Daylight Calculations
The daylight calculations are carried out to determine the capability of natural light that is predicted to enter a room. When designing a building there are many daylight factors to consider to increase the amount of available light. Such as the size of the opening, room depth and view of the sky. The daylight factor will then be worked out giving a percentage. The higher the percentage the better.
Daylight is defined as being the volume of natural light that enters a building to provide satisfactory illumination of internal accommodation between sun rise and sunset. This can be known as ambient light.
Right To Light Report
Easement of light or ‘right to light’, are private property rights. It is a right to light through a window, where that light has passed over a neighbour’s land over the land of another. It is a legal protection for natural light, which not all buldings have. Where a new building limits the amount of light coming in through a window and the level of light falls below the cccepted level, then this constitutes an obstruction. Right to light assessments can define the level of a light ‘injury’ that may occur. It includes the calculation of the Vertical Sky Component for all possibly affected neighbouring windows and the calculation of No Sky Line which involves the calculation of percentage of a room’s area which can receive direct skylight.
Overshadowing Reports
Overshadowing reports are carried out for gardens and open spaces. An overshadowing illustration is a result of sunlight calculations, and therefore it is important to show a range of shadows generated by the sunpaths throughout the year and at different times during the day.
Solar Gain
Solar gain is the heat from the sun being collected and contained in an occupied space. This heat can be retained by the building’s thermal mass, or can be avoided with reflective materials.
Direct solar gain is important for any site that needs heating, because it is the simplest and least costly way of passively heating a building with solar heat gain. Avoiding direct solar gain is also important in hot sunny climates.
Sunlight Calculations
Sunlight refers to direct sunshine. Sunlight calculations are carried to show the sunpath in relation to a building. It is important when carrying out the sunlight calculations to show a range of sunpaths throughout the year and at different times during the day. This is usually paired with a shadowing report.