Illuminating Your Design

Effective daylighting needs to be in the DNA of the design. High performance, green building incorporate effective daylighting because it provides multiple benefits. People are happier, healthier and more productive in naturally daylit spaces that correspond to our circadian rhythms. Do you know anyone who prefers to work in a room with no windows? Effective daylighting also significantly reduces the energy use of artificial lighting and lowers internal heat gains that reduce cooling loads as well. Incorporating large window areas in your facade is not effective daylighting. Our integrative process guides you from understanding, to applying to analyzing the fundamentals of exemplary daylighting design.

Understanding Daylighting Fundamentals

Good daylighting requires thoughtful design far beyond just providing windows to include orientation, building massing, interior space design, exterior/interior shading, top lighting strategies, bilateral daylighting, integration with the artificial lighting system, furniture placement, and optimal window area and configuration. Good daylighting allows the light to enter the space without all the negative impacts of glare and excessive heat gains. Good daylighting practice establishes specific performance parameters (sDA, ASE, contrast ratios, reflectance values, etc.) as project goals early in the design process. For more details on good daylighting design see our Daylighting Design Tips document. (include a link to it)

Applying Daylighting Principles

What is the optimal window to wall area ratio for good daylighting? What is the optimal window to floor area ratio for good daylighting in a particular space? What is the effective depth of penetration for daylighting into a space that is side lit dependent upon? How does the interior reflectance of the wall, ceiling and floor impact daylighting design? What is the optimal visible light transmittance and solar heat gain coefficient of the glazing? The application of daylighting design principles incorporates a whole series of criteria used to guide the development of the design. We can guide you through this process as your design evolves. For some design inspiration we have complied numerous Daylighting Design Examples in this document. (include a link to it)

Iterating Daylighting Designs

Once the general "rules of thumb" have been applied to the design the use of daylighting simulation software is used to evaluate how the project's daylighting design is actually performing. At this stage we are often analyzing larger scale issues like orientation, massing, window-to-wall ratios, and top lighting strategies. As the design evolves, daylighting analysis allows us to iterate a variety of options to help guide your design decisions.

Making Enlightened Decisions

At this stage in the process many of the "big" design decisions have been made and we hone in on the details. This phase is intended to optimize the design relative to exterior shading, glazing performance, space and furniture layout, as well as the controls that integrate with the artificial lighting system. Daylighting analysis ensures that the final design decisions have been fully informed and analyzed relative to all of the unique and particular conditions associated with the project.

Letting your building shine

Many projects incorporating good daylighting design are also seeking certification for one or sometimes more green building rating systems like LEED or WELL. Daylighting analysis during the development of the project's design is the way to confirm that the credits you are pursuing will be achieved and that the final design complies with the project's original daylighting performance goals. The final calculations are a prediction of the performance to come.

Achieving Brighter Outcomes

The evaluation of post-occupancy daylighting performance is a good way to ensure that the benefits of good daylighting are achieved in practice. LEED has a measurement option for documenting the daylighting credit that can be used for all projects. Following up the design and construction with actual performance evaluation is an excellent way to discover "lessons learned" that can be applied to future projects.