IDeAs - Daylighting

Daylighting	Natural ventilation/radiant heat	Ground Source Heat	Integrated design
Advanced Glazing & Insulation	Energy-saving office equipment	Renovation Not Green-field
Energy-efficient lighting	Energy Control & Monitoring	Building-integrated photovoltaics

Daylighting is one of the key strategies for significantly reducing energy consumption. When designed correctly, natural light provides superior light quality, reduces electric light consumption, and reduces HVAC loads. A poor daylight design can cause glare, create thermal discomfort, and increase cooling loads. Skylights are used both in the main studio and in the second floor of the tenant space.

This building is a ‘Learning Lab’ for our designers, providing opportunity to test a number of alternate skylight design adjustments after occupancy and to collect measured data on their performance.

Inital estimates for potential energy savings are 60% of the normal lighting load.

	Sloped Skylights The skylights are slightly oversized to provide as many hours of complete daylighting with no electric lighting on short winter days. They are sloped to minimize any shading on the solar panels. Several strategies are used to reduce excess heat gain through the skylights in the summer, including seasonal modifications to the skylights such as exterior sunshades or shade cloth.
	View of Skylight from Inside Introducing direct sunlight into an office can lead to overheating and glare. The skylight glass is Solarban 70xl glazing to reduce the effects of direct beam sun on the workspace below.
	Light Distribution The 16 ft high ceiling allows excellent distribution of light throughout the workspace below.
	North Wall skylights A row of narrow, clear skylights was introduced along the north wall of the studio. These skylights will introduce some amount of direct sunlight into the space using clear glazing. The intent is to only allow the direct sunlight to strike the north wall, which is painted white to reflect light back into the space. This direct light will move across the wall as the sun travels across the sky. In the winter sunlight from the skylight barely penetrates into the room. In the summer, sunlight is expected to reach the floor and move slightly off the wall in the afternoon.