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Description:
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This research investigates the effects of daylighting in an existing elementary
school in College Station , Texas . The conclusions are generalizable to similar school
designs in hot and humid climates . This study focuses on the trends observed in the
building ? ?s heating , cooling , and lighting energy consumption due to daylighting , and the
overall effect on total energy consumption . Skylights with 1 % to 10 % glazing surface to
floor area and clerestories from 2 ft to 8 ft glazing height were analyzed to formulate
balanced daylighting designs that could provide for decreased electricity and gas energy
consumption and increased daylight illuminance levels and energy cost savings .
Classroom and Library areas inside the case study school building were analyzed
using walk -throughs and daylight factor measurements to understand existing lighting
conditions and the potential for daylighting . Physical scale models of the study spaces
with and without daylighting alternatives were built for daylight factor and daylight
penetration analysis . Computer simulation models were created for the base case and all
proposed daylighting designs for building energy performance evaluation using the
DOE -2 building energy simulation program . Daylight factors from the actual spaces ,
physical model measurements , and computer simulation outputs were studied for trendsin interior daylight illuminance levels . Annual energy consumption analyses were
performed using DOE -2 and involved heating , cooling , and electrical energy use
comparisons of all proposed designs with the base case . One design each from the
skylight and clerestory cases , and an overall design based upon the performance criteria
are proposed for the existing school building . The building energy analyses suggested
that a considerable reduction in artificial lighting and total electricity use could be
achieved through proper sizing of skylights and clerestories . Heating energy use stayed
almost constant in all cases . Considering all different trends in energy use , all the
proposed cases perform better than the base case in terms of total energy savings . The
spaces analyzed constituted 15 % of total school area , and projected savings would be
much higher if daylighting could be applied to the entire school building . |