Impact of three window configurations on daylight conditions: Simulations with radiance

The report describes the results of a pilot study on daylight conditions in simple rooms of residential buildings. As a tool for the analyses the Radiance Lighting Simulating System was used to simulate one room with three different window configurations, a vertical window, a dormer window, and a roof window. The simulations were performed for overcast sky conditions and under one sunny sky, for two different times of the day. The study shows that the window configuration affects the daylight conditions (distribution and intensity) significantly. The roof window results in a higher (average) daylight factor on a horizontal plane, i.e. more than twice as high compared with the vertical window, and more than triple as high compared with the dormer window.