TOP LIGHTING SYSTEMS

SKYLIGHT

Can be applied as an integrated double glazing transparent skylight roof.

Will help create bright internal spaces and cool temperature conditions even during
summer conditions.

Special sunscreen with vapor-blasted grid elements between panes of cavity-sealed

double-glazing can be used that will deflect sunlight into diffused light and reduce heat
gain.

Micro-sun shielding louver by Siemens AG Renzo Piano for Menil Collection in Houston-Texas
DIY LIGHTBULB

VERTICAL LIGHTPIPE

Used for areas in buildings unable to receive adequate natural illumination such as
basements and deep-section interior space.

Vertical Lightpipes requires a good reflection of its inside surface and top pipe aperture
to track and capture as much daylight as possible.

Solatube 160 DS – 10 inch/250 mm for smaller areas such

as shower rooms, bathrooms, wic, utility rooms.
Solatube 290 DS13 inches – 14”/350 mm

Solatube Solamaster Series 330 DS21 inch – 21”/530 mm

high ceiling off, shopping mall, warehouse.

SOLAR LIGHT PIPE Headquaters of the Morgan Lewis International Law Office
Washington D.C., U.S.A
Design by James Carpenter and Dividson Norris
Carpenter Norris Consulting

SOURCE: DJ Carter, MSc PhD CEng FCIBSE FILE

FSLL
School of Architecture, University of Livepool, Liverpool, UK

Used to ensure adequate illumination in the offices and library

that overlook this space 50m high 2.0m x 2.5m courtyard.

Solar Pipe is 36meters long extending from the atrium roof to

about 4.5 m above the courtyard level.

The pipe has a double-skin construction, with an outer layer of

tensioned synthetic-fiber fabric and a core consisting of glass
prisms-frixed in steel frames and held in position by radial rods.

The glass core tapers from a diameter of 175cm at the top to 50 cm at the bottom .

A rooftop heliostat that follows the course of the sun focuses solar light and projects it
via a mirror into glass core, where the prisms reflect the light downwards.

The structure is suspended from the roof and

fixed by cables at regular intervals to the side
facades.

The light pipe makes the rhythms of the day

and seasons perceptible through changing

When the sky is overcast, artificial light from

spotlights on the roof is reflected into the pipe. HELIOSTATS ARE USED TO TRACK THE SUN AND
At night, lights of changing color temperature REFLECT SUNLIGHT INTO LIGHT PIPE.

lend the column a sculptural character.

SIDE LIGHTING SYSTEMS

Depends upon the width and height of the opening (window) above the working plane
(desktop), the type glazing, and any control limited to a distance from the windows of
approximately 2.5 times the height of the opening.

Problems of reflections and glare must be properly considered.

SUN SCOOPS

• Captures daylight using giant mirrors outside the building envelope and reflects it
into the interior spaces
• The mirrors are moveable so they can be positioned to capture and track the sun
• Reflected light is captured by sloped reflective (mirror) ceiling surfaces above the
atrium, which redirects the light onto the ground floor.

Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank (HSBC) Headquarters uses a light scoop to illuminate its grand
atrium by Norman Foster

LIGHT SHELVES

Reflector of light into the ceiling.

Nat’l Library of Singapore

DYNAMIC SHUTTERS
Operates similar to control of lens diaphragm in the camera lenses
One unit of dynamic shutters consists of thousand metallic elements, which form
and opaque and hollow screen.
The shutters are put in between two layers of glass to protect them from dirt and
rain
The shutters are fitted with sensors that detects available daylight, and adjusts
the shutters accordingly to maintain a comfortable level of illumination inside the
building.
HORIZONTAL LIGHTPIPE
Operate on the similar principles of vertical lightpipes but applied mainly for deep
plan of spaces such as office building.

Lightpipes can reflect daylight using either CLEAN GLAZING or LASER CUT
ACRYLIC PANELS. Lightpipes using clean glazing has a tendency to lose light
due to multiple reflections if it enters the pipe at high angle, Laser Cut Panels can
reflect the light directly along the length of the pipe thus preventing loss of
intensity due to reflection.

