Natural Lighting and Daylight Factor
Learning outcome: Able to apply daylight effectively in interiors
LSAD : AD01 : ARCHITECTURE ARC212: Building Services-II LECTURE NO. 29
ARC212: Building Services-II
Natural lighting sources
• All natural lighting comes from the Sun in two ways:-
sunlight Direct sunlight
skylight
• The light from the sky varies with the time of the day,
with the season of the year and with the local weather
LSAD : AD01 : ARCHITECTURE ARC212: Building Services-II LECTURE NO. 29
ARC212: Building Services-II
• In parts of the world with predominantly dry, sunny
weather much of the natural light inside building is
direct sunlight
• In the United Kingdom, and similar countries where
sunshine is unreliable , the overcast sky is consider as
the main source of natural light
LSAD : AD01 : ARCHITECTURE ARC212: Building Services-II LECTURE NO. 29
ARC212: Building Services-II
Because the sky continually varies it is necessary
to define certain “standard skies”, with constant
properties, for use in design work.
Examples of different sky distributions
LSAD : AD01 : ARCHITECTURE ARC212: Building Services-II LECTURE NO. 29
ARC212: Building Services-II
How to define “standard skies”
（1）Uniform standard sky
Is a standard overcast sky which is taken to have the same luminance
in every direction of view.
• Viewed from an unobstructed point on the ground the sky effectively
makes a hemispherical surface around that point.
• This surface emits light and the uniform sky assumes that every part
of the surface is equally bright.
LSAD : AD01 : ARCHITECTURE ARC212: Building Services-II LECTURE NO. 29
ARC212: Building Services-II
• Although the overcast sky of some countries is not
strictly uniform in luminance the model is useful for
some purposes.
• The clear skies in sunny climates can also be looked
as a uniform standard sky.
LSAD : AD01 : ARCHITECTURE ARC212: Building Services-II LECTURE NO. 29
ARC212: Building Services-II
（2）The CIE sky
is a standard overcast sky in which the
luminance steadily increases above the horizon.
This sky was defined by the Commission
international d’Eclairage
1
L L Z (1 2sin )
3
LSAD : AD01 : ARCHITECTURE ARC212: Building Services-II LECTURE NO. 29
ARC212: Building Services-II
The luminance of the CIE sky at the zenith is three times brighter than at
the horizon.
the CIE model is found to be a good representation of conditions in many
parts of the world.
LSAD : AD01 : ARCHITECTURE ARC212: Building Services-II LECTURE NO. 29
ARC212: Building Services-II
Daylight factors
• Daylight factor is the ratio between
（the actual illuminance at a point inside a room ）
And
（ the illuminance possible from an unobstructed hemisphere of the
same sky）.
• Unit : percentage Ei
DF 100%
Eo
Ei= illuminance at the reference point (lx)
Eo= illuminance at that point if the sky was unobstructed (lx)
LSAD : AD01 : ARCHITECTURE ARC212: Building Services-II LECTURE NO. 29
ARC212: Building Services-II
The ratio, in percent, of workplane illuminance (at a given point) to
the outdoor illuminance on a horizontal plane.
Evaluated under cloudy sky conditions only (no direct solar beam).
LSAD : AD01 : ARCHITECTURE ARC212: Building Services-II LECTURE NO. 29
ARC212: Building Services-II
To calculate Ei, requires knowing the amount of outside light
received inside of a building.
Light can reach a room via through a glazed window, rooflight, or other
aperture via three paths:
• light from the patch of sky visible at the analysis point expressed as the sky
component (SC),
• light reflected from opposing exterior surfaces and then reached the point, expressed
as the externally reflected component (ERC),
• light entering through the window but reaching the point only after reflection from
internal surfaces, expressed as the internally reflected component (IRC).
The sum of the three components gives the illuminance level (lux) at the point
considered:
Lux = SC + ERC + IRC
LSAD : AD01 : ARCHITECTURE ARC212: Building Services-II LECTURE NO. 29
ARC212: Building Services-II
Daylight factor components
The daylight
reaching a
particular point
inside a room is
made up of three
principal
components,
• Sky components (SC)
• External reflected component (ERC)
Lux = SC + ERC + IRC
• Internal reflected component (IRC)
LSAD : AD01 : ARCHITECTURE ARC212: Building Services-II LECTURE NO. 29
ARC212: Building Services-II
The daylight factor can be improved by
increasing SC (for example placing a window so it "sees" more of the
sky rather than adjacent buildings),
increasing ERC (for example by painting surrounding buildings white),
increasing IRC (for example by using light colours for room surfaces).
Calculate DF
10000 lux
200 lux
LSAD : AD01 : ARCHITECTURE ARC212: Building Services-II LECTURE NO. 29
ARC212: Building Services-II
Methods for determining the SC
There are four popular Methods used for determining the Sky Component
for interior spaces. They are:
The BRE overcast
SC protractor
The Pilkington sky
dot Method
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ARC212: Building Services-II
Methods for determining the
SC
The Waldram diagram Method
The Bryan sky component
protractors Method
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ARC212: Building Services-II
Factors affecting Daylight Factor
Orientation of room
Size of room
Height of ceiling
Reflection coefficient of each finished surface in interiors
Height of working space
Height of measuring point
Maintenance factor of window
Average height of obstruction facing windows
Transmission coefficient of window glasses
Effective coefficient of windows
Wall thickness of window frames
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ARC212: Building Services-II
Purpose and Uses of Daylight Factor
• Helps as a guideline for determining the quantitative characteristics of
daylight in a particular work space.
• Based on these guidelines, It can be determined whether a room has sufficient
daylight.
• In certain cases may even dictate a change in the design.
LSAD : AD01 : ARCHITECTURE ARC212: Building Services-II LECTURE NO. 29
ARC212: Building Services-II