Possibilities of using light pipes to buildings

Abstract

Daylighting has become a significant parameter in a building design nowadays to achieve more sustainable. The common method of utilization of daylight is to allow its transmission through windows. With such method, only areas a few meters close to the windows are sufficiently illuminated. This paper aims to show that light pipes can be used to bring daylight for illumination in deep interior spaces. The general problem of high-rise building is lacks daylight in a deep space. Light pipes are an example of light transporting systems with highly reflective interior surfaces that are used to transfer natural daylight from both the sun and the sky from the exterior of a building into its interior spaces. A pipe consists of a light collector at the outer end, a light transport section, and light distributor at the inner end. The light collector may be located at roof level or façade a building or located on the building façade. For a new building, roof-mounted light pipes can be designed to provide daylighting for the top floors. For existing buildings, roof-mounted light pipes where the pipes are to extend through some top floors may have limited application, but façade-mounted pipes may still be feasible to apply. The results presented in this paper show that potential of light pipes to commercial buildings is feasible and economical.