Alexandria Engineering Journal (2014) 53, 385–397

Alexandria University

Alexandria Engineering Journal

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Performance of skylight illuminance inside a dome

shaped adobe house under composite climate at
New Delhi (India): A typical zero energy passive
house
Arvind Chel *

Mahatma Gandhi Mission’s Jawaharlal Nehru Engineering College, N-6, CIDCO, Aurangabad 431003, Maharashtra, India
Centre for Energy Studies (CES), Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India

Received 22 June 2013; revised 25 October 2013; accepted 22 January 2014

Available online 16 February 2014

KEYWORDS Abstract This paper presents annual experimental performance of pyramid shaped skylight for
Lux; daylighting of a dome shaped adobe house located at solar energy park in New Delhi (India). This
Skylight; approach of single story dome shaped building with skylight is more useful for rural and semi-urban
Daylight factor; sectors for both office and residential buildings reducing artificial lighting energy consumption. The
Energy saving hourly measured data of inside and outside illuminance for three different working surface levels
inside the existing rooms are presented for each month of the year. The embodied energy payback
time of the skylight is also determined on the basis of lighting energy saving potential.
ª 2014 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria
University.

1. Introduction
Daylight is a gift of nature reported in the year 1966 by
Hopkinson et al. [1]. Daylight is a natural, free and non-depleted
resource coming from the sun. There are two components of
* Tel.: +91 2402482235, mobile: +91 9869952802; fax: +91
2402482235.
E-mail address: dr.arvindchel@gmail.com
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daylight: sunlight (the direct beam), and skylight (the diffuse
light scattered by the earth’s atmosphere) reported by Joshi
et al. [2] and Muneer [3]. The use of daylight has been a vital
element in architecture throughout the history because it could
create a pleasant visual environment. Generally speaking, the
skylight serves as a primary source for interior daylighting
design. Whereas the direct sunlight is usually avoided due to
its magnitude and directional nature which brings visual dis-
comfort (or glare) to indoor occupants with additional solar
heat gain [1]. Daylighting allows a more flexible building facade
design strategy and enhances a more energy efficient and greener
building development with lighting energy savings reported by
Li and Lam [4]. The amount of indoor daylight illuminance
depends upon the size and position of a window/atria/skylight
and the sky luminance distributions. Integrating daylight with
386
Nomenclature
Af floor area (m2)
Ag total area of glazing (m2)
As working surface area (m2)
At total area of room surfaces (m2)
BF ballast factor or efficiency, 0 6 BF 6 1
C correction factor for glazing due to dust, poor
maintenance, etc., 0.5 6 C 6 0.9
DF percentage daylight factor (%)
E total lighting energy consumption (kW h)
H total heat gain from artificial lighting (W/m2)
h vertical distance of skylight from the surface to be
illuminated (m)
Id diffuse solar radiation (W/m2)
Ig global solar radiation (W/m2)
Li illuminance level inside the room on horizontal
working surface (Lux or lm/m2)
architectural design is of great interest to those who are with the
issues of energy and environment and visual comfort and health.
Physically, daylight is part of the electromagnetic radiation
in the visible spectrum (0.39–0.78 lm). It was the prevalent
lighting source in the buildings prior to the development of
the electric lamp. With a boom in the economy, people stressed
on the quality of a stable and comfortable indoor environment
regardless of any external conditions. Thus, the use of active
daylight declined and was replaced by electric lamps which
not only consume electricity for lighting but also generates
heat. This causes increase in the cooling load in summer espe-
cially in subtropical region. This phenomenon accelerates the
rate of energy consumption in buildings for lighting as well
as cooling.
Daylighting is one of the solutions to reduce the environ-
mental impact on the climate as reported by Smith [5]. The glo-
bal climate is changing and will continue to change because of
the increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmo-
sphere. The greenhouse gases mainly emitted are carbon diox-
ide produced during energy consumption activities from coal
thermal power plants. In general, lighting and air-conditioning
in office buildings account for about 80% of the total building
electricity consumption as reported by Li and Lam [4].
Good daylighting design can reduce both the lighting en-
ergy consumption and the cooling load due to heat dissipation
from electric lighting as reported by Hunt [6]. There are num-
ber of studies which had pointed out that effective daylighting
can reduce energy demand in non-domestic buildings. It has
been reported that, in daylight corridors, photoelectric lighting
controls can give remarkable energy savings [4].
Physiologically, daylight is an effective stimulant to the hu-
man visual system and the human circadian system. The re-
sponse of eyes to the light spectrum is determined by the
spectral sensitivity of the photoreceptors (380–780 nm). The
peak sensitivity of the human eye is about 555 nm. The quality
of daylight is the light source that most closely matches with
human visual response. Daylight is characterized by high illu-
minance which can provide an excellence of its spectrum for
color discrimination and color rendering. These two properties
give daylight a potential to produce good vision. Architectural
A. Chel
Lo outside diffuse illuminance on horizontal surface
(Lux or lm/m2)
MF maintenance factor, 0 6 MF 6 1
N number of hours of operation per day (h/day)
OF orientation factor for glazing, 0.97 6 OF 6 1.55
P total lighting power (W)
R average reflectance of all room-surfaces, 0 6 R 6 1
Tr room air temperature (C)
UF utilization factor, 0 6 UF 6 1
Symbols
e light source luminous efficacy (lm/W)
B total luminous flux (lumen or lm)
s transmittance of glazing 0 6 s 6 1
h vertical angle of visible sky from horizon (degrees)
designs are often enhanced using daylight by building design-
ers and architects.
Daylighting is an important issue in modern architecture
affecting the functional arrangement of spaces, occupant
comfort (visual and thermal), structure and energy use in
building. Daylight is considered as the best source of light
for good color rendering and its quality is the one light
source that most closely matches human visual response. It
gives a sense of cheeriness and brightness that can have a
significant positive impact on the people as reported by Mu-
neer [3]. The term outside luminance (lumen/m2) refer to the
instantaneous incident energy contained within the visible
part of the solar radiation spectrum (0.39–0.78 lm) [3].
The amount of daylight penetrating a building is mainly
through window openings which provide the dual function
not only of admitting light for indoor environment with a
more attractive and pleasing atmosphere, but also allowing
people to maintain visual contact with the outside world.
People desire good natural lighting in their living environ-
ments [3].
The energy consumption of lighting in buildings is a major
contributor to carbon emissions, often estimated as 20–40% of
the total building energy consumption as reported by BRE en-
ergy consumption guide [7] and Guide [8]. Reducing lighting
energy consumption using controls for the optimized configu-
ration of daylight supplemented electrical lights was well-doc-
umented by Greenup et al. [9], Reinhart [10] and Li and Lam
[4], with particular interest on the effect of thermal loads re-
ported by Franzetti et al. [11]. However, the more advanced
and material-based solutions were reported by Smith [5] and
Tong et al. [12] for optimizing daylight. They provide innova-
tive solutions for reducing lighting-energy consumptions. An
approach for estimating the carbon emissions associated with
office lighting with a daylight contribution was reported by
Jenkins and Newborough [13].
The daylighting is one of the basic components of passive
solar building design and has been the center of much atten-
tion in recent years for lighting energy conservation in build-
ings. The energy crisis in the world has provided the motive
for making best use of daylight in buildings for artificial light-
Performance of skylight illuminance inside a dome shaped adobe house 387

