Daylighting
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Increases workplace satisfaction and reduces lighting energy consumption by taking advantage of natural daylight |
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One week to evaluate daylight availability on an overcast day, six to 12 months to plan and implement space reorganization, and three to 12 months to evaluate, design, and install daylighting devices |
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Workspace reconfiguration (moving or replacing furniture, telephone, and data system modifications); engineering support for daylight simulation analysis; and daylighting devices, such as window blinds, light shelves, or site shading devices |
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FAC, FIN, GEN, CML, BPO |
The human eye’s preferred source of illumination is natural daylight. Maximizing interior use of natural daylight reduces demand for artificial lighting, which benefits occupants’ experience within a building, and reduces electricity costs for lighting power and any cooling required to offset the heat gain from the lighting fixtures. Work spaces and community spaces can be organized to take advantage of or reduce daylight as appropriate.
New facilities use exterior building shading devices to maximize the penetration of daylight in office buildings. Light shelves—light-reflecting overhangs with high-reflectance upper surfaces that are placed above eye level to enable daylight to penetrate into buildings—can also be used (see Figure 7). With thoughtful consideration and daylight design simulation, these techniques can be implemented in existing facilities as well.
Daylight harvesting controls can enable posts to take maximum advantage of available natural light and reduce electric lighting use (see Energy: Automatic Lighting Controls).
Employees with windows in the workplace received 173 percent more white light exposure during work hours and slept an average of 46 minutes more per night than employees who did not have the natural light exposure in the workplace.9