Prof. Dr.

Meltem YILMAZ

Introduction
Daylight
While

light is a creative medium, its most basic function

is to enable us to see. Our visual acuity relies on the
quantity of light and its spectral distribution. Seeing is
therefore not only about distinguishing light and shade,
but also color.
The

movement of light is a linear process where time

and space meet. Any moment reveals frozen movement
in time. We have evolved to respond to daily and
seasonal change brought about by the movement of the
sun, the moon and the stars. Through the passage of
light we track the change of day into night as well as
form and surfaces moving in light.

In the 20th century, the electric light has radically changed our way
of life. The rhythm of life was for the centuries determined by the
cyclical succession of day and night. It was only the emergence of
electric lighting that enabled man to break away from this
imperative rhythm. All at once, technology gave man the
possibility of warding off darkness and imagining a different world.

Our modern society is equally dependent on abundantly available

artificial light in any place and at any time. It is not only necessary
to guarantee the continuity of our activities, but also to give shape
and atmosphere to our visual perception of the environment,
independent of the availability of daylight .

For all architectural spaces whose envelopes are penetrated

by any opening to the exterior environment, lighting design
begins with recognition of the entry of daylight. It is a first
consideration because the presence of daylight in an interior
strongly influences spatial perception and also changes the
color of surfacing materials in terms of how they appear
elsewhere in the room under a number of different kinds of
electric illumination.

The amount of sunlight reflected about an interior is

determined by the size and shape of apertures in the spatial
envelope as they relate to the proportions of a room.
Direct daylight will penetrate deeper into a room the higher
the top of the window is above the floor.

Windows can reduce dependence on

electric lighting and lower energy costs.
Passive solar design calls for southfacing windows, but it is important not
to neglect daylighting in other parts of
the building.

When planning for good

daylighting, we have to consider
the illumination provided by the
sky rather than direct sunlight,
which is often undesirable

Good daylighting is not simply a function of

the quantity of light. In fact, some techniques
that increase the quantity of daylight can
actually decrease its quality.

The two main quality issues are glare and

light distribution. Glare can be either disabling
or discomforting. It is disabling when it
interferes with the ability to see. It is
discomforting when there is excessive
contrast between light and dark surfaces in a
room. Glare does not nesessarily increase
with increasing window size.

Room Finishes: For

maximum daylight
levels,uniformity and the
least glare, room
surfaces should have
matte finishes. Shiny
finishes create
reflections that result in
glare.

Glass Type: Glazing that allows the highest

transmission of the visible portion of the solar
spectrum provies the highest daylight levels.

Window Position: The higher the window, the

greater the Daylight Factor and the deeper the
penetration of daylight into the space.
Extending the window to the floor does little to
increase daylight levels. Clerestory windows
that allow deep penetration of daylight while
avoiding normal viewing angles are a good
daylighting strategy.

While up to the mid-20th century almost all schools and workplaces

used daylight as their primary source of lighting, the advent of
inexpensive energy and the proliferation of fluorescent lights in the
1950s and 1960s made daylight as an illumination source almost
irrelevant.

When energy costs began soaring in the 1970s the glazed skin
look of many buildings became an expensive, though popular and
attractive, liability that often increased the costs of both heating and
cooling. Cooling, in particular, was a major cost, leading to the
elimination of solar gain-the heat generated by direct natural
sunlight through windows.

New construction deemphasized direct sunlight and brought forth

lower ceilings and lower building skin-to-volume ratios. Dropped
ceilings, heavily tinted glass, and insulating panels, designed to
reduce heat from windows, gained widespread acceptance.

The net result of this change in architectural and design priorities

(and realities) for public buildings of all types has been a dramatic
reduction in the amount of daylight available to students in schools
and working people at their jobs.

Recently, this trend is being reversed for two reasons. First is the
cost. Along with heating and cooling expenses, the use of electricity
to provide workplace/school lighting adds considerable overhead to
the overall cost of operating a building. Not only is daylighting
cheaper ( a net energy benefit), it is intrinsically more efficient than
any electric source because it provides greater amounts of
brightness per unit of heat content (lumen per watt).

Second, a growing interest in the influence of the indoor environment

on health, productivity and higher retail sales has resulted in growing
interest in the potential benefits that day lighting can bring toward
reaching these goals.

