Humans have had a warm relationship with the sun since the dawn of civilization. And, further puns omitted, recent research has shown that there are significant benefits to getting plenty of daylight throughout the day. In fact, we’re now designing and remodeling buildings to encourage as much natural light as possible through a design method called “daylighting.” Skylights and daylighting systems work together to create this natural light, benefiting the building and the people inside it.
What is Daylighting?
By definition, daylighting is the controlled admission of natural light into a building to reduce electric lighting and energy costs. While energy consumption is the first focus, daylighting also improves moods and productivity.
Daylighting as a building technique involves the use of skylights and windows to harness natural light. It’s been used in commercial and industrial buildings, but it’s also popular in residential construction and remodeling. The strategic placement of skylights and windows allows sunlight to pour into the building throughout the day, warming the structure, reducing electric light consumption, and improving the moods of the residents with natural sunlight.
Benefits of Natural Light
Just about everyone knows that there are benefits to introducing natural light. But what those benefits are might surprise you.
Natural light can improve your mood, boost productivity, and encourage overall well-being. It can also reduce eye strain while working or reading and improve visual comfort. Also, natural light can improve the aesthetics of a building and improve the working conditions for artists, photographers, designers, and other creatives.
It’s also important to note that natural light can reduce energy consumption and provide energy savings. Not only is it useful for greatly reducing electric lighting, but it can also warm the building, preventing the heating system from working more than necessary. Light concentrated into the building through skylights or windows helps.
Types of Skylights for Daylighting
There are several types of skylights available for daylighting. They all let plenty of natural light into the building, reducing the need for electric lights during the day.
- Prismatic skylights refract light, completely diffusing incoming sunlight and spreading the beams of light from the skylight over a wider area.
- Tubular skylights funnel light from the skylight and through a tunnel of reflective surfaces, pouring out elsewhere in the building.
- Heat vent skylights are designed to automatically open to release smoke, heat, and fumes during fire conditions
- Curb-mounted skylights sit on top of a boxed structure on a flat or low-slope roof
All of these skylights help improve a building’s daylighting characteristics and funnel more light into the space.
Energy Efficiency and Cost Savings
While daylighting obviously has some physical and well-being benefits, it’s mainly integrated into commercial and industrial buildings to reduce energy consumption. Skylights can increase the amount of natural light in the building, reducing the need for as much electric lighting. The energy costs associated with these large buildings’ lighting systems are excessive, and daylight can help cut them significantly.
But, it’s important to recognize that daylighting only works in—you guessed it—daytime, or conditions when it’s bright outside. When that’s not the case, replacing existing lighting with energy-efficient lighting will reduce energy consumption while still allowing daylighting to do the lion’s share of the work.
Daylighting Design Considerations
There are some design considerations that property owners need to consider when developing a daylighting system. First, for any skylights, the curbs must be built and weather-proofed correctly to prevent damage from severe weather. Skylights play a significant role in daylighting and it’s often best to leave this up to season, experienced contractors.
Also, recognize that solar heat gain can work both ways. If you’re in a cold climate, daylighting can help reduce the heating costs and reduce electric lighting use and overall energy usage. However, in hot climates, property owners need to recognize that an unrestricted daylighting system can actually increase their cooling costs.
And daylighting and skylights don’t provide enough light to completely solve daytime energy usage. Energy-efficient LED lighting systems can help supplement the building’s light requirements in cloudy or severe weather conditions without sacrificing much energy consumption.
Operation and Maintenance
Installing skylights or an effective daylighting system isn’t a one-time solution. There is a level of operational attention and maintenance required to ensure they work properly. For instance, the curbs built specifically for skylights need to be flashed properly and then inspected regularly. Similarly, the skylights installed in the curb systems need to be cleaned, and in the case of heat vent skylights, checked for operation on a regular basis.
Also, the electric lighting controls in the building need to be commissioned to ensure that they work properly with the building management system. Electric light conditions need to be tested in various amounts of daylight to ensure that the interior of the building remains at a steady and consistent level while also using only as much energy as necessary.
Customizing Your Daylighting System
Your daylighting system can be customized according to the building’s needs and designs. For example, prismatic skylights can refract light, spreading it over a wider area within the building than traditional skylights, flooding the space with natural light. Also, if there are areas where typically skylights aren’t practical, tubular skylights allow building owners to collect light from other areas and redirect it to these areas.
Large walls of windows are also great ways to increase daylight within the buildings. They can be found along corridors, lobbies, or other areas. With enough reflective surfaces inside, the light they allow can spread throughout the building, similar to how prismatic skylights refract light.
Leave Your Daylighting Needs Up to Nations Roof
At Nations Roof, we have years of experience designing and installing all sorts of skylights and daylighting products. We know the importance of having natural light flood your commercial or industrial building when it comes to boosting productivity, improving moods, and significantly reducing energy costs. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help make your building brighter and more efficient with a customized daylighting system.