ing energy conservation. This leads to new architectural devel-

opments with typical design elements such as atria, sloping fa-
cades, large windows and skylight reported by Chartered
Institute of Building Services Engineers [14]. Proper integrat-
ing daylight with architectural design is regarded as one of
the most effective ways of alleviating the problem in energy
and environment and improving the qualities for visual com-
fort and health. The case studies providing outside daylight
illuminance data for the particular location have great impor-
tance for daylight design in buildings.
This paper deals with a case study of skylight integrated
dome shaped building located in New Delhi (India). The re-
search work provides complete energy and economic analy-
sis of existing skylight integrated dome shaped adobe
building located at solar energy park in New Delhi (India).
There are few available measured data of illuminance in In-
dia as compared to many regions of the world [2,3]. Hence,
this case study significantly contributes to the research per-
taining to the daylight availability in India especially in
New Delhi composite climate. The Indian climate is gener-
ally clear with overcast conditions prevailing through the
months of June–September, which provides good potential
to daylighting in buildings [2]. Hence, this paper presents Figure 2 Schematic of three domes roof structure with octagonal
monthly lighting performance of skylight building based shaped base room.
on hourly measurements carried out in each month on typ-
ical clear days. The paper presents the daylight factor of
building using experimental results and reports the illumi- Large
Inside skylight
dome room
nance inside the building at different distance between light circular aperture
source and working surface. The paper evaluates the lighting
energy saving potential and CO2 mitigation potential of the
skylight building to signify climate change mitigation. Based
Small dome Large
on CO2 mitigation, the carbon credit earning potential of
room dome room
skylight dome room was evaluated. The embodied energy
in skylight and its energy payback time is briefly presented
which is rarely reported in the literature. The life cycle cost
analysis for the skylight was carried out to determine the
payback period for the initial investment on skylight in case
of retrofit skylight building. The main objective of paper is
to present daylight illuminance data for New Delhi compos- Figure 3 Pictorial view of skylight integrated small and large
ite climate and introduce the importance of daylighting in dome shaped rooms.
building using the case study of skylight integrated adobe
building. 2. Experimental set-up of the existing dome shaped adobe house

