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Openings and Daylighting
Openings and Daylighting
Daylighting
Introducing daylight
Infiltration of fresh air ventilation
Visual contact with the outside
Passage in and out (in the case of entry doors and other doors with access to
private yards, etc.)
Solar heating
The most efficient way, in principle, of lighting a building in the daytime, is to admit
daylight. This is for two reasons. Firstly, the luminous efficacy, i.e., the useful visible
light in relation to the total energy of the radiation is high. (The heating effect of
daylight is about 1 W per 100 1m, between 1/2 and 1/10 of typical artificial lighting
alternatives. However, the full saving in unwanted heat gains is not usually realized,
as will be explained later.)
A further benefit of daylight, is that it usually implies a good visual link between
indoors and outdoors. There is increasing evidence that this quality is essential for
the well- being of occupants, especially in larger non-domestic buildings.
Daylight Factor
In the case of light falling on to a point within the building, it can also be broken down
into three components:
Sky component (SC)
Externally reflected component (ERC)
Internally reflected component (IRC)
The sky conditions, in relation to day lighting, vary for different climatic zones.
Temperate zones have predominantly cloudy skies and day lighting design is based
upon this assumed condition.
Hot arid climates have predominantly clear blue skies, often of low luminance but with
very bright ground surfaces.
Warm humid climates have predominantly overcast skies of very high luminance.
The dry and rainy seasons in north India represent conditions including and between
those of the hot arid and warm humid climates.
Clerestory windows
Skylights
Skylight is any horizontal window, roof lantern or oculus, placed at
the roof of the building, often used for daylighting. White
translucent acrylic is a 'Lambertian Diffuser' meaning transmitted
light is perfectly diffused and distributed evenly over affected areas.
This means, among other advantages, that light source quality
standards are measured relative to white acrylic transmission.
White acrylic domes provide even light distribution throughout the
day. Skylights admit more light per unit area than windows, and
distribute it more evenly over a space.
Light reflectors
Once used extensively in office buildings, the manually
adjustable light reflector is seldom in use today having
been supplanted by a combination of other methods in
concert with artificial illumination. The reflector had found
favor where the choices of artificial light provided poor
illumination compared to modern electric lighting
Light shelves
Light shelves are an effective way to enhance the lighting
from windows on the equator-facing side of a structure,
this effect being obtained by placing a white or reflective
metal light shelf outside the window. Usually the window
will be protected from direct summer season sun by a
projecting eave. The light shelf projects beyond the
shadow created by the eave and reflects sunlight upward
to illuminate the ceiling. This reflected light can contain
little heat content and the reflective illumination from the
ceiling will typically reduce deep shadows, reducing the
need for general illumination.
Light tubes
Another type of device used is the light tube, also
called a solar tube, which is placed into a roof and
admits light to a focused area of the interior. These
somewhat resemble recessed ceiling light fixtures.
They do not allow as much heat transfer as
skylights because they have less surface area.
Sawtooth roof
Another roof-angled glass alternative is a "sawtooth
roof" (found on older factories). Sawtooth roofs have
vertical roof glass facing away from the equator side of
the building to capture diffused light (not harsh direct
equator-side solar gain). The angled portion of the glasssupport structure is opaque and well insulated with a
cool roof and radiant barrier. The sawtooth roof's lighting
concept partially reduces the summer "solar furnace"
skylight problem, but still allows warm interior air to rise
and touch the exterior roof glass in the cold winter, with
significant undesirable heat transfer.
Heliostats
The use of heliostats, mirrors which are moved
automatically to reflect sunlight in a constant direction as
the sun moves across the sky, is gaining popularity as an
energy-efficient method of lighting. A heliostat can be
used to shine sunlight directly through a window or
skylight, or into any arrangement of optical elements, for
example light tubes, that distribute the light where it is
needed.
Smart glass
Smart glass is the name given to a class of materials
and devices that can be switched between a
transparent state and a state which is opaque,
translucent, reflective, or retro-reflective. The
switching is done by applying an electric voltage to the
material, or by performing some simple mechanical
operation. Windows, skylights, etc., that are made of
smart glass can be used to adjust indoor lighting,
compensating for changes of the brightness of the
light outdoors and of the required brightness indoors.
Fiber-optic concrete wall
Another way to make a secure structural concrete wall
translucent is to embed optical fiber cables in it.
Daylight (and shadow images) can then pass directly
through a thick solid-concrete wall.
Solarium
In a well-designed isolated solar gain building with a solarium,
sunroom, greenhouse, etc., there is usually significant glass on
the equator side. A large area of glass can also be added between
the sun room and your interior living quarters. Low-cost highvolume-produced patio door safety glass is an inexpensive way to
accomplish this goal.
The doors used to enter a room, should be opposite the sun room
interior glass, so that a user can see outside immediately when
entering most rooms. Halls should be minimized with open spaces
used instead. If a hall is necessary for privacy or room isolation,
inexpensive patio door safety glass can be placed on both sides of
the hall. Drapes over the interior glass can be used to control
lighting. Drapes can optionally be automated with sensor-based
electric motor controls that are aware of room occupancy, daylight,
interior temperature, and time of day. Passive solar buildings with
no central air conditioning system need control mechanisms for
hourly, daily, and seasonal, temperature-and-daylight variations. If
the temperature is correct, and a room is unoccupied, the drapes
can automatically close to reduce heat transfer in either direction.
Daylight Availability
All daylighting strategies make use of the luminance
distribution from the sun, sky, buildings, and
ground.
Daylight strategies depend on the availability of
natural light, which is determined by the latitude of
the building site and the conditions immediately
surrounding the building, e.g., the presence of
obstructions.
Daylighting strategies are also affected by climate;
thus, the identification of seasonal, prevailing climate
conditions, particularly ambient temperatures and
sunshine probability, is a basic step in daylight design.
Studying both climate and daylight availability at a
construction site is key to understanding the operating
conditions of the buildings facade.
One of the first steps in planning for daylight is to list all of a projects floor spaces
and determine the lighting requirements of these areas.
The required daylight level and degree of control over the visual environment are
among the most important criteria
Performance parameters should be checked during the initial design phase.
Incorrect assumptions about the distribution of daylight within the space will result in
poor daylighting performance
If the performance of the daylight strategy depends on the performance of particular
daylighting systems, these systems have to be included in the prediction method.
Rules of thumb, graphical methods, and simulation of daylight with physical or
computer models are applicable at this stage of the design process
Most of these methods do not adequately account for a designs thermal behavior
even though the thermal strategy and the daylighting strategy are inseparably linked;
a daylighting design should therefore include thermal calculations