Daylighting

While not an electric light source, daylight is an important layer to consider in a lighting design in any space that has daylight apertures such as windows and skylights. In its simplest definition, daylighting is the use of daylight as the primary source of illumination in a space. Daylighting is also related to providing access [...]

ArchitectCES.com, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Continuing Education Services (AIA/CES) provider, has added “Introduction to Tubular Daylighting Devices,” delivered by manufacturer Solatube, valued at 1 LU/HSW/SD hour. Students will learn: why daylight is so important and identify the reasons for using daylighting in commercial environments to identify the available daylighting strategies and identify their [...]

The University of California, Davis has signed co-exclusive license agreements with Wattstopper and Axis Technologies Inc. to commercialize inventions that reduce the cost and increase the reliability of daylight harvesting systems–control systems that automatically adjust indoor lighting to match changes in ambient daylight. The license agreements cover a package of strategies and technologies developed by [...]

Daylight transforms space.

As I wrote in a previous post here, I’m supporting the IES Commissioning Committee in developing an RP about lighting and control commissioning, including commissioning of lighting and, separately, commissioning of lighting controls. We are considering including some guidance on commissioning daylighting—both its interaction with the electric lighting system, and as an independent light source [...]

Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are working on the technological equivalent of putting sunglasses on buildings with a new generation of insulated “dynamic windows” that change color to modulate interior temperatures and lighting. NEMA’s got the story here.

Daylighting is going mainstream and daylight harvesting, the energy-saving lighting control strategy that actually makes daylighting “sustainable,” is beginning to catch up. All automatic daylight harvesting control systems need a device that can measure light levels and signal a controller to dim or switch the lights in response to daylight contribution. This device is called [...]

Reprinted with permission from Enlighten: The Bimonthly Newsletter of the Daylighting Collaborative, June 2009: Aesthetics often drive the glazing selection process: color, transparency, reflectivity, and translucency all have a tremendous impact on the appearance of a building.The challenge is to meet the aesthetic design criteria while also achieving the best energy performance. There are two [...]

The Solar Decathlon, an educational project produced by the U.S. Department of Energy, joins 20 college and university teams in a competition to design, build, and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered house. Team California won for Architecture and Communications. Check out their house here. The University of Minnesota won for Lighting Design: Check [...]