DAYLIGHT & SUNLIGHT PLANNING
BS EN 17037:2018 Daylight in Buildings – A Critical Review The new European Standard measuring daylight in buildings is too complicated and fails to adequately safeguard the minimum fitness standards for natural light needed by residential tenants via the provision of a practical calculation solution. By Dr Peter S. Defoe PrD(BE) DipArb FRICS FCIArb MCQI CQP and Andrew D. Thompson CEnv FRICS FCInstCES FHEA Anglia Ruskin University
The new Daylight in Buildings standard BS EN 17037:2018, almost immediately attracted criticism from daylighting specialists and the research community. Prior to the publication of this new standard, the UK used BS 82062:2008, the code of practice for daylighting, giving recommendations for daylight design in buildings – including electric lighting design when used in conjunction with daylight and this was supported by BR209 Site layout planning for daylight and sunlight – a guide to good practice. However, this new standard BS EN 17037 deals exclusively with natural daylight and sunlight and it includes methods of calculation for design parameters that did not feature in BS 8206-2 meaning that the domino effect of this change is that housing fitness standards, planning design controls and associated environmental accreditation schemes based on BS 8206-2 have lost the source reference standard. Whilst both BS8206-2 and BR209 have a weakness within their
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September/October 2020
methodologies which are based on historical research and simplified calculations. This manual approach can also be an advantage is that both traditional methods are capable of being undertaken or checked at low cost using only paper-based systems via basic measurement methods. Whilst most practitioners at advanced stage now employ computer-based technologies to model buildings and to undertake the calculations the complexity of the property market is such that daylight awareness needs to be understandable to non-expert practitioners. Landlords, Property Managers, Local Authority Officers and concerned property owners need an accessible and low-cost solution for first stage assessment.
“Most practitioners at advanced stage now employ computer-based technologies to model buildings and to undertake the calculations the complexity of the property market is such that daylight awareness needs to be understandable to non-expert practitioners.”
While most parties agree that there is a need to have a better methodology for assessing the performance of daylight within a building prior to construction, they also believe that it is necessary to ensure that any output is capable of being understood by lay clients and of being verified independently.
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