The existing adobe house has vault (or dome shape) roof struc-
ture as shown by the pictorial view of skylight dome in Fig. 1.
Fig. 2 shows the schematic diagram of dome shaped skylight
rooms. There are three numbers of dome shaped roof structure
rooms out of which two rooms have identical small dome
shaped rooms with skylight at central height of about 3 m
while the large dome shaped room has skylight at central
height about 7 m as shown in Fig. 3. The wall of the dome
shaped rooms forms regular octagonal base for the dome roof
structure. The eight rectangular walls of the large dome shaped
room have width 2.32 m and height 2.32 m. The dome was
constructed over these eight walls as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

3. Methodology of skylight performance evaluation

The experimental daylight performances of the building was

Figure 1 Skylight mud (or adobe) house at solar energy park
evaluated by hourly measurement of illuminance levels (in
inside IIT Delhi campus (Google Map at latitude 28 North and
Lux or lumen/m2) inside the room at the working surface
longitude 77 East).
388 A. Chel

Table 1 Number of days in each weather type for New Delhi (Chel and Tiwari [16]).
Weather type January February March April May June July August September October November December
a 3 3 5 4 4 3 2 2 7 5 6 3
b 8 4 6 7 9 4 3 3 3 10 10 7
c 11 12 12 14 12 14 10 7 10 13 12 13
d 9 9 8 5 6 9 16 19 10 3 2 8
Total days 31 28 31 30 31 30 31 31 30 31 30 31

 
and diffuse illuminance level outside the building. The experi- Ø
P¼ ð3Þ
mental daylight performance of the existing skylight building BF  e
for typical clear days in each month was presented in this pa-
per for predicting its annual performance study. The hourly
3.3. Total lighting energy consumption, E (kW h)
energy saving potential of daylighting was evaluated based
on the hourly measured inside illuminance flux and efficacy
of lamp to be operated for getting same illuminance flux as The total lighting energy consumption, E (W h/day) can be
that of natural daylight using skylight. Based on hourly values, determined by multiplying total power of lighting, P (W)
daily and monthly minimum energy saving potential values and required number of hours of operation per day, N (h/
were determined using number of available clear days in each day). The total lighting energy consumption can be expressed
month given in Table 1. mathematically using Eq. (4) as follows:
The experimental value of daylight factor for the room was E ¼ ½P  N ð4Þ
determined based on the percentage ratio of inside illuminance
(Lux) on the working area to outside diffuse illuminance
(Lux). These performance parameters of daylighting were pre- 3.4. Total heat gain from artificial lighting, H (W/m2)
sented in this section mathematically as follows:
The total heat gain from artificial lighting, H (W/m2) can be ex-
3.1. Total luminous flux, B (lumen) pressed in terms of total lighting power, P (W) and total floor
area, AF (m2) using Eq. (5) as reported by Guide [15] as follows:
 
