As an Architect, you have many considerations to take in designing a building. One important part is daylight; placement of windows, indoor lighting and other lighting sources. In this blog post we will dive into what daylight analysis is, how you can get an overview of your design options and how to incorporate it into your BIM model in Revit.
Naviate Daylight brings Revit to a new higher performance level by providing automated daylight checking and decision support for your integrated BIM design.
If you look at the definition, it says something like this:
The amount of daylight received in an internal space can be analysed by measuring illuminance on a grid or undertaking a daylight factor calculation. Computer programs can allow an Architect or Engineer to quickly calculate benefits of a design… The source of all daylight is the sun.
Naviate is making it possible for you to do all this inside your Revit application. We have implemented both the simplified method; Daylight Ratio, and the daylight simulation part that includes the climate solar data; Daylight Factor. Below you can read more about what they do and how you can use them in your work in Revit.
Want to see it live? Register for a free webinar here.
Daylight Ratio automates the calculation of Window to Floor and Window to Wall ratios of each room in the project. The calculation methods and results vary depending on the selected calculation standards.
You will also get various information about elements "involved" in the calculations, such as Rooms, Windows, Curtain Walls, and objects surrounding the building.
Here’s an example of how the Daylight Ratio can look like for Window to Floor, in this case using the Swedish local building regulations.
Moving on to Daylight Factor, you get automated the calculations of the Daylight Factor, Luminance and Uniformity Ratio of each room in the project.
In addition, various information about elements "involved" in the calculations like Rooms, Windows, Curtain Walls, and objects surrounding the building is created.
Here's an example of how the Daylight Factor daylight map is visualised.
As for most regulations, different countries have different regulations for daylight requirements in buildings. For the moment we support the countries below with specific regulations in addition to the European standard EN 17037, and worldwide green building certification program certification LEED 2009 EQc 8.1 and worldwide sustainability assessment method BREEAM.
Below is a visual presentation of regulation requirements.
Naviate Daylight is using Radiance as the engine for calculations. This is a well-known suite of programs for the analysis and visualisation of lighting in design. The primary advantage of Radiance over simpler lighting calculation and rendering tools is that there are few limitations on the geometry or the materials that may be simulated.
Anything you would like to know more about? Leave us an comment!