SMART GLAZING
Making smart-tinting glazing even smarter Shadow Mapping with Photographic Obstruction Maps for Better Daylighting, by Andrew McNeil, Facade Performance Specialist, Kinestral Technologies, Inc.
Human reaction to direct sunlight through glass, which translates to glare or thermal heat, is immediate: shades go down. Those same occupants, however, are slower to raise the shades when discomfort disappears. Consequently, shades stay down longer than necessary, depriving occupants of daylighting and views are blocked. Automated shading solutions are growing in popularity because they can be programmed to raise shades when
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the risk of glare and thermal discomfort is low, enhancing daylighting. They’re increasingly common in large commercial office buildings, but window shading in smaller buildings and residences are left out of automation – primarily because of cost. The cost of centralized control hardware and commissioning sensors on a rooftop might be more easily absorbed in a building with a thousand windows than a building with only 10 windows.
www.daylightingmag.co.uk
