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A Design Sequence for Diffuse Daylighting

DAYLIGHTING RULES OF THUMB

Tiffany Otis | Christoph Reinhart ff O C Harvard Graduate School of Design

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WHAT IS IT?
- This document presents a sequence of simple equations (rules of thumb) which can be used to identify potentially daylit zones in a building and to assign them dimensions and glazing areas. areas - The sequence is meant to be applied during the preliminary phases of building design (initial massing and programming). - Its ease of application means that a daylighting concept can be formed for g g g g an entire building while it is still being designed and that the buildings daylighting scheme can be quickly re-evaluated as the design evolves.

INFO
The design sequence is based on a recent paper which compares design sequence predictions to more advanced daylight simulations using Radiance. It can be read under www.gsd.harvard.edu/people/faculty/reinhart/documents/DiffuseDaylightingDesignSequence.pdf

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WHEN?
- The method presented in this guide has been developed for buildings that are either located in a climate with mostly overcast (cloudy) sky conditions or in an urban environment whose spaces primarily receive diffuse daylight. - It must be stressed that the repercussions of direct sunlight are effectively ignored by the design sequence. I.e. the resulting spaces should be adequately lit under overcast sky conditions, but may be overlit, overheated and/or glary in the presence of direct sunlight.

It is recommended that you carry out an initial evaluation of your site to using a sun path diagram and local climate file to quantify the importance of direct versus diffuse radiation for your site.

INFO

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DESIGN SEQUENCE
(1) How much daylight is the space receiving? Calculate effective sky angle. (2) H How much li ht d h light does th space need? the d? Set target mean daylight factor desired for the space. ( ) (3) Can the target level be achieved? Calculate the window to wall ratio required to achieve the set daylight factor and choose to continue or abandon daylighting of the space. (Daylight Feasibility Test) space (4) What dimensional constraints does the target level impose? Calculate suitable room depths and surface reflectances. p (5) What quantity of openings are required to achieve the target level in a space with these dimensions? Determine th required glazing area. D t i the i d l i

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SKY ANGLE
(1) How much daylight is the space receiving? Calculate effective sky angle.

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SKY ANGLE
(1) How much daylight is the space receiving?
Sky angle () = 90 arctan(y/x) arctan(y/d)

INFO
In case you do not know yet where to place your window just pick the center of the face for your sky angle calculation. Please note that more complex obstruction conditions can be analyzed using a 3D model and a raytracer.

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DAYLIGHT FACTOR
(2) How much light does the space need? Set target mean daylight factor desired for the space.
- The daylight factor (DF) is a metric used to quantify the amount of diffuse daylight in a space. (Diffuse daylight is light that has been scattered in the atmosphere before reaching the Earths surface). - It is usually measured at the height of the workplane (i.e. a desktop), under a standardized CIE overcast sky. It is defined as the ratio of the illuminance of a point in a building and the illuminance at an unshaded outside point facing upwards: DF = (Ein / Eext ) 100 Ein : Interior illuminance at a fixed point on the workplane. Eext : Exterior illuminance under an overcast sky. - Th mean daylight f t of a room is th average d li ht f t value of a The d li ht factor f i the daylight factor l f grid of sensors at work plane height that extends across the room.

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DAYLIGHT FACTOR
(2) How much light does the space need?
Daylight factor calculation diagram:

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DAYLIGHT FACTOR
(2) How much light does the space need?
- According to the British Standards Institution, BS 8206 p 2 CIBSE a g part space with an mean daylight factor between 2% and 5% is considered well lit and requires little or no additional lighting during daytime. A space with a daylight factor of less than 2% appears dimly lit. Some examples of daylight factor requirements in different space types are listed below: Space Type Office/Retail Classroom/Conference Room Circulation Area Target 2% % 3% 1%

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DAYLIGHT FEASIBILITY TEST

(3) Can the target level be achieved? Calculate the window to wall ratio (WWR) required to achieve the set daylight factor and choose to continue or abandon daylighting of the space.
- To determine which parts of the building can be daylit. - To slate zones for abandonment or for further analysis. The window to wall ratio (WWR) corresponds to: WWR = Area of Exterior Openings (excluding mullions and window frames) Total Wall Area of Exterior Faade (width floor to ceiling height)

INFO
How satisfactory the daylight within a space actually ends up being is further dependent on the p g g q p y y g g specific lighting requirements of the space as well as the uniformity of the daylight throughout the space. Daylight quantity and uniformity both depend on interior space dimensions and surface reflectances.

