Daylighting is the technique of bringing natural light into a space and using it to enhance the space’s visual quality as well as energy performance. LEDs are a dynamic new technology with tremendous potential. This webinar will touch on the fundamentals of daylighting and LEDs, as well as the best ways to incorporate them into [...]

The University of Maryland took first place in the highly competitive Architecture Contest of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011. For the Architecture Contest, collegiate students from around the world are judged on the design and construction of attractive, high-performance houses that integrate renewable energy systems and energy-efficient technologies. Maryland earned a score [...]

The New Buildings Institute recently launched the Daylight Pattern Guide, a free interactive tool that features 19 prime examples in common space configurations, developed by Christopher Meek, AIA, with the University of Washington Integrated Design Lab and Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg of the University of Idaho Integrated Design Lab. Check it out here. On December [...]

Speaking of the 2010 Solar Decathlon, you can check out the projects at the Solar Decathlon website. Here’s the Parsons project. Check out the rest here.

New Buildings Institute (NBI) has announced the publication of the inaugural online version of the Advanced Lighting Guidelines (ALG). ALG is a premier resource for energy‐efficient lighting design, technologies and applications representing the latest and best thinking of experts in the field (I was pleased to contribute the controls chapter with Dorene Maniccea, and edit [...]

Visit Hanley Wood University and check out these five courses related to lighting: * Daylight Harvesting or Controlling Electric Light in Response to Daylight * Introduction to Tubular Daylighting Devices * LED Lighting Education for Specifiers * Lighting for Learning: Best Practices for Classroom Lighting * What is the Big Deal with LED Lighting? How [...]

A new approach to windows that could let in more light and cut indoor lighting needs by up to 99% in buildings in Tropical regions without losing the cooling effect of shades. Details are reported in the International Journal of Engineering Systems Modelling and Simulation this month. Lerdlekha Tanachaikhan and colleagues in the School of [...]

The Energy Center of Wisconsin will host a seminar by lighting designer Jim Benya on how to achieve energy-efficient lighting and daylighting designs that maximize both lighting quality and energy efficiency. In this seminar, Benya will examine the latest technologies and strategies to achieve superior lighting design essential for energy efficient and high performance buildings. [...]

In this presentation, Jean-Louis Scartezzini and Mirjam Münch, from the Solar Energy and Building Physics Laboratory at EPFL, present their experiences with daylighting research and technology. Their work illustrates possible integration steps toward optimized “Day and Night” lighting environments with respect to energy consumption and human health. Marilyne Andersen, associate professor in the Building Technology [...]