With
the
development
of
sustainable architectural concept,
illumination of spaces with day
lightning has become more
important than ever.

The main principles of sustainable

architecture are;
Energy : the usage of renewable
energy.
Minimize
the
consumption of artifical light.
Land
Use: It is not a
commodity, it is tha base of life.
Local Material: Renewable local
materials have to be used.

Daylight is generally perceived as more

attractive and comfortable than artificial light.
There are several reasons for this:

Light emitted by the sun

covers a wide spectrum of
colors. The blend of these
colors makes up white
daylight. Artificial light sources
cannot exactly reproduce the
color spectrum of the sun.
The eye senses this and
reacts by tiring more easily.

Daylight is dynamic. It varies

through the seasons and
times of the day, the position
of the sun and cloud cover.
Artificial light is static.

The required amount of artificial light in interior space is set at a level

required for minimum comfort. Daylight in interior spaces often
reaches considerably greater light levels, which is perceived to be
more pleasant.
Daylight is emitted by all sides of the celestial hemisphere and by the
sun. Its distribution results in the illumination of the environment.
This kind of illumination is comfortable for the eye.

A further advantage of daylight is its potential for energy saving. All

additional daylight not only means an increase in visual comfort, but
also an energy saving in artificial lighting. Until recently, this has
hardly been recognized. Contemporary energy-efficient architecture
no longer means merely improving insulation, but intelligent daylight
design.

The drive to save energy has set off a search for ways to maximize
the effective use of daylight while at the same time reducing the
associated thermal radiation. The recent association of the two
disciplines of daylight planning and indoor climate technology has
yet to be put into architectural practice. In addition to the ecological
and economic advantages of a good supply of daylight in a building,
planned use of natural light enhances design and has appositive
effect on the physical and psychological well-being of its users.

Standart Glazing

The
basic
method
of
maximizing daylight intake to
the interiors is glazing.

-Daylight transmittion in standart glazing.

In Conventional glazing;
Some

conflictions can be
occurred due to the heat
and
day
lightning
problems.
These

problems can be
solved
with
advanced
glazing systems.

Advanced glazing systems have special features, such as

selective coatings or low emmisitivity window glazings. They
can be specified which are transparent to daylight and are
opaque to potentially detrimental UV radiations.

One of the sample of advanced glazing systems

Advanced glazing systems;

Cut energy consumption,
Prevent associated pollution sources,
Reduce peak demand,
Enhance daylighting performance,
Improve occupant comfort.

One of the sample of vacuum based glazing system

Other benefits include less air leakage and warmer glazing surface
temperatures, which improve comfort and minimize condensation. These
high-performance windows feature multiple lights of glass, specialized
transparent coatings, insulating gases sandwiched between panes of glass,
and improved frames.

Issues to consider include:

Shading and sun control
Visual requirements (glare, view, privacy)
Heat gains and losses
Thermal comfort
Condensation control
Ultraviolet control
Acoustic control
Security issues
Color effects
Energy requirements
Daylight performance

Although the source of daylight is the sun, surfaces and

objects within a space reflect and scatter daylight. An
increase in visibility and comfort can be achieved through
increasing room brightness by spreading and evening out
brightness patterns.

A reduction in intensity occurs from reflecting and partially

absorbing light throughout a space. A light shelf, if properly
designed, has the potential to increase room brightness
and decrease window brightness.

Advanced Daylight in Take

Sytstems
Light Shelves

Designed to provide sunlight in take and lead the sunlight

in to the floors, to provide diffuse lightning.

Main goal; taking optimum level of sunlight to illuminate

the interiors of the buildings. This illumination is provided
with small shelfs which act as an illumination source.

Basic Principles of Light shelves

Typical Light Shelf Sample

Light shelves can be used with artificial lights.

Light shelves can be used with artificial lights.

Light shelves

interior

The positions of the light shelves, depend on the volume

of the spaces to provide indoor-outdoor relations and to
prevent glare. If the shelves are positioned far to ceiling,
more light can be taken.

Sometimes according to needs, solar light reflections are

used with artificial light sources, so same homogenous
lightning levels can be obtained at both day and nights.

