Daylight management is an emerging term referring to strategies and technologies for controlling daylight penetration in interior spaces through windows, clerestories, skylights, tubular daylighting devices, and building core sunlighting systems to maximize daylight benefits. This article by CLTC Co-Director Konstantinos Papamichael published in NEMA's ElectroIndustry (February 2017, Volume 22, Number 2) presents key performance aspects affected by daylight penetration in interior spaces, along with strategies and technologies used to effectively manage its dispersion to address the daily and seasonal changes in outdoor and indoor conditions.
Automated daylight management is key to realizing daylight benefits by maximizing comfort and energy efficiency. Today’s commercial technologies can certainly meet the needs of the required integration of daylighting, electric lighting, and HVAC controls, which can be brought together through appropriate communications and control algorithms. The ultimate vision for the future is the development of smart luminaires, windows, and skylights, which carry their own sensors to sense various environmental conditions—such as occupancy, light levels, temperature, and humidity—and communicate with each other and the electric lighting and HVAC systems for effective individual operation.