Thermal performance characteristics of unshaded courtyards in hot and humid climates

Towards adoption of building energy simulation and optimization for passive building design: A survey and a review

The residential sector is responsible for approximately a quarter of energy consumption in Europe. This consumption, together with that of other buildings, mainly from the tertiary sector, makes up 40% of total energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions. Artificial lighting makes up 14% of electrical consumption in the European Union and 19% worldwide. Through the use of well-designed natural lighting, controlled by technologies or systems which guarantee accessibility from all areas inside buildings, energy consumption for lighting and air conditioning can be kept to a minimum. The authors of this article carried out a state of the art on the technologies or control systems of natural light in buildings, concentrating on those control methods which not only protect the occupants from direct solar glare but also maximize natural light penetration in buildings based on the occupants׳ preferences, whilst allowing for a reduction in electrical consumption for lighting and cooling. All of the control and/or natural light guidance systems and/or strategies guarantee the penetration of daylight into the building, thus reducing the electrical energy consumption for lighting and cooling. At the same time they improve the thermal and visual comfort of the users of the buildings. However various studies have also brought to light certain disadvantages to these systems.

Natural light controls and guides in buildings. Energy saving for electrical lighting, reduction of cooling load

Daylighting design has become prevalent in modern buildings in the effort to create a more sustainable living environment. Past and recent bodies of research emerged are mainly focused on the different methods of predicting and measuring daylight level and various range of daylighting technologies available. Despite a wide range of developed and commercially available daylighting systems have been reported, their applications have been limited by a lack of studies on their utilisations and high initial costs. Computer simulations have been frequently used in the past to investigate daylighting performance due to reliable and accurate predictions. However, additional simulation time and variable level of skills and knowledge required are major drawback of computer simulations. This paper includes and pools information on all major daylighting design topic in the built environment. The study critically reviews and compares daylighting design principles, strengths and weaknesses of different range of daylighting systems and calculation methods, such as, scale model with artificial sky, full scale model for field measurement, numerical modelling and manual calculation procedures with the aid of diagrams or tables. Such information could be of useful for engineers, researchers and designers to assess the suitability of applying these systems and technologies in different building types and examine the potential of energy and cost savings.

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A review of daylighting design and implementation in buildings

Advances in building simulation and computational techniques: A review between 1987 and 2014

Window design in architecture: Analysis of energy savings for lighting and visual comfort in residential spaces

Analysis of daylight factors and energy saving allowed by windows under overcast sky conditions

Light is the major synchronizer of circadian rhythms to the 24-hour solar day. Compared to the visual system, the circadian system requires more light to be activated and is more sensitive to short-wavelength light. Without access to daylight, or electric lighting providing a comparable amount, spectrum, distribution, duration, and timing, human health and well-being may be compromised. This may be particularly true for those confined indoors, such as patients in hospitals and residents in care facilities. Architectural and design features, including window size, surface reflectances, and furniture placement, impact circadian stimulus levels. This paper details results of simulations used to determine the percentage of days that patients would receive a minimum level of circadian stimulation as a function of different window-to-facade ratios, surface reflectances, and latitudes.

Ignacio Acosta

Papers

Window design in architecture: Analysis of energy savings for lighting and visual comfort in residential spaces

Analysis of daylight factors and energy saving allowed by windows under overcast sky conditions

Analysis of circadian stimulus allowed by daylighting in hospital rooms

Analysis of the accuracy of the sky component calculation in daylighting simulation programs

Energy efficiency and lighting design in courtyards and atriums: A predictive method for daylight factors