting. A long strip of
windows, rather than individual punched windows will provide
sufficient lighting to a room without lighting contrasts
 work areas should be in front of windows for north-facing offices
BUILDING SCIENCE 2A Design Principles and Concepts

 Types of side lighting

 Design Principles and Concepts
 Light Shelves
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 Light shelves are horizontal reflectors placed under a high window

that bounce light deep into a room.
 If positioned correctly, light shelves can improve light distribution
in a space by reducing glare and by providing more even light
distribution.
BUILDING SCIENCE 2A Design Principles and Concepts
 Design Principles and Concepts
 Top lighting
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 The main advantages of top lighting over side lighting are roof
openings can provide lighting over larger areas.
 whereas typical side lighting is restricted to about the first 3 to 5
meters of room space
 the possibility of uniform and high illumination levels (especially
with skylights).
 Clerestories and monitors offer increased opportunity to diffuse
direct incoming radiation off the ceiling or shelves.
BUILDING SCIENCE 2A Design Principles and Concepts
BUILDING SCIENCE 2A Design Principles and Concepts
BUILDING SCIENCE 2A Day-lighting
Day-lighting
History of Urban settlements

Questions