Integrated Envelope and Lighting Systems for Commercial Buildings: A Retrospective

Daylighting systems in use world-wide rarely capture the energy-savings predicted by simulation tools and that we believe are achievable in real buildings. One of the primary reasons for this is that window and lighting systems are not designed and operated as an integrated system. Our efforts over the last five years have been targeted toward 1) development and testing of new prototype systems that involve a higher degree of systems integration than has been typical in the past, and 2) addressing current design and technological barriers that are often missed with component-oriented research. We summarize the results from this body of cross-disciplinary research and discuss its effects on the existing and future practice of daylighting in commercial buildings.