Dynamic Light Shelves System

Shelves are movable so, direct light glare can be prevented and
also reaching of sunlight in to the deep of the room is provided.

Two groups;
Manuel Systems: users arrange the positions of the shelves
according to seasons, months etc. according to the suns
position.
Automatic Systems: a micro computer arrange the positions and
angles of the shelves according to seasons to provide efficient
illumination.
Disadvantages of this sytstem are cost expensive and needs more space

for technical staff. Also, it uses electrical components so there may be

some break downs in system.

Basic Principles of Dynamic Light Shelves

Two factors directly effect
the positions and efficiency of light
shelves.
Climate
Latitude and longitude coordinates of buildings

Day Light Transmitting

Systems
are especially used in buildings that have insufficient or no openings
such as windows, skylight etc..

In light shelves, daylight is taken into interior directly, but in

transmitting systems, daylight is taken from one point, collected and
distributed to the spaces.

1- Light Tubes

emitting of daylight from one optical staff and transmitting

to the spaces.

This system is successful at especially deep spaces such

as large office buildings.

made up in three parts;

Collector; positioned on rooftops. Hemi sphere shaped
optics or a tube take in or collects the daylight.
Transmitter
Distributer

Diagram of Light tube system.

Daylight in taking and

Compare
illumination
diagramwith the light shelves, light tubes have more complex
mechanisms and they need more structural spaces such as small
skylight etc.

In spite of this when it is thought in a long term, light tubes can be

economic and effective for the wide and multiple spaces than the
light shelves.

Parts of typical Light tube system

Light Tubes on roof

Illumination with Light tube system

Polycarbon Optic Light Tubes

2- Fiber Optics

Fiber optics are, optical specified fibers that can transmit and lead the
light rays even through the long ranges.

Basic principle of fiber optic based lightning is close to the light tube
systems.

Solar panels or heliostatic units that are positioned on the roof tops
collect daylight that is transmitted with fiber optic cables, then daylight is
transmitted to light tubes. These tubes are directly related with special
lightning source to illuminate the spaces at day times.

Solar panels or heliostatic units that are positioned on the roof tops
collect daylight that is transmitted with fiber optic cables, then daylight is
transmitted to light tubes. These tubes are directly related with special
lightning source to illuminate the spaces at day times.

Fiber optic daylight systems are more efficient than many daylight in
take systems. Also there is occurred less light losses so more daylight
is used for illumination as much as possible.

However, sensitive structures of fiber optic cables may occur some

problems and cost of treatment can be higher than the other systems.

Solar panels of fiber optic system

Illumination with fiber optic system

3- Anidolic Systems

Different from the light tubes, anidolic systems do

not collect the sun light.

Their work principle is; absorbing sunlight with a

glass semi optics unit than transmitting to the ceiling
system. In this system sunlight is transmitted directly,
there are no collectors, reflectors or mirrors.

Altough their simple mechanism anidolic systems

must be used with their special ceiling systems, for
this reason their field of use is limited and
sometimes that can be less economical than the
other systems.

Altough their simple mechanism anidolic systems must be

used with their special ceiling systems, for this reason their
field of use is limited and sometimes that can be less
economical than the other systems.

Illumination principle of Anidolic system

Anidolic Sytem on the upper side of a window

4- Other Systems

Besides of commonly used daylight in take systems, also there are

new designed daylight in take systems that are used in sustainable
architecture.

Some of them are;

Holographic optic panels, prismatic panels, special glass types etc
Holographic panels are; carving of special designed textures to a laminated

glass with laser technology. These panels have specific features to emit sunlight
as much as possible. Holographic panels are assembled on the facades of the
buildings, they take the daylight with two ways and directly transmitted to ceiling
and illumination system.

As a light emitting system holographic panels are efficient, however

cladding of hole surfaces with these panels and maintenance problem
may limit the using of this system.

Prismatic featured panels, special glass panels have similar features

with holographic panels. They have same advantages or
disadvantages however many of types are suitable for using in hot
climate conditions.

Prismatic featured panels, special glass panels have similar

features with holographic panels. They have same advantages or
disadvantages however many of types are suitable for using in
hot climate conditions.

Holographic Panel

Prismatic Panel cladding

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE.