Evaluation the efficiency of natural lighting by using simulation programs for office buildings in Egypt

Abstract

Facades play an important role in Office buildings.They separate the indoor from the outdoor environment, and affect visual comfort for the user.Driven by architectural trends and the need to maximize daylight and outdoor view; Office building façades have become more transparent. In order to realize required comfort conditions, the impact of innovative design features such as glazing systems should be studied comprehensively Optimized. Window system design may improve exploitation of daylight and result in significant savings in electricity consumption for lighting. Shading can be controlled on one hand, and it can be controlled to harvest maximum daylight according to changing outdoor weather conditions, while minimizing energy use lighting.

This paper discusses the study of the environmental effects of the glazing façades of office buildings and their impact on the efficiency of natural lighting and visual comfort.

The paper explains the design relationship between both configuration of office space and between the system of the glazing and the transmission of natural light, in terms of the design characteristics of the office space (proportions, dimensions and depth), in order to achieve natural visual comfort to Evaluation the efficiency of the environmental performance of office buildings.

The paper relies on simulation using, the Rhino - Grasshopper program, in analyzing the architectural design vocabulary of the building's façade and its external elements and the architectural space, while simulating the natural lighting standards, in order to find the proper form for  Evaluation visual performance and efficiency.