HORIZONTAL LIGHT PIPE USED TO

ILLUMINATE A DEEP INTERIOR
SPACE.
PASSIVE COOLING BY VERTICAL LANDSCAPING

Vertical landscaping is the application of vegetation within and around the

façade of buildings particularly those within dense urban areas. Recent
applications of vertical landscaping is through the use of “sky courts”. Sky courts
are balconies integrated within a building’s façade
articulation whose primary purpose is
accommodate plants, trees and other greeneries.
In his design for the National Library of
Singapore, Ken Yeang incorporated nearly

70,000 square feet of gardens including sky Skycourt of the Singapore National Library

courts. By incorporating such gardens, Yeang

intends to develop greeneries with urban areas.
He notes that if all buildings with integrate green
areas. He notes that if all buildings will integrate
green areas within their façade articulation,
buildings will collectively add significant
Greeneries "grown" onto building facades

vegetation areas within urban areas which will in turn help in improving air and
thermal qualities within cities.

One direct effect of integrated vertical landscapes

is the provision of shading. Studies have shown
that greeneries applied to the façade of building
can significantly decrease the ambient
temperature around buildings. In line with vertical
landscaping is the increasing development of

Rooftop gardens. Within an urban environment, Rooftop garden of St.Luke's Jospital in

Akashi, Tokyo
the rooftops of buildings have always been
neglected, usually being amounts of floor area. By using rooftop areas as
gardens, cities can produce significant amounts of green areas. This practice of
developing urban rooftop gardens is already popular in Japan. Studies have
shown that such rooftop gardens contribute significantly in insulating a building.
Water accumulation on the rooftops is also lessened because the plants and
grass tends to absorb the water.
LOOSE MEDIA tends to be “SOIL ON A SHELF” or soil in a bag type systems,
loose medium systems have their soil packed into a shelf or a bag and are then
installed onto wall.
MAT TYPE SYSTEMS tends to be either coir fibre or felt mats, mat media are
quite thin, even in multiple layers and as such cannot support vibrant root
systems of mature plants.
PASSIVE COOLING BY WIND AND NATURAL VENTILATION

Wind a powerful force of nature brought about by the interaction of solar radiation
with the Earth’s atmosphere. Recently, we have seen more focus on harnessing
the power of the wind to satisfy our energy needs with the increasing number of
Wind Farms- large windmills used to generates electrical turbines, at present, the
Philippines has completed its first Wind Farm located in Northern Luzon known
as the North Luzon Wind Project. It presently has 42 Megawatts of generation
capacity but will eventually be able to generate up to 120 Megawatts of
electricity.
Wind and natural ventilations has a great impact o the cooling of building. Up to
now, our building is designed to have a continued reliance on mechanical
cooling. However, with increasing energy costs, designers are being compelled
to look for ways to harness free energy from nature. Wind of course is among the
top sources of energy savings for our built structures.
In terms of energy savings, ideal solutions will be to make buildings completely
naturally ventilated. However, present standards of comfort, acoustical
requirements, dust protection and other such requirements may not permit
buildings to be fully ventilated naturally. This especially true during summer
months in the Philippines where discomfort due to heat and humidity is at highest
and natural ventilation will simply not suffice in meeting thermal comfort
standards.
The optimal solution is to combine the mechanical cooling systems of a
building with passive winds and natural ventilation systems in what is
known as as Mixed-Mode System. Battle-McCarthy (1999) notes that one such
application of Mixed Mode is by supplying cool air at the lower levels of a building
and allowing the extract air to be exhausted through a shaft known a Wind
Tower. This system conserves a significant amount of energy by eliminating the
need to mechanically vent out the extract air within the building. Such a
combination of mechanical and natural ventilation allows the building to run at a
high level of efficiency and have lower running energy costs.
BASIC VENTILATION CONCEPTS