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DAYLIGHT FEASIBILITY TEST

(3) Can the target level be achieved?
The equation below (called the daylight feasibility test) correlates the severity of external obstructions, glazing type and target mean daylight factor to the minimum window to wall ratio required for a sidelit space. DF: Targeted daylight factor in % : Sky angle in vis: Glazing visual transmittance - A space within a building passes the daylight feasibility test if the required p gg y y WWR is below 80%. A pass suggests that can be easily daylit. - Spaces with a minimum WWR above 80% cannot be easily daylit meaning either that the usage of this space should not require frequent use of daylight y g q g g or that the use of more advanced daylight techniques such as light redirecting faade elements and highly reflective surfaces should be considered. These techniques cannot be evaluated using this simple design sequence.

INFO
A simple way to lower the minimum WWR is to increase the visual transmittance of the glazings (vis).

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LIMITING DEPTH
(4) What dimensional constraints does the target level impose? Calculate suitable room depths and surface reflectances.
In addition to the daylight factor requirement, three factors which limit room depth should be considered in daylight design:

DAYLIGHT UNIFORMITY
Distance at which the uniformity of daylighting levels throughout the space drops.

NO SKY LINE DEPTH

Distance away from the windows at which the sky is no longer visible.

DEPTH OF DAYLIGHT AREA

Distance to which meaningful levels of daylight extend throughout the space.

INFO

A further discussion of the depth of the daylight area can be found here.

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LIMITING DEPTH
(4) What dimensional constraints does the target level impose? DAYLIGHT UNIFORMITY:
The mean daylight factor becomes a poor representation of the daylighting levels in spaces under overcast sky conditions in the case of deep rooms, y y g y g y since they have very high daylight levels near the windows and very low values at the rear. The maximum acceptable depth of a space as far as daylight uniformity is concerned can be approximated by:

Rmean: Mean surface reflectance w: Room width in meters Spaces with depths lower than this limiting depth usually exhibit relatively uniform levels of daylighting throughout.

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LIMITING DEPTH
(4) What dimensional constraints does the target level impose? NO SKY LINE DEPTH:
The room depth (at the height of the working plane) past which there is no direct view of the sky. It is defined as:

Where, (No sky line angle) ~ (Sky angle) ( y g ) ( y g ) Staying within this limiting depth allows for a space whose work surfaces all see as least some part of the sky. see sky

INFO
Note: = is an approximation and is only valid if height(top of obstructing building - centre of window) is substantially larger than height(window head - centre of window).

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LIMITING DEPTH
(4) What dimensional constraints does the target level impose?

Where, (No sky line angle) ~ (Sky angle) ( y g ) ( y g )

No sky line depth = tan() y Approximation = valid when h >> x

INFO
A comparison between the two diagrams illustrates that when taking = in the no sky line depth calculation the distance from the window-head height to the centre of the glazing (x) is ignored.

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LIMITING DEPTH
(4) What dimensional constraints does the target level impose? DEPTH OF DAYLIGHT AREA:
Daylight penetration in a space varies linearly with window head height. The relationship factor varies depending on whether or not a shading device is used (also see next slide). With no shading device:

With a shading device:

This limiting depth allows for a space with an operable level of daylight throughout.

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LIMITING DEPTH
(4) What dimensional constraints does the target level impose? DEPTH OF DAYLIGHT AREA:

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LIMITING DEPTH
(4) What dimensional constraints does the target level impose?
Considered together, the three limiting factors yield the following equation for determining the constraint on room depth:

The greatest room depth that can be used for daylighting is the smallest of the three values prescribed by the daylight uniformity, no sky line depth and the depth of daylight equations equations.

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GLAZING AREA
(5) What quantity of openings are required to achieve the target level in a space with these dimensions? Determine the required glazing area area.
One final calculation to get the net glazing area (A glazing ) required for a space with dimensions according to the pervious four steps is:

DF: A total: Rmean: vis: :

Targeted daylight factor in % Total area of all interior surfaces (including windows) in sq.ft. Mean surface reflectance Glazing transmittance Sky angle in

Note: A glazing2 and vis must be realistic and in line with solar gain, glare and other daylighting considerations.

INFO

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EXAMPLE APPLICATION
In this simple example of an urban setting, two zones in a new building are being considered for daylighting: Zone 1 (retail) and Zone 2 (office).