The total luminous flux, B (lumen or lm) requirement from an 0:9  P
electrical lighting system to illuminate horizontal working sur- H¼ ð5Þ
Floor area ðAf Þ
face area, As (m2) with desired level of illuminance, Li (Lux or
lumen/m2) inside room is expressed by Eq. (1) as reported by
Jenkins and Newborough [13] as follows: 3.5. Percentage daylight factor, DF (%) for the naturally
  illuminated surface
Li  As
ؼ ð1Þ
UF  MF
The percentage daylight factor, DF (%) is the percentage ratio
The utilization factor, UF of the lighting fixture is a measure of inside illuminance (Lux) on the horizontal working surface
of how much of the produced light is actually reaching the hor- and outside diffuse illuminance (Lux) on horizontal surface. It
izontal working area. It will vary depending on room dimen- is mathematically expressed using Eq. (6) in terms of various
sions, with 0.5–0.7 being typical for office environments. The parameters by Chartered Institute of Building Services Engi-
maintenance factor, MF will vary with the age and condition neers [14] as follows:
of the lighting fixture but is typically 0.7–0.9. Total luminous    
Li s  C  Ag  h  OF
flux, B (lumen) from the existing skylight in dome shaped roof DF ¼  100 ¼ ð6Þ
Lo At  ð1  R2 Þ
building can be estimated using Eq. (2) as follows:
Ø ¼ ½Li  As  ð2Þ
3.6. Mitigation of CO2 emission
2
where Li is measured illuminance level (Lux or Lumen/m ) in-
side the skylight building on the horizontal working surface
The mitigation of CO2 emission from the energy saving poten-
area, As (m2).
tial and corresponding amount of carbon credit potential of
the skylight for large and small dome room was estimated to
3.2. Total lighting power, P (W)
promote daylighting issue in buildings. The CO2 emission
intensity of coal thermal power plant in India was estimated
The total power of lighting, P (W) can be determined by con- as 1.568 kg/kW h of electricity generation as reported by Chel
sidering the artificial light source luminous efficacy, e (lm/W) and Tiwari [16]. The mitigation of CO2 emission from the ac-
and efficiency of ballast, BF (or ballast factor). The total power tual amount of energy saving potential can be determined
of artificial electrical lighting required for the measured using Chel and Tiwari [16] as follows:
amount of total luminous flux, B (lumen) from the existing
skylight in building can be determined mathematically by Mitigation of CO2 emissions ¼ Energy saving ðkW h=yearÞ
Eq. (3) using Jenkins and Newborough [13] as follows:  1:568 ðkg of CO2 =kW hÞ
ð7Þ
Performance of skylight illuminance inside a dome shaped adobe house
3.7. Carbon credit earned from mitigation of CO2 emission
The carbon credit earned from the mitigation of CO2 emissions
(in tons/year) can be determined using the relation by Chel and
Tiwari [16] as follows:
Carbon credit earned ¼ Mitigation of CO2 emissions ðtons=yearÞ
20 ð€=ton of CO2 Þ
ð8Þ
The factor considered in Eq. (8) is 20 €/ton of CO2 mitiga-
tion represents the monetary value of one carbon credit earned
due to mitigation of 1 ton of CO2 emissions from daylighting
one room.
4. Experimental setup of skylight over the typical mud (or adobe)
house
Fig. 1 shows the actual location of the mud (or adobe) house
by Google Earth. This house is located inside IIT Delhi cam-
pus at solar energy park, New Delhi (India). This mud house
has dome shaped roof structure as shown in Fig. 2. There are
three numbers of dome shaped roof structure rooms out of
which two rooms have identical size small dome shaped
rooms with skylight at central height of about 3 m while
the large dome shaped room has skylight at central height
about 7 m as shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 3 shows the pictorial view
of skylight large dome while Fig. 4 shows the schematic dia-
gram of large dome shaped skylight room. In Fig. 4, regular
octagonal base for the dome roof structure consists of eight
rectangular walls of width 2.32 m and height 2.32 m. The
dome was constructed over these eight walls as shown in
Fig. 3.
Figure 4 Schematic diagram of both large and small dome roof shapes with skylight.
389
5. Experimental performance of skylight and results for large
and small dome rooms
There are two types of building large dome and small dome as
shown in Fig. 2 with central height 7 m and 3 m respectively.
The experimental measurements were performed on hourly ba-
sis at three levels first at ground or floor level, second at 75 cm
above ground level and third at 150 cm above floor level. First
two levels represent reading by seating on floor and chair and
third level represents reading while standing such as conference
room. The present building is used as conference room for so-
lar energy researchers for discussions on various research pro-
jects related to solar thermal technologies.
The illuminance level inside the dome shaped room with
skylight was practically found suitable for reading and writing
from 7 am to 5 pm (daytime). The illuminance level inside the
large dome and small dome on typical clear days in months of
winter (January) and summer (June) respectively was shown in
Figs. 5a and b. The values of outside global and diffuse illumi-
nance level corresponding to typical clear days in winter and
summer on horizontal surface were shown in Figs. 6a and b.
The values of daylight factor, DF (%) was determined
using Eq. (6) from experimental data of January and June
and the results were represented as shown in Figs. 7a and b
respectively. The hourly illuminance level inside large and
small dome room for each month of the year were plotted as
shown in Figs. 8a and b respectively. Based on number of days
in each month and daily value of illuminance in each month
from hourly values of illuminance levels from Figs. 5a and b,
the power of lighting was determined from Eqs. (2) and (3)
for each month and graphically represented for large and small
dome using Figs. 9a and b respectively.
Based on illuminance inside large and small dome repre-
sented by Figs. 8a and b, the maximum and minimum level
390 A. Chel

Illuminance inside big and small dome rooms on January 19, 2008
Lux at Ground Level in Big Dome Lux at 75 cm above Ground Level Big Dome
Lux at 150 cm above Ground Level Big Dome Lux at Ground Level in Small Dome
Lux above 75 cm Ground Level Small Dome Lux above 150 cm Ground Level in Small Dome
700 18
Room Air Temperature

16
600

Room Air Temperature ( C)

14

o
500
Illuminance (Lux) i 12
400 10

300 8

6
200
4
100
2

0 0
7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00
Time (h)

Figure 5a Illuminance level (Lux) inside the building on January 19, 2008.

