On the commercial/office side, the trend is clearly toward higher ceilings and plenty of vertical glass to give occupants the benefits of daylighting. But what are the energy trade-offs, if any?
In multi-story commercial/office buildings, daylighting through vertical glazing is the only option. In order to get light deeper into the space, you are going to have to increase the height of the glazing in these spaces. Obviously as you increase window space, you lose consistent R-value of the wall system. However, depending on where your building is located, gas is 1/3 the cost of electricity per mmBTU and daylighting a building properly will always have a positive affect on energy usage. However, as vertical glazing height increases, designers are faced with ways to diffuse directional light and glare. Having the light source come from the window wall will always produce bright contrast when looking toward the source and without diffusion; the glare can be disruptive to office workers as well as interfere with office equipment and monitors.
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