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EXAMPLE APPLICATION
(1) How much daylight is the space receiving? Calculate effective sky angle. (2) H How much li ht d h light does th space need? the d? Set target mean daylight factor desired for the space. ( ) (3) Can the target level be achieved? Calculate the window to wall ratio required to achieve the set daylight factor and choose to continue or abandon daylighting of the space. (Daylight Feasibility Test) space (4) What dimensional constraints does the target level impose? Calculate suitable room depths and surface reflectances. p (5) What quantity of openings are required to achieve the target level in a space with these dimensions? Determine th required glazing area. D t i the i d l i

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EXAMPLE APPLICATION
(1) How much daylight is the space receiving?

Effective sky angles 1 and 2 beginning at centre of glazing.

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EXAMPLE APPLICATION
(1) How much daylight is the space receiving?

1 = arctan(65/131) ~ 27

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EXAMPLE APPLICATION
(1) How much daylight is the space receiving?

2 = arctan(65/44) ~ 56

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EXAMPLE APPLICATION
(1) How much daylight is the space receiving?

Effective sky angles 1 and 2.

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EXAMPLE APPLICATION
(1) How much daylight is the space receiving? Calculate effective sky angle. (2) H How much li ht d h light does th space need? the d? Set target mean daylight factor desired for the space. ( ) (3) Can the target level be achieved? Calculate the window to wall ratio required to achieve the set daylight factor and choose to continue or abandon daylighting of the space. (Daylight Feasibility Test) space (4) What dimensional constraints does the target level impose? Calculate suitable room depths and surface reflectances. p (5) What quantity of openings are required to achieve the target level in a space with these dimensions? Determine th required glazing area. D t i the i d l i

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EXAMPLE APPLICATION
(2) How much light does the space need?
- Based on standard guidelines a target mean daylight factor of 2% is chosen for both the office and retail spaces.

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EXAMPLE APPLICATION
(1) How much daylight is the space receiving? Calculate effective sky angle. (2) H How much li ht d h light does th space need? the d? Set target mean daylight factor desired for the space. ( ) (3) Can the target level be achieved? Calculate the window to wall ratio required to achieve the set daylight factor and choose to continue or abandon daylighting of the space. (Daylight Feasibility Test) space (4) What dimensional constraints does the target level impose? Calculate suitable room depths and surface reflectances. p (5) What quantity of openings are required to achieve the target level in a space with these dimensions? Determine th required glazing area. D t i the i d l i

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EXAMPLE APPLICATION
(3) Can the target level be achieved?
Given: DF: 1: 2: vis: Targeted daylight factor: Sky angle for zone 1 : Sky angle for zone 2 : Visual transmittance of double glazing: 2% 27 56 0.8

- Both WWRs are below 80%, indicating that both spaces have p g p potential for daylighting. - Continue with analysis of both zones.

INFO
Note that the daylight factor is entered into the formula as 2 and not 0.02

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EXAMPLE APPLICATION
(1) How much daylight is the space receiving? Calculate effective sky angle. (2) H How much li ht d h light does th space need? the d? Set target mean daylight factor desired for the space. ( ) (3) Can the target level be achieved? Calculate the window to wall ratio required to achieve the set daylight factor and choose to continue or abandon daylighting of the space. (Daylight Feasibility Test) space (4) What dimensional constraints does the target level impose? Calculate suitable room depths and surface reflectances. p (5) What quantity of openings are required to achieve the target level in a space with these dimensions? Determine th required glazing area. D t i the i d l i

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EXAMPLE APPLICATION
(4) What dimensional constraints does the target level impose?
Given ZONE 1 (retail): Window-head height: Space width: Sky angle: 11 32 27 Mean surface reflectance: Workplane height: No shading device 0.5 (50%) 3

DAYLIGHT UNIFORMITY

NO SKY LINE DEPTH DEPTH OF DAYLIGHT AREA

Note: In this particular example we are using window-head-height and space width as independent variables in order to determine a suitable space depth. You could also start with a target depth and work you way backwards towards a suitable window-head-height and space width.

INFO

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EXAMPLE APPLICATION
(4) What dimensional constraints does the target level impose?
Given ZONE 2 (office): Window-head Window head height: Space width: Sky angle: 9 10 56 Mean surface reflectance: Workplane height: Shading device required 0 5 (50%) 0.5 3

DAYLIGHT UNIFORMITY

NO SKY LINE DEPTH

DEPTH OF DAYLIGHT AREA

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EXAMPLE APPLICATION
(4) What dimensional constraints does the target level impose?

