Daylighting
Light is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum visible to the human eye.
The quantity of light emitted, per unit time, by a source of radiation is called the luminous
flux, and it is measured in units of lumen (abbreviated lm).
Although sunlight is available for free and makes for a great source for indoor lighting,
there is still heavy reliance on artificial lighting for illuminance. However with the
increasing awareness of greenhouse effects on environment and the concerns related to
energy consumption and the effect of natural lighting on health, the natural light for indoor
lighting is used as a renewable source.
Daylighting is a way to ensure that indoor lighting is as per the required amount needed for human conditions. Day lighting is
the controlled admission of natural light, direct sunlight, and diffused-skylight into a building to reduce electric lighting and
saving energy. Daylight is the source of heating and lighting.
Daylight enters a building via four primary mechanisms; Direct sunlight - Clear sky - Clouds (diffuse light) - Reflections from
ground and nearby objects.
An Integrated Natural lighting System consists of-
Daylight-optimized building footprint
Day lighting-optimized fenestration design
Climate-responsive window to wall area ratio
High-performance glazing
Skylights (passive or active)
Daylight redirection devices
Solar shading devices
Daylight-optimized interior design (such as furniture design, space planning, and room
surface finishes).
Different Types of Daylighting Systems: Passive and Active Daylighting Systems
Passive daylighting is a system of collecting sunlight using stationary, non-moving, and non-
tracking systems (such as windows, sliding glass doors, most skylights, light tubes). These are
used to sunlight to illuminate the interior of a building or use sunlight further by other daylight
devices for illumination.
Active daylighting is a system of collecting sunlight using a mechanical device to increase the
efficiency of light collection for a given lighting purpose. Active daylighting systems are
different from passive daylighting systems in that passive systems are stationary and do not
actively follow or track the sun.
Daylighting Strategies/ Method of Daylighting
Two of the commonly used daylighting strategies are:
Top Daylighting – Daylighting systems is installed on the roof to enable
lighting entry from the ceiling. These could include systems like skylights and
others.
Side Daylighting – This technique allows daylight to come from the side of
the building with vertical glazing on building perimeter walls.
Principles of Effective Natural Lighting Design
1. Orientation of the Building
2. Form of the Building
3.Glazing Ratio and specifications
4. Window Height and location
5. Overhead day lighting
6. Daylight Redirection
1. Orientation of the Building
The orientation of buildings is important, if the length of the building is oriented in an east-
west axis, it will allow penetration of passive heating or cooling within the building on a
seasonal basis.
A north-south facade is better as it allows penetrating a good daylight by avoiding glare
and overheating.
Designers could define which rooms need direct or indirect sunlight and require the
quantity of heat or heat loss.
2. Form of the Building
Identifies the quality of daylight.
Different shapes: thin linear, L-shape, U-shape
Courtyard and thin building, increase the nature light and
heat distribution to the sides of building.
3.Glazing Ratio and specifications
• Glazing ratio= Area of glazing/area of external wall. GR= ab/WH
• More glazing provides more natural daylight but also allows unwanted summer solar gains and winter heat losses.
• The optimum glazing ratio may vary due to individual factors such as orientation, location, obstructions (View of sky)
and activity/user requirements.
• Recommended glazing ratios are generally between 25-50% of the external wall of the daylight space.
Specification:
The type of glazing has a direct influence on thermal performance
and daylight levels.
Triple glazing gives greater thermal comfort because its internal
temperature is closer to the internal air conditions.
Triple glazing, tinted or reflective glass can result in reduced daylight
levels.
4. Window Height and location
• Windows should be high on the wall, widely
distributed and of an optimum area to achieve adequate
daylighting.
• As a general rule, the higher the window head height,
the deeper into the space the daylight can penetrate.
• Building code says-
• In office buildings, windows of 1.2m opening with sill
height 1m-1.2m above floor and in residences,
windows of 1- 1.1m and sill height to be 0.9-0.7m
above floor.