Illuminance inside big and small dome rooms on June 12, 2007
Lux at Ground Level in Big Dome Lux at 75 cm above Ground Level in Big Dome
Lux at 150 cm above Ground Level in Big Dome Lux at Ground Level in Small Dome
2000 Lux above 75 cm Ground Level in Small Dome Lux above 150 cm Ground Level in Small Dome 30
Room Air Temperature

1800
25

Room Air Temperature ( oC)

1600

1400
Illuminance (Lux)

20
1200

1000 15

800
10
600

400
5
200

0 0
7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00
Time (h)

Figure 5b Illuminance level (Lux) inside the building on June 12, 2007.

of illuminance along with average value of illuminance over
the one year was plotted from the experimental one year ob-
served data and represented in Figs. 10a and b. The hourly
lighting energy saving potential of skylight for large and small
rooms on average day of the year at floor level was shown in
Figs. 11a and b respectively which was determined on the basis
of Figs. 10a and b and Eqs. (2) and (3). Similar results can be
obtained for the illuminance level inside large and small dome
rooms at 75 cm and 150 cm above floor level as in Figs. 12a
and b and 13a and b respectively.
6. Results and discussions
The results obtained from the experimental performance of
skylight building located at solar energy park inside IIT Delhi
campus were shown in Figs. 5–13. These results were briefly
discussed in this section to draw important conclusions for this
experimental research work.
The illuminance level measured at floor level inside the
large and small dome rooms was shown in Figs. 5a and b.
These hourly results show that the illuminance level inside
small dome is approximately 1.5–2 times higher than large
dome room in winter and summer months respectively. The
key reason behind this result is the light source to working sur-
face distance. Here, the working surface is floor of the room
and hence this distance is central height. The central heights
of small and large dome rooms are about 3 m and 7 m respec-
tively from Fig. 2. Another reason for difference in illuminance
level inside small and large dome room is the size of skylight
for both small and large dome rooms as shown in Fig. 2.
The effect of light source distance from working surface for
three different levels floor level, 75 cm above floor level and
150 cm above floor level inside large and small dome rooms
Performance of skylight illuminance inside a dome shaped adobe house 391

Outside Illuminance Level On January 19, 2008

55000 700
Total Lux Level Outside (Lg)
50000 Diffuse Lux Level Outside (Ld) 650
Total Solar Radiation (Ig) 600
45000 Diffuse Solar Radiation (Id)
550
40000
Outside Illuminance (Lux)
500

Solar Radiation (W/m2)

35000 450
400
30000
350
25000
300
20000 250

15000 200
150
10000
100
5000 50
0 0
7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00
Time (h)

Figure 6a Illuminance level (Lux) outside the building on January 19, 2008.

Outside Illuminance Level On June 12, 2007

Total Lux Level Outside (Lg) Diffuse Lux Level Outside (Ld)
105000 1050
Total Solar Radiation (Ig) Diffuse Solar Radiation (Id)
100000 1000
95000 950
90000 900
85000 850
80000 800
Outside Illuminance (Lux)

Solar Radiation (W/m2 )

75000 750
70000 700
65000 650
60000 600
55000 550
50000 500
45000 450
40000 400
35000 350
30000 300
25000 250
20000 200
15000 150
10000 100
5000 50
0 0
7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00
Time (h)

Figure 6b Illuminance level (Lux) outside the building on June 12, 2007.