When strikes an obstacle such as a hill, a

building or a car, it creates pressure
differences on the surface of that obstacle.
The side of the obstacles where the wind
“strikes” is known as the windward side.
On the windward side, the air molecules
are compressed thus creating a high
pressure in that area. The opposite side of
the windward side is called the leeward
side. On the leeward side, the air molecules are dispersed thus creating a
negative or low pressure in the area. There pressure diffirences created when
the wind strikes a building is the foundation of natural ventilation. Inlets placed
near high pressure areas will allow wind to move into the building. Outlets placed
in the low pressure areas will allow the wind to escape. It is in the combination of
the two that natural ventilation is facilitated.
STACK EFFECT or CHIMNEY EFFECT
Hot air or gas tends to rise within a vertical space. This draws I cooler air at lower
level of the space.
Air movement in a Stack Effect is very week and is only effective and exhausting
air within a space.
CROSS VENTILATION

Cross ventilation is the movement of air from a positive pressure area

towards a negative pressure area. In buildings that are in the direct path or
prevailing winds, air simply moves through an inlet on the windward side and
exits through an outlet on the leeward side of the building.
WIND MOVEMENT CONCEPTS
SOURCE: Hong, F.L., Architect’s uide to climate Design. Philippines: 1998

PREVAILING BREEZES AND AIR MOVEMENT

1. In Warm-Humid Climates, the feeling of discomfort is mainly attributed to

high humidity: the presence of more water vapor in the atmosphere.
2. One factor that can negate this is the wind factor. To experience comfort
during periods of high humidity, it is necessary that the human skin will
breeze passing through at a certain velocity (approx. 2.5 to 5.0 meter per
second).
3. Buildings, therefore must be oriented in such a way that to window side
faces the prevailing breezes.
4. Corresponding openings in the leeward side must be carefully located to
effect effective cross ventilation of all areas.
5. Wind shadows must be anticipated in order to be assured that other areas
are not deprived of prevailing breezes.

Wind speed increase with the height above the ground, and the smoothness
of the grou7nd surface. This variation in wind speed is known as wind
gradient.
As the wind passes over hills, there is an increasing in wind speed on the
windward side and a more sheltered area in the leeward side. Also, positive
or high pressure is created on the windward side while negative or low
pressure is created on the leeward side.

Hills may cause strong draughts and turbulence for some distance in their
wake. In addition, negative pressure or “suction” is created on the leeward
side.

Although towns are “rough” and slow down the wind tail, buildings will often
deflect strong winds down to a lower level.
Permeable wind breaks do not give so much shelter immediately behind them
but slow down wind for some distance.

Solid wind breaks give more local shelter but also cause strong down
draughts and give higher wind speed at low level than areas behind
permeable ones.

If there are large expanses of hard ground surfaces outside buildings, the air
will become heated, and wind will pick up dust, etc. this will later on cause
heat gain problems on the openings facing the hard ground. It is therefore
necessary to consider such site elements during design so that the problem
can be addressed early.
Trees and grass will keep the ground partially shaded and cooler.

Low bushes will restrict air movement at ground level, and will deflect the
wind away openings.
A traditional solution to these problems is to raise the building off the ground
to avoid dust, etc. and to reach the faster wind speeds at the higher level.

Bushes at low level can be used to deflect the wind into interiors which would
otherwise suffer from low wind speeds. Also, air movement can be directed
around corners to a limited extent. While radiation travels in straight lines.

If air movement is needed and the prevailing

breeze is from the west, buildings should not
be oriented to catch both sun and wind. The
discomfort due to solar radiation will almost
always exceed the comfort due to air
movement.
 Air movement through a building can
prevent an increase in internal air
temperature due to internal heat
sources: people, lighting, equipment by
flushing heated air through cross
ventilation.

Air movement across the surfaces and in

the air spaces can reduce a heat build- up
due to solar radiation.

The radiation will be greatest when wind

speed is slowest, and air movement though
cavities does not affect heat transfer due to

radiation.

If the inlet and outlet are at a high level,

then stream of air passing across the room
will be at high level.

The the outlet is lowered, then the stream

of air is only altered at the back of the
room.
 If participations are used which give visual
privacy, they will also prevent good air
movement between rooms can still be
facilitated by providing openings above the
interior partitions.

