Guides and Links

Guidelines

Tips for Daylighting with Windows: The Integrated Approach

This nice downloadable daylighting reference has been reprinted thousands of times by utility programs and others, and is a good, quick checklist-type, "how-to-do-it" reference.

Original Version [PDF]

Updated Version [PDF ]

Daylight in Buildings: A Source Book on Daylighting Systems and Components

This guide provides field data and practical working information on a number of advanced, innovative daylight-redirecting, solar control, and light-diffusing systems catalogued by the IEA Task 21 International Daylighting project. Hard copies of this book are available in addition to the download: contact Ellen Thomas.

Window Systems for High-Performance Buildings

This 400-page book can be purchased from the WW Norton Books website. Much of the information is available on the Commercial Windows website, a joint website between LBNL and the University of Minnesota.

Consumer Websites

Windows for High-Performance Commercial Buildings

This online tool helps A/Es or owners optimize designs and quickly estimate savings from glazing, shading, and daylighting strategies. The tool and website were developed in collaboration with the University of Minnesota.

Efficient Windows Collaborative

This website's focus on windows for high-performance residential buildings helps homeowners quickly estimate savings from window strategies. It was developed in collaboration with University of Minnesota and the Alliance to Save Energy.

Window Coverings and Attachments

This website offers guidance for selecting window coverings for residential applications. It was developed in collaboration with BuildingGreen.

Project Websites

High-Performance Commercial Building Façades – Phase II

In collaboration with industry, LBNL conducted this three-year CEC PIER / DOE synergistic project focused on developing and validating the modeling tools needed to characterize, evaluate, and develop new, innovative optically complex fenestration systems related to solar control, daylighting, and dynamic façade systems. Field testing and demonstration projects also were used to evaluate emerging fenestration technologies. This website covering low-energy, high-performance commercial building façades is a product of this project.

Final Report [PDF]

High-Performance Commercial Building Façades – Phase I

This three-year CEC PIER / DOE synergistic project focused on field testing indoor and outdoor shading and daylighting attachments to meet the near-term needs for low-cost retrofit technologies in commercial buildings.

Final Report [PDF] Technology Portfolio [PDF]

Advancement of Electrochromic Windows

This three-year CEC PIER / DOE synergistic project field-tested and promoted emerging electrochromic windows for the California commercial buildings market.

Final Report [PDF]

High Performance Commercial Building Façades

A survey of technological approaches for daylighting and solar control, including a few case studies.

Final Report [PDF]

Integrated Envelope and Lighting Systems

This three-year California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE) project developed and promoted integrated window and lighting systems for the California commercial buildings market.

Research Award [PDF]

Daylighting the New York Times building

In early 2003, the Times Company approached the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) for advice having read about LBNL's research on dynamic façade and lighting systems. Their new corporate headquarters was designed to promote "transparency" to the public (being a news organization that provides factual information to its customers) via floor-to-ceiling clear glass windows shaded by a unique exterior shading system. Enhancing the way employees work was the key objective, with sustainable building design as a secondary objective. Automated roller shades and daylighting controls were under consideration. The Times Company learned on their own devices that such sustainable designs would help them achieve their primary goal since they believed that such designs foster employee creativity, productivity, and health through the environment of the space and its connectivity to the outdoors. The Times Company was willing to consider these technologies but needed third-party data to understand the risks associated with the use of such technologies.

A partnership was subsequently created between the Times Company, LBNL, industry, and public funding agencies to conduct a monitored field test to evaluate several commercially-available automated façade-daylighting systems. Monitored field tests on emerging technologies help to provide such information to end users thus reducing risk. The field test was designed to provide credible third-party lighting energy use, control system performance, and visual comfort data that resulted from monitoring a full-scale 4500 ft² daylighting mockup.