Daylighting Distribution Enhancement for Deep Office Spaces via Dynamic Louvers System, a case study in Cairo, Egypt.

Abstract

Abstract:Integrating daylighting systems within building skin has grabbed numerous attentions, as a strategy to improve the natural lighting performance in deep office spaces.However, the stability and uniformity of daylight distribution throughout a day inside a building remain a challenge. The main concern of this work is to asses an advanced integrated daylighting system with automaticallycontrolled externallouvers throughout the year.A parametric design approach will facilitatea multistep comparison studyin order to identify the proper design for the system.A relatively uniform daylight range of 500–2000 lux was intended to be kept over the task-plans in the model of an 8 m deep office.A simulation of an office building in Cairo was chosen asa case study, where it is south oriented with a prevailing condition of clear sky. The simulations will be conducted over four main periods (March, June, September, and December) to present the different seasons of the year.On the 21stday of each chosen month,three differentpoints on time at 9am, 12pm, and 3pm were utilized.Wide ranges of angles were tested in order to explore the perfect inclination for the louvers in each period to take the most advantage from using natural daylight.Accordingly, three angles (56°, 59° and 62°) were selected per annum to fulfill the predefined criteria at the twelve times representing the four seasons (at 9.00 am, 12.00 pm and 3.00 pm) on the 21st of March (vernal equinox); 21st of June (summer solstice); 21st of September (autumnal equinox) and 21stof December (winter solstice). The aforementioned angles achieved the performance indicators targeted in the current study for daylight distribution. This study is a part of ongoing research that aims to investigate the impact of the geometric configurations of louvers systems on improving the daylighting performance, in deep office buildings spaces in Egypt.Various software packageswere used in the work such as Rhino, Grasshopper and DIVA for modelling and simulating the generic office space.