Advances in switchable and highly insulating autonomous (self-powered) glazing systems for adaptive low energy buildings

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

https://isiarticles.com/bundles/Article/pre/pdf/28159.pdf

The effects of daylighting and human behavior on luminous comfort in residential buildings: A questionnaire survey

There is a significant and growing interest in the use of highly-glazed facades in commercial buildings. Large portions of the facade or even the entire facade are glazed with relatively high transmittance glazing systems, and typically with some form of sun control as well. With origins in Europe the trend is expanding to other regions, including the United States. A subset of these designs employ a second layer creating a double envelope system, which can then accommodate additional venting and ventilation practices. The stated rationale for use of the these design approaches varies but often includes a connection to occupant benefits as well as sustainable design associated with daylighting and energy savings. As with many architectural trends, understanding the reality of building performance in the field as compared to design intent is often difficult to ascertain. We have been particularly interested in this emerging trend because prior simulation studies have shown that it should be technically possible to produce an all-glass facade with excellent performance although it is not a simple challenge. The published solutions are varied enough and sufficiently complex that we undertook a year-long international review of advanced facades to better understand the capabilities and limitations of existing systems and the tools and processes used to create them. This is also intended to create a framework for addressing the missing tools, technologies, processes and data bases that will be needed to turn the promise of advanced facades into realities. This summary, available as a PDF file and a web site, reports those findings.

/pdf/high-performance-commercial-building-facades-43jerz49wz.pdf

M.E. Aizlewood

Papers

The performance of innovative daylighting systems