If the inlet is larger than the outlet, the fastest

wind speeds will occur at just outside the outlet.

If the inlet is smaller than the outlet, the fastest

wind speeds will occur in most areas inside the
room.

When an opening is placed centrally on a facade

and the wind blows straight onto the face of the
building, the air stream inside the opening is in
the same direction as the wind.

If the opening is not placed centrally, the areas

of positive pressure will unequal on different
sides of the opening and the wind stream is
deflected.
A central opening with a projection to one side will also have a deflected air
stream.

A slot between the wall and projection will allow the

areas of positive pressure on both sides of the
opening to act on the wind stream.

Louvers, open windows may also deflect

air stream.

High slab building cause a strong down

draught on the windward face. The
causes high wind speed at low level.
The wind streams separate, the top third
blowing upwards and the bottom two
thirds downwards.

A low building in front of the tall block

causes even stronger winds at low level.

Spaces under the building if it is on column

(piloti) are likely to experience high
velocities. Rain can be blown up the face of
the building.
The eddy on the lee side can cause smoke to be blown downwards and onto
the lee face of the building. The fast velocities at ground level are in front of
the building and at the corners.

Buildings which require air movement must be spaced so that the wind which
is deflected over them can return to low level.

If they are too

closely spaced, there
will be large drop in
the wind speeds in the sheltered
buildings. In these cases, the
third row may have more wind
than the second.

Buildings laid out in regular rows will

shade each other, and the wind will be
channeled into the spaces between
them.

A staggered arrangement allows

greater space between the first row and
the building behind. Any deflected wind
is directed to the face of the next
building.
Note: PLAN A and PLAN B-both plans have same number of blocks in the
same space.

A small inlet and large outlet will result in a high

maximum speed, a medium average speed, a
large are of low wind speed.

A small outlet with a large inlet will result in a

medium maximum speed, a medium average
speed, a small area of low wind speed.

WIND BEHAVIOR
WITHIN A ROOM
OLD CONCEPTS RENEWED

So far we have discussed passive cooling techniques that have been applied
to buildings using modern technology. In many cases, the buildings that
maximize the potential of passive cooling design are the ones on the cutting
edge of architectural design. This makes it seem that all of these passive
cooling technologies are products of our generation’s modern technologies.

This however could not be father from the

truth.

Architectural history tells us that man began

to build structures primarily to provide him The animal hide used for tents in the Late
Stone Age acted as an insulator against
with the necessary shelter against climatic varying weather conditions.

elements. Since architecture began 10,000

years ago, there were hardly any changes for
the next 6,000 years. This was quite expected
because the built structures were able to
satisfy the physiological need for shelter at
time (Salvadori, 1990). Without any of even
our most basic technologies today, the built
structures of our ancestors were designed to
take advantage of its environment to provide

the maximum comfort for its occupant. In other Malqafs are shafts design to "scoop"
in the prevailing wind in its
words, these ancestral structures were surrounding.

conceived using PASSIVE DESIGN

CONCEPTS.
During the Late Stone Age period, tent
settlements were made of animal skins. This
provided an insulated coating for the tent
able to keep out heat from solar radiation
during warm seasons and kept air heated
inside during cold weather.

Shafts used by the Persians to channel in wind

were known as badgers.

As early as 1300BC, ancient Egyptians have begun for incorporate malqaf

(literakky “wind scoop”) which are shafts that rises above the buildings acting
as scoops to funnels in wind into building’s interior.

Because of the hot arid climate and sandy environment in Egypt, large
windows are not effective means of ventilating buildings because they will let
both hot air and sand in. by using scoops, the Egyptians were able collect fast
moving air free from dust.

Similarly, the Persians also used shafts known as badgirs to catch breezes
and channel them into the building to cool its room (Battle-McCarthy, 1999).

The Egyptian and Persian “wind scoops” are effective passive cooling
techniques that have been applied in modern buildings using sophisticated
wind tunnel simulations and analyses.

In tropical setting of the Philippines, passive cooling techniques have been in

use since pre-historic times. The bahay kubo is designed as adaptation to its
tropical environment.

