What Is Daylighting?

Daylighting is a design strategy that involves making the best possible use of natural sunlight in the home or office environment. The idea behind daylighting is to decrease the dependency on electricity and other energy sources to produce the lighting needed for tasks in the workplace as well as around the house. It is not unusual for several different methods to be utilized in order to utilize the available natural light in the most efficient manner. When designing a new building, daylighting strategies are one way of helping the home or workspace take on a green approach and thus help in the process of energy conservation. Windows are one of the most common design elements that help make daylighting possible. The prudent placement of each window to allow daylight into the space in both the mornings and the afternoons helps to minimize the amount of energy that must be expended to provide lighting for work spaces such as a desk area, cubicle, or even a kitchen counter. In terms of ...  more

Most simply, daylighting is the practice of using natural light to illuminate building spaces. Rather than relying solely on electric lighting during the day, daylighting brings indirect natural light into the building. Daylighting reduces the need for electric lighting and connects people to the outdoors. And it provides pleasing illumination at a fraction of the cost of the most efficient electric lights.  more

As the name implies, daylighting is a strategy for reducing energy use by using natural daylight for illumination in occupied buildings that allows reduction of the amount of electric lighting needed. Calculations for the amount of lumens needed in a space for different tasks are often performed to optimize the lighting required. The amount of illumination provided by natural daylighting is calculated under varying conditions including overcast conditions so that a range of illuminances are determined and used to supplement the required electrical lighting load. Location of openings becomes a key factor as well. Studies have shown that glazing located high in a wall allows daylighting to penetrate greater distances into a room.