IDeAs - Advanced Glazing & Insulation

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

As the sun moves throughout the day and over the year, it changes angles and therefore thermal conditions inside the building. As a result, daylighting effects need to be factored in when calculating the size of cooling system requirements. Daylighting can eliminate the need to compensate for the heat of artificial lights; but heat from skylights can be even trickier to calculate. Even in a small building like this, a design team has numerous variables to work with affecting the resulting building. The architect’s decisions regarding the size, placement and angle of skylights offers some control of the thermal loads, as do other architectural features like overhangs. Then, the daylight designers can introduce advanced materials like UV-filtering and electro-chromic glass to block unwanted heat and glare. Optimizing energy savings for both daylighting and thermal loads requires a delicate balance of solutions.

The architect’s decisions regarding the size, placement and angle of skylights offer some control over the thermal conditions, as do other architectural features such as overhangs. Then the daylight designers introduce advanced materials like UV-filtering and electro-chromic glass to block unwanted heat and glare. It’s a delicate balance to get the desired lighting and thermal solutions to match up.

The energy efficiency for the HVAC and envelope is estimated to be about 40% below California Title 24, 2005 requirements.

	Electrochromic Window Electrochromic windows respond to sunlight to shade the space as necessary. To accomplish this the electrochromic glass system is linked to a photosensor, which is linked to a computer. The photosensor determines if the tinting should be “on” or “off” based on daylight readings. When “on”, a voltage is transmitted across several layers of material that darken the window. Selected for the building’s east wall – the façade exposed to morning sun – IDeAs’ electrochromic window controls the entry of both light and heat into the building. By keeping heat from ever entering, the window reduces the cooling load and serves as an energy-saving device.
	Southside Windows Spectrally selective glass on the building’s south side keeps heat-producing infrared waves out, while useful visible light wavelengths are allowed to enter the building. The glass is more expensive than standard window glass, but returns value in energy savings since the heat never enters the building. A cheaper alternative, such as inside window shades, would allow heat to enter the building, which then has to be removed by the cooling system.
	Thermal Ceiling Insulation Even with the best glazing, the addition of skylights to a roof significantly compromises the thermal insulation properties of the building. Use of high-efficiency ceiling insulation helps to offset this drawback.
	Thick Wall Insulation Thick wall insulation also helps to reduce the heating and cooling load.