were shown in Figs. 5a and b respectively. This effect of light the basis of one year skylight performance in New Delhi (In-
source distance from the object to be illuminated can be used dia) from Figs. 10a and b.
to develop correlation coefficient between illuminance level Figs. 8a and b shows that illuminance level at 12 noon
on working surface and distance between light source (or sky- inside the large dome is maximum about 500–600 Lux in
light) to working surface. May and June while minimum about 180–250 Lux in January
The daylight factor, DF (%) is one of the known correla- and December. The illuminance level at 12 noon inside small
tion between inside illuminance and outside illuminance as de- dome is maximum about 800–900 Lux in May and June while
fined in Eq. (6) was used to determine the experimental values minimum about 300–400 Lux in January and December. The
of daylight factors for large and small domes at different levels illuminance level was found above 300 Lux inside small dome
of working surfaces and represented in Figs. 7a and b respec- while it is above 200 Lux for large dome room from 10 am to
tively. The daylight factor was found in the range of 1–3% in 3 pm in all months of the year in New Delhi composite climatic
case of large dome room and 3–7.5% in case of small dome conditions. The hourly illuminance level inside large and small
room. This shows that small dome room has better illuminance dome room on working surface at 75 cm and 150 cm above
value in the range of 100–900 Lux as compared to large dome floor level was shown in Figs. 12a and b and 13a and b
room with illuminance value in the range of 100–500 Lux on respectively.
392 A. Chel

Daylight Factor (or Percentage of Inside to Outside Diffuse Illuminance Ratio) for Skylight
5 on January 19, 2008
4.5

Daylight Factor (%)

3.5

2.5

1.5

1 DF for Ground Level in Big Dome DF for 75 cm above Ground Level in Big Dome
DF for 150 cm above Ground Level in Big Dome DF for Ground Level in Small Dome
0.5 DF for 75 cm above Ground Level in Small Dome DF for 150 cm above Ground Level in Small Dome
0
7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00
Time (h)

Figure 7a Daylight factor for the building on January 19, 2008.

8 Daylight Factor (or Percentage of Inside to Outside Diffuse Illuminance Ratio) for Skylight
7.5 on June 12, 2007

7
6.5
6
5.5
Daylight Factor (%)

5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
DF for Ground Level in Big Dome DF for 75 cm above Ground Level in Big Dome
1
DF for 150 cm above Ground Level in Big Dome DF for Ground Level in Small Dome
0.5 DF for 75 cm above Ground Level in Small Dome DF for 150 cm above Ground Level in Small Dome
0
7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00
Time (h)

Figure 7b Daylight factor for the building on June 12, 2007.

600 Hourly Illuminance at Ground/Floor Level in Big Dome Jan

Inside Illuminance (Lux)

Feb
500 Mar
Apr
400 May
Jun
300
Jul
200 Aug
Sep
100 Oct
Nov
0 Dec
7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00
Time (h)

Figure 8a Hourly illuminance at floor level inside large dome room.

The hourly lighting energy saving potential of the skylight each month of the year, daily lighting energy saving potential
was determined for each month on the basis of hourly mea- for each month of year was estimated. These daily values were
sured inside illuminance, Li (Lux) and Eqs. (2) and (3). Based converted to monthly lighting energy saving values assuming
on the hourly lighting energy saving potential on clear day in that all days of the months are clear days for New Delhi
Performance of skylight illuminance inside a dome shaped adobe house 393

1200 Jan

Inside Illuminance (Lux)

Hourly Illuminance in all Months at Ground/Floor Level inside Small Dome
Feb
1000 Mar
Apr
800 May
Jun
600
Jul
400 Aug
Sep
200 Oct
Nov
0 Dec
7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00
Time (h)

Figure 8b Hourly average illuminance at floor level in small dome room.

Monthly Lighting Energy Saving Potential of Skylight for Illuminance at Floor Level in Big Dome
90 Annual Lighting Energy Saving Potential = 662 kWh/year for one Big Dome Skylight Room
Lighting Energy Saving (kWh)

78
80 74 74
66 67
70
61
60 52
50 45
42 42
40 37

30 26

20
10
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month of the Year

Figure 9a Monthly lighting energy saving from skylight at floor level in large dome.

Monthly Lighting Energy Saving Potential of Skylight for Illuminance at Floor Level in Small Dome
Annual Lighting Energy Saving Potential = 1245 kWh/year for one Small Dome Skylight Room
Lighting Energy Saving (kWh)

180 171
160 145
138
140 127
120 110 107
100 88 86
74 75 76
80
60 48
40
20
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month of the Year

Figure 9b Monthly lighting energy saving from skylight at floor level in small dome.

Yearly Average Inside Illuminance at Floor Level in Big Dome

Inside Illuminance Level (Lux)

600
Average
500 Max
Min
400

300

200

100

0
7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00
Time (h)

Figure 10a Hourly average illuminance in the year at floor level in large dome room.
394 A. Chel

Yearly Average illuminance in the year at floor level in small dome building

Inside Illuminance Level (Lux)

1200
Average
1000 Max
Min
800

600

400

200

0
7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00
Time (h)

Figure 10b Hourly average illuminance in the year at floor level in small dome room.

