Improving daylight performance of residential light wells in dry-cold climate: Optimization and sensitivity analysis

Abstract

The decrease in non-renewable energy resources of the world and subsequent air pollution regarding the utilization of fossil fuels has led to various actions and solutions to reduce these adverse effects. A sustainable design approach, especially in the first phases of the design, is one of these solutions to preserve the environment and reduce energy demand in residential buildings. Amongst renewable energy resources, daylight plays a vital role in providing energy demands in buildings. The use of daylight for lighting purposes leads to numerous economic and environmental advantages. The light well is one of these solutions that provide natural light into the buildings as well as natural ventilation. This study aims to increase the lighting function in a residential building in dry-cold climates. To achieve this goal, this paper, through a sensitivity analysis, investigates various parameters that could increase the daylight inside the buildings. Also, selected parameters will be optimized by using the genetic algorithm. The study results show a 40% increase in daylight penetration into the building compared with the current light well.