Among the bahay kubo’s adaptations are:

• The living platform is elevated on stilts

as an adaptation to damp ground

Although the bahay kubo was humble in form

and certainly a minimalist in style, it is far more
advanced compared to manu=y modern buildings
today in the Philippines in term of climate
adaptibility.
 conditions brought about by the seasonal monsoon on the Philippines.
• The roof has a high pitch so that rain water can be quickly drained.
• Large windows facilitate cross ventilation within the living space
• Operable window awnings protect the windows from rain and at the
same time provide shade when they are open.
• The high pitch of the roof creates a large air space serving as an
insulation between the roof and living space.
• The pitch of the roof creates an angle that allows the heat to radiated
at an angle rather than directly on living space below.
• Roof provides wide overhangs for the windows to and rain protect
them for solar radiation and rain
• The walls and roof are constructed of thatch (nipa) with low U-values
allowing heat to be released immediately.
• Time lag for the porous materials become negligible
• The flexible framing system and materials allow the bahay kubo’s
frame to sway during earthquakes thus dissipating forces that would
otherwise cause the building frames to break or buckle.
• The bamboo flooring materials creates gaps between the slats which
allows air to breeze upward into the living space.

When the Spanish

colonization of the
Philippines began,
numerous construction
projects had to be
undertaken by the
colonizers. Naturally, their designers built structures as the did in Europe.
Successive earthquakes destroy many buildings forcing the designers to
rethink their structures. Over a period of time, their architecture evolved in
order to adapt to local environmental conditions in the Philippines. To
some extent, the designers had to “copy” some of the adaptive features of
the bahay kubo. This became the evolutionary birth of the Philippine
Ancestral House or more commonly known as the Bahay na Bato.

Contrary to what many people think, the Bahay na Bato is not Spanish in
its architecture. It is very much a Filipino design that has been tailor-made
to adapt to the climatic and geographic features of the Philippines.

Among the adapted passive cooling features of Bahay na Bato are:

• The living platform is elevated from the

ground just like the bahay kubo. Instead of stilts, the Bahay na
Bato has a heavy stone walled ground floor acting as a base.
This ground floor level is usually used as a storage and
garage because occupants avoid being exposed to the
dampness near the ground.
• The roof has a high pitch just like the bahay kubo so that rain water
can be drained quickly.
• The high pitch roof creates a large space between the roof and the
ceiling. The air in this cavity insulates the interior space from heat.
• Similar to the bahay kubo, the pitch of the Bahay na Bato’s roof
creates an angle the allows the heat to be radiated at an angle
rather than directly on living space below.
• The Bahay na Bato also has wide eaves (alero) that provides the
necessary sun shading for its window openings.
 The underside of these wide eaves was fitted with latticides vents. The
vents allow breeze to enter the roof cavity preventing hot air from
accumulating within the cavity.

Windows of the Bahay na Bato were large measuring 1.8 meters high
and up to 5.4 meters wide (Zialcita, 1980). This effectively facilitites
Cross Ventilation.

Since the living space is elevated, dust, which usually travels near the
ground, is prevented from directly entering the living spaces when the
wind cross ventilates through the Bahay na Bato.

Additional grilled openings called ventanillas are built below the

The Bahay na Bato has large window sill extending down to the floor. Ventanillas further increases
windows and ventanillas below the
windows to take full advantage of he cross ventilating capacity of the Bahay na Bato.
cross ventikation.

To further protect the spaces from the heat gain,a double wall system
operating on the principle of thermos jug was built into the Bahay na
Bato. The solution was to install a cantilevered gallery along the
perimeter of the second floor. This gallery was separated by a series
of inner double doors from the interior spaces and gad the exterior
wall on its other side. The heat striking the outer wall was essentially
trapped within the cavity of the volada. This feature is now known as
a DOUBLE LAYERED FACADE system used in many of our modern
buildings.