5. Overhead day lighting
Roof Lighting:
Horizontal roof lights admit more daylight per square meter of glazed
area than do vertical windows,
A horizontal roof light is proportionately three times more effective as a
source of daylight than a vertical window.
Roof light areas should be limited to a maximum of 12% of the floor area
to reduce excessive heat losses and gains
Skylights:
Skylights are domed, horizontal or slightly sloping glazed openings in the
roof that are installed on the roofs of the buildings to allow natural light to
come in. These are different types of skylights like the fixed encased
windows, the openable skylights and so on.
Monitor Lighting
Monitor lighting can be used to reduce glare, heat gains, and protect
internal spaces from direct sunlight, by providing an opaque roof and
overhang above the glazing.
Saw Tooth Lighting
Heat gains can be reduced by tilting roof lights towards the North
in order to utilize diffuse north lighting.
Clerestory Windows
Clerestory windows are usually situated at a high level (near the ceiling of the
room) - always above eye level.
They provide an effective source of natural light and ventilation whilst reducing
glare.
6. Daylight Redirection
Daylight redirection devices take incoming direct beam sunlight and redirect it, generally onto the ceiling
of a space. These devices serve two functions: glare control, where direct sun is redirected away from the eyes
of occupants, and daylight penetration, where sunlight is distributed deeper into a space that would not be
allowed otherwise. Daylight redirection devices generally take one of two forms: a large horizontal element,
or louvered systems. Horizontal daylight redirection devices are often called light shelves.
Tubular daylight devices (Solar Light Tubes)
Tubular daylight devices are another type of top lighting device. Solar Light Tubes are tubes
that capture sunlight from the rooftops and pipe them to the indoors of the buildings.
Tubular daylight devices (Solar Light Tubes)
Tubular daylight devices are another type of top lighting device. Solar Light Tubes are tubes
that capture sunlight from the rooftops and pipe them to the indoors of the buildings. These
devices employ a highly reflective film on the interior of a tube to channel light from outside.
The piping of the light is made possible because of the metallic reflections that happen all the
way along the tube when the light passes through it. And the finally diffused light comes out
of the pipe to illuminate the indoors after passing through the diffuser.
Tubular daylight devices tend to be much smaller than a typical skylight. Therefore, solar
tubes are gaining popularity over Skylights because they are easy to install and are much less
expensive and optimized to control light and heat indoors.
Glare: Glare, or excessive brightness contrast within the field of view, is an aspect of lighting that can cause discomfort
to occupants. The human eye can function quite well if extreme levels of brightness are present in the same field of
view.
According to Building Code, Light Control Media, such as translucent glass panes should be provided in the upper
portion of openings, to reflect part of the light on to the roof, increasing the diffuse lighting within the room, preventing
Glare discomfort to the occupants.
Benefits of Daylight Harvesting
The overall objective of daylighting is to minimize the amount of artificial light and reduce electricity costs, but it can
also lower HVAC costs as well.
The overall energy savings range from 15 to 40 percent.
Reduced cooling loads by 10-20%
Improved lighting conditions
Colour Rendition
Occupant Satisfaction
Occupant Comfort.
Connection to Nature
Reducing the amount of electrical energy used also reduces the amount of greenhouse gases released that are
associated with the production of said energy.
Reduced internal heat gain
A research at the Cardiff University
reported the relationship between natural
elements and human productivity and found
a 15% increase in the productivity with
employees with offices having natural
elements compared to employees with offices
without having natural elements.
Drawbacks
Although daylighting can provide numerous positive results in regards to worker
performance, if a daylighting program has not been executed properly, it can produce
negative results.
Increased heat gains.
A high-performance daylighting system may initially require a significant investment.
Glare-Direct sunlight penetration in classrooms and office spaces often produces an
unpleasant glare on work surfaces, making it difficult to work or view a computer screen.
Some architectural features, such as a building’s roof, atrium shapes or a buildings
angles, can prevent daylight from illuminating a space.