Yearly Average Lighting Power Saving (W) due to Skylight Illuminance at

400 Floor Level inside Big Dome

Average
Max
Lighting Power Saving (W)

350
Min
300

250

200

150

100

50

0
7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00
Time (h)

Figure 11a Hourly average lighting energy saving at floor level in large dome room.

Yearly Average Lighting Power Saving (W) due to Skylight Illuminance at

800 Floor Level inside Small Dome

Average
700 Max
Lighting Power Saving (W)

Min
600

500

400

300

200

100

0
7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00
Time (h)

Figure 11b Hourly average lighting energy saving at floor level in small dome room.

(India). Based on this assumption, the monthly lighting energy The monthly actual lighting energy saving potential of large
saving potential of the skylight in large and small dome was and small dome skylight in each month was determined using
shown in Figs. 9a and b respectively. The annual lighting en- Table 1 and Eqs. (2) and (3) and shown in Figs. 14a and b
ergy saving potential of the large and small dome was estimated respectively. Hence, the actual annual energy saving potential
as 674 kW h/year and 1164 kW h/year respectively with the of the skylight for large and small dome was determined as
assumptions that all days in the year are clear days. However, 474 kW h/year and 818 kW h/year respectively based on the
during full cloudy days skylight does not perform better as actual number of clear and partially cloudy days correspond-
compared to clear or partially cloudy days in New Delhi. ing to three weather types a, b and c from Table 1 in each
Performance of skylight illuminance inside a dome shaped adobe house 395

800 Annual Illuminance at 75 cm above Ground/Floor Level in Big Dome Jan

Inside Illuminance (Lux)

700 Feb
Mar
600 Apr
500 May
Jun
400
Jul
300 Aug
200 Sep
Oct
100 Nov
0 Dec
7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00
Time (h)

Figure 12a Hourly illuminance at 75 cm above floor level inside large dome room.

1400 Annual Illuminance at 75 cm above Ground/Floor Level in Small Dome Jan

Inside Illuminance (Lux)

Feb
1200
Mar
1000 Apr
May
800 Jun
600 Jul
Aug
400 Sep
Oct
200
Nov
0 Dec
7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00
Time (h)

Figure 12b Hourly illuminance at 75 cm above floor level inside small dome room.

1000 Annual Illuminance at 150 cm above Ground/Floor Level in Big Dome Jan
Inside Illuminance (Lux)

900 Feb
800 Mar
700 Apr
600 May
Jun
500
Jul
400 Aug
300 Sep
200 Oct
100 Nov
0 Dec
7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00
Time (h)

Figure 13a Hourly illuminance at 150 cm above floor level inside large dome room.

2000 Annual Illuminance at 150 cm above Ground/Floor Level in Small Dome Jan
Inside Illuminance (Lux)

1800 Feb
1600 Mar
1400 Apr
1200 May
Jun
1000
Jul
800
Aug
600 Sep
400 Oct
200 Nov
0 Dec
7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00
Time (h)

Figure 13b Hourly illuminance at 150 cm above floor level inside small dome room.

month of the year. The climatic data for New Delhi was ob- four weather types (a, b, c and d) in each month were defined
tained from Indian Meteorological Department, Pune. The on the following basis:
396 A. Chel

Monthly Lighting Energy Saving Potential of Skylight for Illuminance at Floor Level in Big Dome
70

Lighting Energy Saving (kWh)

Annual Lighting Energy Saving Potential = 467 kWh/year for one Big Dome Skylight Room
60

50

40

30

20

10

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month of the Year

Figure 14a Actual monthly lighting energy saving potential of large dome room.

Monthly Lighting Energy Saving Potential of Skylight for Illuminance at Floor Level in Small Dome
160 Annual Lighting Energy Saving Potential = 880 kWh/year for one Small Dome Skylight Room
Lighting Energy Saving (kWh)

140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month of the Year

Figure 14b Actual monthly lighting energy saving potential of small dome room.