• In certain cases, the volada had operable louvers or jalousies

on its exterior. This allowed solar heat to be stopped while permitting
ventilation. The operable jalousies operate on the principle we now
recognize as DYNAMIC EXTERIROR LOUVERS. While the venting

The Bahayna bato employed a of its cavity between the DOUBLE LAYERED FAÇADE (volada) os
system of DOUBLE LATERED
FACADE called volada to protect now known as VENTILATED DOUBLE FAÇADE (VDF).
its spaces from heat. The volada
to protect its spaces from heat.
The volada sometimes had
operate louvers which allow the
volada to be ventilated. This
system is now knows as
VENTILATED DOUBLE
FAÇADE (VDF).
 • Cross ventilation between the rooms was facilitated by providing
latticed openings above the interior walls called calado.
• The Bahay na Bato employed Passive Daylight Concepts. The
large windows permitted the interiors to be naturally lit. during rain
and the windows are closed, the capiz window panels continue to
allow daylight to penetrate the interiors.
• Rain water from the roof was collected through a duct called aljibe
and channeled into a collecting cistem. This allowed the owners to
have water supply even in areas where deep wells are not
available.
• The upper storey of the Bahay na Bato was constructed of wood
and timber frame. With its heavy stone base, the house was able to
survive during earthquakes by swaying which allowed the force of
the earthquake to be dissipated.
• The wooden walls have a low U-value and short lag time that helps
in reducing the heat gain of the living spaces.

The Bahay na Bato has numerous adaptations to the Philippine climate using only the technology of its time
and was able to cool its living spaces without the use of electricity. Rodrigo Perez describes the Bahay na
Bato as the “most efficient response to sun and rain.”

SUMMARY and CONCLUSION

The key designing buildings that take advantage of the benefits of passive cooling
Is sensitivity. Zialcita (1980) writes that “to understand architecture”, we must
Understand its environment”. When Spanish colonizers first built their structures in the
Philippines, they failed to realize that they must understand and adapt their structures
to local conditions of the land. With successive earthquakes, collapsed buildings and
presumably many casualties, the designer learned their lessons. The product was a
highly efficient, ultra-responsive building design called the Bahay na Bato. The Bahay
na Bato is a mere descedeant of the humble bahay kubo from which it copied many
of climatic response devices.

The designer must be sensitive to type of climate of the site on which the building will
be built. In doing so, he must understand the problems associated with the climate
and then set objectives on how to tackle these problems.

Tropical Climates such as Philippines essentially presents problems of heat, high

Humidity, rain and typhoon, and damp ground conditions. In recent times, buildings
have become dependent on mechanical means to overcome these problems. But
now, the issue of dwindling global energy resources has become paramount. This
has caused everyone is begin looking at all possible means of conserving energy.

Building are among the largest consumers of energy in world. A substantial portion of
the energy used by a building is allocated for its air-conditioning system. By using
various passive cooling techniques, the electro-mechanical system of building can
made to run more efficiently. Passive design techniques can involve highly technical
calculations, simulations and processes. However, designer can easily employ basic
techniques in building design that utilize passive cooling. Passive cooling techniques
can be applied using building orientation, site layout, façade design, vertical
landscaping, sun-shading techniques and natural ventilation.
As the world increasingly feels the impact of global warming, our sensitivity to energy
Conservation in every possible way will be transformed from a “choice” into a
“necessity”. There will inevitably come a time when all of our buildings will be required
To use passive techniques to conserve energy. It is thus imperative for architects to
Have an understanding of the intricacies involved in the design, use and application of various
passive cooling techniques.

