Effect of external shading devices on daylighting penetration in residential buildings

Abstract

External shading devices have been utilized very extensively in residential buildings in the tropics to control the amount of daylight flowing into buildings. However, owing to the variability of outdoor illuminance, it is difficult (and perhaps meaningless) to calculate interior illuminance.1 For the purpose of examining the daylighting design in a residential building in Singapore, this paper discusses the effect of seven different types of external shading device on daylight flow into buildings. The investigation was carried out by the use of LIGHTSCAPE for daylighting simulations. In addition, field measurements were conducted to provide data for validation of the simulation output.