Daylight Penetration in Buildings: Issues in Tropical Climates

Abstract

Lighting is a very important aspect of buildings, especially daylighting and how it penetrates into spaces. The tropical climate happens to have an abundant supply of daylighting. Unfortunately, little attention is paid to daylighting in some climes. This paper presenteda summary of findings from literature search on “daylight penetration”, with focus on factors affecting penetration, applications and design considerations for buildings in the tropics, towards developing a concise document for better understanding of issues relating to daylight penetration in tropical climates. The study is a qualitative research paper that reviewed secondary data and presents its findings in a concise manner for clarity.Data was collected from fifteen publications relating to daylight in tropical climate using google search engine through the internet and the findings presented in text format. The findings revealed that the tropical skies are not consistent and therefore allows for more sunlight which also in turn generates more heat gain and glare. Therefore, daylight penetration in the tropics must be treated with regard to these factors. Theresult also revealed that the use of light guiding shades, angle selective glazing, light shelves, horizontal and vertical light tubes, switchable glazing and active solar regulation are ways to utilise tropical daylight whilst controlling heat gain and flare in buildings. It was recommended that to maximize the penetration of daylighting into buildings in the tropics, considerations should be given to adapting the aforementioned factors.