Assessing the glare potential of side-lit indoor spaces: a simulation-based approach

This work proposes a new digital tool to assess visual comfort in side-lit indoor spaces, which: (i) provides useful and simple visualizations for preliminary glare studies, (ii) spatially maps glare potential, and (iii) reduces the computational overhead of annual visual comfort studies. The implemented heuristic spatially and temporally samples annual vertical illuminance data to find the critical points-of-view and hours-of-the-year regarding glare. Using the tool, we conduct a comparative study of 3 different fenestration schemes, in a typical office space, in 3 locations; London, UK–dominated by overcast skies, Oakland, CA, USA–an example of annual mixed sky, and Phoenix, AZ, USA–clear sky dominated. The proposed tool signaled critical events and suggest when and where the user should conduct detailed glare simulations, showing its usefulness in early to intermediate design stages; phases when it is desirable to avoid expensive and time-consuming glare simulations.