Definition of Terms
AIR-CHANGE- the replacement of the volume of air contained within a room with an equivalent
volume of fresh air within a given period of time. The term air -changes per-hour
is often used to specify ventilation standards.
ALTITUTE- the angular elevation of a celestial body above the horizon
ATTIC VENTILATOR- a wind motor-driven fan for assisting the natural flow through an attic space.
BRISE-SOLEIL- A screen, usually of louvers, placed on the outside a building to shield windows
from direct sunlight
CHIMNEY EFFECT- the tendency of air or gas in a shaft or other vertical space t6o rise when heated,
creating a draft that draws in cooler air or gas from below
CONDUCTION- the transfer of heat from the warmer to the cooler particles of a medium or of two
bodies
CONVECTION- the transfer of heat by the circulatory motion of the heated parts of a liquid or gas
 owing to a variation in density and the action of gravity.
VENT- an opening, as in a wall, serving as an outlet for air, smoke or the like
COMFORT ZONE- the range of dry-bulb temperature, relative humidity, mean radiant temperature and
air movement judge4de to be comfortable by An AMERICANS and CANADIANS. This
comfort zone varies with climate, hot season of the year, the type of clothing worn,
The activity level of the individual. Also called comfort envelope.
CROSS VENTILATION- the circulation of fresh air through open windows, doors, or other openings
On opposite sides of a room
EQUINOX- either of the times during the year when the sun crosses the plane of the celestial equator
and when the length of day and night are everywhere approximately equal occurring
about March 21 (vernal equinox or spring equinox) and September 21 (autumn
equinox)
LATITUDE- the angular distance3 north and south from the equator of a point on earths surface,
measured in degrees along the meridian passing through the point
LONGITUDE- the angular distance4 east of west on the earths surface , measured from the prime
Meridian at Greenwich, England, to the meridian of a given and expressed either in
degrees or a corresponding difference in time.
MERIDIAN- a great circle on the earth’s surface passing through both geophysical poles
NATURAL VENTILATION- the process or ventilating a space by natural movement of air rather than
by mechanical means
SHUTTER PANEL- a louvered awning the metal fins of which are angled to shade a window from
Direct sunlight and glare while preserving the outside view and admitting soft,
diffused light.
SOLAR ENERGY- energy derived from the sun in the form of solar radiation
SOLAR ORIENTATION- the placing of a building in relation to the path of the sun, either to
Maximize th amount of heat gained from solar radiation durinmg the4 coldest months
Or to minimize the amount of heat gained in the warmest months
SOLAR PATH DIAGRAM- a graphic depiction of the path of the sun within the sky vault projected onto
A horizontal plane
SOLAR SCREEN- a panel opf miniature external louvers for shading a window from direct sunlight
And glare while allowing a high degree of visibility, dalighting, ventilation, visual
Daytime privacy and insect protection.
SUMMER SOLSTICE- the time of the year, on or about June 21 when the sun reaches its northermost
Poin t on the celestial sphere, marking the beginning of sumer in the3 northern
Hemisphere.
SUN CONTROL- any various exterior devices for regulating the amount of solar heat sunlight that
enters with window, consisting of moveable horizontal or vertical fins controlled
manually or operated automatically with time or photoelectric controls
SUNSHADE- any various exterior devices consisting of fixed horizontal or vertical fins angled to
shield a window from direct sunlight.
THERMAL CONFORT- human confort as determined b yh the ability of the body to dissipate the heat
and moisture if produces by metabolic action
WHOLE HOUSE VENTILATOR-a motor driven fan for pulling stale air from the living areas of a house
And exhausting it through attic vents
WINTER SOLTICE- the time of the year, on or about December 21, when the sun reaches its
Southernmost point on the celestial sphere, marking the beginning of winter in the
Northern hemisphere
VENTILATE- to provide a room with fresh air to replace air that has been used or contaminatede
VENTILATOR- alouvered opening or motor driven fan for replacing stagnant air with fresh air

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN- Can be define as an ability to carry forward, support or maintain a practice
Or situation for a prolonged period of time. Approaching perpetuity. “green” or
Environmentally sensitive and conscious design and construction practices
THE THREE PILLARS OF SUSTAINABILITY
1. The Environment Imperative. The World is becoming more aware of the detrimental impacts of
human generated pollution on our environment and quality life.

2. The Economic Imperative. Demand and Supply

3. The Social Imperative

U.S. Green Bldg. Council (US6BC)

Is commited in transforming the way our building are designed.
Constructed and operated through LEED- the top third party verification system for
Sustainable structures around the world.
LEED= Leadership in Energy and Environmental DesignBERDE GREEN BLDG. (check Website)