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People-centred urban transformations with focus on the circadian potential of daylight in dense urban environments

Süess, Caroline LU (2025) AEBM01 20242
Division of Energy and Building Design
Abstract
This study used the urban context of Brunnshög, Sweden as a real case study to assess non-visual daylight
conditions in urban environments. More precisely, the work was focusing on how the light spectrum – through
surrounding façade colour and window type – can have an impact on the circadian potential. A one-bedroom
apartment opening onto a courtyard on the ground floor and the same apartment on the sixth floor were assessed.
After photopic simulations assessing Daylight Factor (DF), Daylight Autonomy (DA), and Useful Daylight
Illuminance (UDI), melanopic simulations using Lark 3.0 were performed to determine Melanopic Equivalent
Daylight Illuminance (mel-EDI). On one side, for the colour variation, the work focused on three... (More)
This study used the urban context of Brunnshög, Sweden as a real case study to assess non-visual daylight
conditions in urban environments. More precisely, the work was focusing on how the light spectrum – through
surrounding façade colour and window type – can have an impact on the circadian potential. A one-bedroom
apartment opening onto a courtyard on the ground floor and the same apartment on the sixth floor were assessed.
After photopic simulations assessing Daylight Factor (DF), Daylight Autonomy (DA), and Useful Daylight
Illuminance (UDI), melanopic simulations using Lark 3.0 were performed to determine Melanopic Equivalent
Daylight Illuminance (mel-EDI). On one side, for the colour variation, the work focused on three different cases:
base case, with material as close as possible to reality, blue façade case, and red façade case. On the other side,
for the window variation, the study considered three different window types: a default one, a low emissivity
coating glazing, and a selective glazing. Simulations were run for four different months: March, June,
September, and December at six different times: 6 a.m., 9 a.m., 12 a.m., 3 p.m., 6 p.m., and 9 p.m., and on two
different positions in the apartment. Results have shown that the blue façade has, 88.5% of the time, higher mel-
EDI than the base case and also always higher than the red case. On average, the blue case results are 13%
higher than the red case. The window variation results have shown that the low emissivity coating glazing results
are 5.1% higher than the default case. The default window has, however, 34.8% higher results than the selective
glazing. Overall, the study shows that the colour of the surrounding façade and the window change does
influence mel-EDI. However, the natural variation of daylight through the season has a stronger impact on mel-
EDI. The light level has therefore more impact on mel-EDI than the light spectrum. The work ends with a
comparison between visual requirements and non-visual recommendations and concludes with the fact that, in
this study case, the visual requirements are sufficient to assess circadian potential. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Süess, Caroline LU
supervisor
organization
course
AEBM01 20242
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Daylight, Urban area, Non-image forming effect of light, Façade colour
language
English
id
9187036
date added to LUP
2025-03-26 10:19:50
date last changed
2025-03-26 10:19:50
@misc{9187036,
  abstract     = {{This study used the urban context of Brunnshög, Sweden as a real case study to assess non-visual daylight
conditions in urban environments. More precisely, the work was focusing on how the light spectrum – through
surrounding façade colour and window type – can have an impact on the circadian potential. A one-bedroom
apartment opening onto a courtyard on the ground floor and the same apartment on the sixth floor were assessed.
After photopic simulations assessing Daylight Factor (DF), Daylight Autonomy (DA), and Useful Daylight
Illuminance (UDI), melanopic simulations using Lark 3.0 were performed to determine Melanopic Equivalent
Daylight Illuminance (mel-EDI). On one side, for the colour variation, the work focused on three different cases:
base case, with material as close as possible to reality, blue façade case, and red façade case. On the other side,
for the window variation, the study considered three different window types: a default one, a low emissivity
coating glazing, and a selective glazing. Simulations were run for four different months: March, June,
September, and December at six different times: 6 a.m., 9 a.m., 12 a.m., 3 p.m., 6 p.m., and 9 p.m., and on two
different positions in the apartment. Results have shown that the blue façade has, 88.5% of the time, higher mel-
EDI than the base case and also always higher than the red case. On average, the blue case results are 13%
higher than the red case. The window variation results have shown that the low emissivity coating glazing results
are 5.1% higher than the default case. The default window has, however, 34.8% higher results than the selective
glazing. Overall, the study shows that the colour of the surrounding façade and the window change does
influence mel-EDI. However, the natural variation of daylight through the season has a stronger impact on mel-
EDI. The light level has therefore more impact on mel-EDI than the light spectrum. The work ends with a
comparison between visual requirements and non-visual recommendations and concludes with the fact that, in
this study case, the visual requirements are sufficient to assess circadian potential.}},
  author       = {{Süess, Caroline}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{People-centred urban transformations with focus on the circadian potential of daylight in dense urban environments}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}