ILLUMINATION

Daylight design is closely related to a number of environmental factors because the use of
glass windows to let in light also allows the penetration of solar heat and noise and
increases the rate of heat gain or loss of the building fabric. Therefore daylight design can
never be considered alone. Fortunately by the proper choice of window orientation and
suitable sun shading device or constructions, the solar heat gain can be greatly reduced.
The use of double glazed window units is able to cope with the noise problem and reduce
significantly the heat gain or loss through the window.

fenestration
The lighting conditions in a room depend primarily on the fenestration. The following points should
be considered in the design of fenestration:

(a) The window head should be as high as possible, say at least 2 m above floor nlevel, to
enable one can see out when standing.
(b) The window sill should not be higher than 1 m from floor level to enable one can see out
when sitting.
(c) The window surface area should be evenly distributed over the outside wall and the
window heights and widths should not be too small in relating to the window wall because
this reduces the uniformity of lighting and produces undesirable shadows.
(d) Better lighting can be achieved with windows on opposite walls since the illumination
produced by the individual windows are superimposed

Obstructions
Any obstruction (buildings opposite the window, trees, etc.) decreases the illuminance in
rooms. Obstructions which subtend elevation angles of more than 25-30 degree significantly
reduce the daylight penetration. This can be improved by increasing the height and width of
the window. If possible, the angle subtended by obstructions should not be greater than 30
degree. The minimum distances between adjacent building and the window as laid down in
the building regulations should be complied with.

Room Dimensions
With room heights of 2.53 m which are usual in residential building, room depths, from the
lighting point of view, should ideally be limited to 46 m, depending on the width of the room
and the nature of obstructions if any. To achieve good illumination, greater room depths are
only possible with windows on two sides, with rooflights or with the installation of
supplementary artificial lighting.

Uniformity of lighting
Uniformity is essentially dependent on:
(a) the dimensions of the room, the windows and all the obstructions to light,
(b) the reflectances of the surfaces enclosing the room, the obstructions to light and the room
furnishings, as well as the type of glazing.
The uniformity of illumination is expressed in terms of the ratio of the minimum illumunance
in the room to the average illuminance measured on a horizontal reference plane.
Glare
The degree of glare thus depends on :
(a) the luminance and the size of the light emitting surface seen by the eye,
(b) the ratio of this luminance to the luminance of this environment or background,
(c) the distance of the glare producing surface from the eye and its position in the field of
vision.
All types of glare, both direct glare from the sun and glare from reflections, e.g. from
polished floors, are to be avoided.

Shadow intensity and direction

For the perception of the solidity and surface texture of objects a reasonable shadow intensity
is required. Adequate shadow intensity is generally provided by the lateral incidence of
daylight into rooms with side windows. Working positions should be arranged so that hand
and body shadows do not fall on the working surface.

Permanent supplementary artificial lighting of the interior

Permanent supplementary artificial lighting of the interior' is based on three principles:
(a) Utilisation of daylight as far as practicable,
(b) Use of electric lighting to supplement the daylight in the interior parts of the
room,
(c) Installation of the electric lighting in such a way that the daylight character
of the room is retained.