subject: Using Daylighting To Naturally Light Your Home [print this page] Daylighting is defined as a design strategy that involves making the best possible use of natural sunlight in the home or office environment. As people become more energy conscious, the use of daylighting is utilized to decrease one's need and dependency on an energy source for their lighting needs.
In addition to cutting overall energy costs, daylighting in commercial spaces is said to enhance the morale of the workplace. Employees enjoy the exposure to natural light. There is evidence that productivity increases while the potential for negative interaction between employees appears to decrease.
In integrating daylighting into one's architectural plans, there are numerous and efficient ways to do so.
Bringing natural light into one's home or office has many benefits but as pointed out in the National Institute of Building Science's Whole Building Design Guide, "the art and science of proper daylighting is not so much how to provide enough daylight to an occupied space, but how to do so without any undesirable side effects."
To utilize daylighting while balancing out undesirable effects, there are a number of options one has. One would be the use of window film. Window film technology has come a long way in the last decade with films ranging in materials and provision. If you are looking to keep your windows transparent while blocking out ruinous UV rays, there are window films for this as well. Looking to block out a portion of the sun? There is a window film for this as well.
In addition to these modifications, one can ask their architect about how to utilize design in moderating light appropriately. Balancing daylight admission with glare control and thermal comfort is important. Direct sun should be blocked from falling on task surfaces and the occupant. Daylight should also be distributed as uniformly as possible throughout the house. Maximizing daylight and minimizing discomfort and glare is the goal. One shouldn't have to lower shades to avoid thermal discomfort or cut down visual glare if daylighting is utilized correctly in the architecture of your home. The proper design should allow for daylight to be directed deeply into the home rather than directly onto its occupants.
Another way to utilize light effectively is through the placement of windows along an east-west axis. This can typically reduce the potential for glare and allows for
more even light conditions throughout the day.
Allowing natural lighting into your home, beyond the use of the standard window, is through toplighting. Toplighting fenestration such as roof monitors can be another means of controlled daylight access.
Blending daylighting into your architectural plans is much of an art as it is a science. Discomfort glare is difficult to quantify and predict as it can be dependent on the occupant's direction of view and task. There is also the unpredictability of occupant behavior.
Other devices also help with the process of daylighting including the use of a reflective surface such as a mirror which increases the lighting effect obtained from windows or skylights. When placed in the proper location, the sunlight is reflected by the mirror to other areas of the space that receive less benefit from the structural elements that allow sunlight into the room.
The cost of integrating daylighting into one's home's design and construction does not have to increase construction costs, especially if it's done using an integrated design approach.
