Principles and Strategies of Daylighting in Office Buildings

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Most of offices around the world operate in the day time. They usually start work at 7 AM and finish at 4 or 5 AM. Daylight is an essential resource that is readily available for all people– and will probably last for the foreseeable future. It also has the very special properties of having the capability to transform an internal space from a boring uniformity into a vivid and happy experience. The ability to both illuminate a place and to make it more attracting, is one of the main reasons that architects try to bring daylight to a building wherever possible and practical. Since employees in the offices mostly deal with papers or computer screens, a well-illuminated building seems to be necessary. A bright environment can stop staff from being bored and can be a good friend for their eyes. However, illuminating spacious places such as office building needs a lot of light sources which are now mostly powered by electricity. When the energy crisis happened in 1970, some of the leader countries of OPEC increased the oil price. Prior to this sharp increase in prices, energy consumption in buildings was partly ignored. The oil price crisis made countries think about using renewable energy sources. This was the starting point for using renewable energies in buildings. Considering the current energy crisis and high costs of electricity, using artificial light sources does not seem to help a sustainable design at all. In addition, the high cost of electricity can damage a company's profit margin seriously (Paolo Bertoldi, Bogdan Atanasiu, 2006). While some think that reducing lamps or using LEDs can bring about an energy efficient office, there is solution which offers using daylight. Since offices operate in the daytime and are mostl...

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...on. It is recommended to think of daylighting in the first stages of designing an office building. In this way, implementing advanced daylighting equipment is much easier in the future.

References :

1-M.S. Mayhoub , D.J. Carter (2011) The costs and benefits of using daylight guidance to light office buildings, Building and Environment, (Vol 46 ), p. 698-710.

2-Paolo Bertoldi, Bogdan Atanasiu (2006), Electricity Consumption and Efficiency Trends in the Enlarged European Union, Directorate-General Joint Research Centre.

3-Grozon Aktas, (2012) Sustainable Design Proposals in Shopping Center Public Interiors, International Journal of Energy and Environment, (vol, 6), p. 109-116.

4- M. Andersen, S. J. Gochenour and S. W. Lockley, (2013) Modeling 'non-visual' effects of daylighting in a residential environment, Building and Environment, (vol. 70), p. 138-149.

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