(a) Clear day (blue sky)/type-a: if diffuse radiation is less 1. The daylighting is cool light as compared to artificial
than or equal to 25% of global radiation and sunshine light which leads to additional heat gain due to ineffi-
hour is more than or equal to 9 h. ciency of artificial lighting as represented by Eq. (5).
(b) Hazy day (fully)/type-b: if diffuse radiation is less than 2. The illuminance level at 12 noon inside the large dome is
50% or more than 25% of global radiation and sunshine maximum about 500–600 Lux in May and June while
hour is between 7 h and 9 h. minimum about 180–250 Lux in January and December.
(c) Hazy and cloudy (partially)/type-c: if diffuse radiation is The illuminance level at 12 noon inside small dome is
less than 75% or more than 50% of global radiation and maximum about 800–900 Lux in May and June while
sunshine hour is between 5 h and 7 h. minimum about 300–400 Lux in January and December.
(d) Cloudy day (fully)/type-d: if diffuse radiation is more 3. The small dome room has better illuminance value in the
than 75% of global radiation and sunshine hour is less range of 100–900 Lux as compared to large dome room
than 5 h. with illuminance value in the range of 100–500 Lux on
the basis of one year skylight performance in New Delhi
The number of days corresponding to each weather type is (India) from Figs. 10a and b.
given in Table 1. It is assumed that skylight performs well in 4. The daylight factor was found in the range of 1–3% in
three weather types a, b and c. Hence, the actual lighting energy case of large dome room and 3–7.5% in case of small
saving potential of skylight was determined based on total num- dome room. Hence, small dome room is best suited for
ber of days corresponding to three weather types i.e. a, b and c as office building e.g. state government offices in rural
given in Table 1 which is also reported by Chel and Tiwari [16]. and urban areas, hospitals, temple, church, etc.
5. The illuminance level was found above 300 Lux inside
7. Conclusions small dome while it is above 200 Lux for large dome
room from 10 am to 3 pm in all months of the year in
The experimental performance of skylight on large and small New Delhi composite climatic conditions.
dome room at solar energy park was evaluated and corre- 6. The distance (h) between the skylight and working sur-
sponding amount of lighting energy saving potential was deter- face to be illuminated plays important role toward the
mined and presented in this paper. The key conclusions are amount of light output reaching on the surface. This
listed below based on the experimental results discussed in ear- effect was shown by Figs. 7a and b which shows differ-
lier sub-section: ent values of daylight factor (%) at different levels of
working surface.
Performance of skylight illuminance inside a dome shaped adobe house
7. The actual annual energy saving potential of the skylight
for large and small dome was determined as 474 kW h/
year and 818 kW h/year respectively based on the actual
number of clear and partially cloudy days corresponding
to three weather types a, b and c from Table 1 in each
month of the year.
8. The amount of CO2 emission mitigation per year by
large and small dome was estimated as 744 kg/year
(0.744 metric tons/year) and 1283 kg/year (1.283 metric
tons/year) respectively from Eq. (7) as reported by Chel
and Tiwari [16]. If the life of skylight building made of
mud (or adobe) roof structure is 50 years then total
amount of CO2 mitigation for large and small dome
room skylights can be estimated as 37.2 tons and 64.15
tons respectively. This huge amount of CO2 emission
mitigation from large and small dome room leads to car-
bon credit earnings of €744 and €1283 respectively from
Eq. (8) as reported by Chel and Tiwari [16].
9. The total numbers of households in Delhi state are
2,718,050 (nearly 3 million) as per the recent census
record accessed from website on February 19, 2008
[17]. If 5% of the total households in Delhi state are
made from such adobe house with skylight, then the
annual CO2 emission mitigation into the atmosphere
for large and small dome room skylight will be approx-
imately 5.58 million tons and 9.62 million tons respec-
tively which accounts for carbon credit of €112
million/year and €192 million/year respectively.
10. Similarly, the numbers of households in India are
137,747,384 (nearly 140 million) as per the recent Census
record accessed from website on February 19, 2008 [17].
If 5% of the total households in India are made of adobe
houses with skylight in rural areas or semi-urban areas,
then the annual CO2 emission mitigation into the atmo-
sphere for large and small dome room skylight will be
approximately 261 million tons and 449 million tons
respectively which accounts for carbon credit of €5220
million and/ €8980 million respectively.
Hence, a substantial amount of lighting energy and CO2
emission from building energy use can be mitigated annually
in India from adobe houses with skylight located in rural
areas/urban areas. Hence, integrating daylighting in buildings
leads to sustainable future all over the world. In recent build-
ings, light sensors are placed inside the room which sense the
darkness in the room and controls automatically light output
according to the desired level set by the user of that room.
Hence, during low sunshine hours such as cloudy days, the
automatic controls switch on the artificial light and control
its light output to the desired level. This is an effective method
of utilization of artificial light integrated with natural light
source using daylighting in future intelligent buildings.
397
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the Ministry of Human Resource
Development for its financial support in this research project
work. I am thankful to the reviewers of this journal for their
valuable suggestions in this research paper.
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