INFO
Important: This limiting room depth result is not meant to prescribe wall positions in a room, but g merely to indicate where the level of usable daylight falls off. For example, in the case of Zone 2 (office), desks should be positioned within the 8-10 boundary, but additional depth may be used for circulation, services, etc.

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EXAMPLE APPLICATION
(1) How much daylight is the space receiving? Calculate effective sky angle. (2) H How much li ht d h light does th space need? the d? Set target mean daylight factor desired for the space. ( ) (3) Can the target level be achieved? Calculate the window to wall ratio required to achieve the set daylight factor and choose to continue or abandon daylighting of the space. (Daylight Feasibility Test) space (4) What dimensional constraints does the target level impose? Calculate suitable room depths and surface reflectances. p (5) What quantity of openings are required to achieve the target level in a space with these dimensions? Determine th required glazing area. D t i the i d l i

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EXAMPLE APPLICATION
(5) What quantity of openings are required to achieve the target level in a space with these dimensions?
Calculate the interior surface area of the two zones assuming (for this zones, example) window-head height = ceiling height and using the limiting dimension found in (4). The two spaces have the following measurements:

A totalzone1: 1 048 sq.ft. 2(411 + 1132 + 432)

A totalzone2: 515.5 sq.ft. 2(98.83 + 910 + 8.8310)

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EXAMPLE APPLICATION
(5) What quantity of openings are required to achieve the target level in a space with these dimensions?
For zone 1:

Resulting WWR: For zone 2:

[ 97/(11x32) ] x 100 ~ 28%

Resulting WWR:

[ 23/(9x10) ] x 100 ~ 26%

INFO
- The daylight factor is entered into the formula as 2 and not 0.02 - Remember that WWR = Area of Exterior Openings / Total Wall Area of Exterior Faade

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CONCLUSIONS
- The WWRs of zones 1 and 2 lie close to 30%, which is good daylighting practice. - After completing the analysis, the proportion of required glazing for zone 1 fell from 73% to 28%. This is due to the low space depth (4) that was introduced in the glazing area equation (step 4) due to the NO SKY LINE DEPTH criterion that determined that really only a 4 wide band near the faade can be adequately daylit. As a consequence, only a WWR of 28% is required to daylight this narrow band. In practice, one would likely work with a larger glazing f a retail space. In that case more for daylight would enter further into the space. This daylight could be integrated with the electric lighting system (e.g. through an indirect photocell controlled lighting system that mixes the daylight and the electric light at mixes the ceiling). In order to design such a more complicated daylighting/lighting concept the designer would have to go beyond the rules of thumb and use simulations and/or other more advanced design techniques. techniques

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SAMPLE WORKSHEET
A good tool for keeping track of information! The worksheet can be downloaded from:
http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/people/faculty/ reinhart/documents/worksheet.pdf

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CONSIDERATIONS
- Again note that as a metric, the daylight factor does not take into account: direct sunlight, local climate, faade orientation nor movable shading. - The sequence does provide quite accurate results in the case of buildings where the climate is temperate and mostly overcast or where the urban fabric is dense. - Simulations are able to deal with the more complex situations mentioned. However, in the case where simulations arent possible or justifiable due to time constraints, applying the daylighting design sequence is preferable to f conducting no analysis at all.

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REFERENCES
The scientific basis of the daylighting design sequence as described in this document is provided under:
http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic466783.files/Daylighting%20design%20sequence.v1.pdf p p y g g g q p

Free online references: Tips for Daylighting with Windows: http://windows.lbl.gov/pub/designguide/default.html Daylighting Guide for Canadian Commercial Buildings:
www.enermodal.com/Canadian/pdf/DaylightingGuideforCanadianBuildingsFinal6.pdf

Daylighting Schools:
http://www.innovativedesign.net/pdf/daylightguide_8511.pdf

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The development of this document has been supported by the following organizations: Harvard Graduate School of Design: The GSD has been putting special attention to the advancement of g performance, supporting a number of researches , pp g environmental building p in the matter. www.gsd.harvard.edu The Presidential Instructional Technology Fellows: The Presidential Instructional T h l Th P id i l I i l Technology F ll Fellows (PITF ) program was (PITFs) established to recruit and train fellows in conjunction with the Schools to work with faculty to develop digital course materials with immediate educational benefits PITFs leverage existing software tools developed benefits. here at Harvard and provide outreach. www.provost.harvard.edu/funding