What contributes to effective daylighting?
Daylighting means bringing natural light from the sky into your home. It can provide very attractive lighting and reduce your electric bills by minimizing the use of electric lighting. Factors contributing to effective daylighting include: • Reflected light. The disc of the sun is so bright that it causes uncomfortable glare. Effective daylighting primarily relies on reflected light from the rest of the sky. Think about the suns path in all seasons to avoid bringing in too much direct sunlight. • Balanced lighting. Bringing in daylight from at least two sides of every room helps eliminate glare and dark corners. Think about windows, skylights, partial height walls, windows. • Light-colored finishes. Lighter walls, ceilings, floor coverings and furnishings do a much better job of distributing light indoors than darker surfaces. • Appropriately sized windows. Careful placement of windows is more important for daylighting than window size. Large windows can bring in too much light and hea