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Skylights in classrooms, optimal design for a cold climate through dynamic daylighting and energy simulations

Paraskeva, Panayiota LU and Vakouli, Vaia LU (2015) AEBM01 20151
Division of Energy and Building Design
Abstract
Previous studies indicated that skylights can improve the daylight conditions in house or office buildings, decrease the electricity demand for lighting, provide natural ventilation and reduce the heating demand through passive solar heat gain exploitation. This thesis analyses the effect of skylights on the energy use, daylight conditions and thermal comfort in a classroom. The study is performed by dynamic energy and daylight simulations with Grasshopper, DIVA for Rhino and Archsim (EnergyPlus). The simulations were carried out for a single classroom located in Copenhagen, for a Passive construction and a typical Danish construction. The independent variables are: roof tilt, window-to-floor ratio, skylight-to-floor ratio, skylight... (More)
Previous studies indicated that skylights can improve the daylight conditions in house or office buildings, decrease the electricity demand for lighting, provide natural ventilation and reduce the heating demand through passive solar heat gain exploitation. This thesis analyses the effect of skylights on the energy use, daylight conditions and thermal comfort in a classroom. The study is performed by dynamic energy and daylight simulations with Grasshopper, DIVA for Rhino and Archsim (EnergyPlus). The simulations were carried out for a single classroom located in Copenhagen, for a Passive construction and a typical Danish construction. The independent variables are: roof tilt, window-to-floor ratio, skylight-to-floor ratio, skylight distribution, amount and position of skylights, and orientation. The dependent variables are: daylight factor, daylight factor uniformity ratio, daylight autonomy, daylight availability and daylight glare probability, heating demand, electricity demand for lighting and overheating time. The results show that skylights can significantly improve the daylight conditions in a classroom in terms of daylight levels and uniformity as well as daylight autonomy while visual discomfort problems can be easily avoided through the use of proper shading devices. The study also shows that the electricity demand for lighting can be significantly reduced while the heating demand is generally increased with the integration of skylights. The results further show that the primary energy can actually be reduced if skylights are placed properly, due to the fact that the electricity use reduction weighs more in the total energy balance when calculating primary energy factors. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Paraskeva, Panayiota LU and Vakouli, Vaia LU
supervisor
organization
course
AEBM01 20151
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
school buildings, skylight, daylight, energy use, heating, lighting
language
English
id
7511672
date added to LUP
2016-05-02 09:38:25
date last changed
2016-05-02 09:38:25
@misc{7511672,
  abstract     = {{Previous studies indicated that skylights can improve the daylight conditions in house or office buildings, decrease the electricity demand for lighting, provide natural ventilation and reduce the heating demand through passive solar heat gain exploitation. This thesis analyses the effect of skylights on the energy use, daylight conditions and thermal comfort in a classroom. The study is performed by dynamic energy and daylight simulations with Grasshopper, DIVA for Rhino and Archsim (EnergyPlus). The simulations were carried out for a single classroom located in Copenhagen, for a Passive construction and a typical Danish construction. The independent variables are: roof tilt, window-to-floor ratio, skylight-to-floor ratio, skylight distribution, amount and position of skylights, and orientation. The dependent variables are: daylight factor, daylight factor uniformity ratio, daylight autonomy, daylight availability and daylight glare probability, heating demand, electricity demand for lighting and overheating time. The results show that skylights can significantly improve the daylight conditions in a classroom in terms of daylight levels and uniformity as well as daylight autonomy while visual discomfort problems can be easily avoided through the use of proper shading devices. The study also shows that the electricity demand for lighting can be significantly reduced while the heating demand is generally increased with the integration of skylights. The results further show that the primary energy can actually be reduced if skylights are placed properly, due to the fact that the electricity use reduction weighs more in the total energy balance when calculating primary energy factors.}},
  author       = {{Paraskeva, Panayiota and Vakouli, Vaia}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Skylights in classrooms, optimal design for a cold climate through dynamic daylighting and energy simulations}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}