Daylighting and Windows: Maximizing Natural Light

As you can surmise from the word, “daylighting” means using natural light from the sun to illuminate your interior, as opposed to using artificial lighting to do so. Apart from its obvious energy-saving benefits, it also has a lot of other advantages, chief among them health reasons, productivity and highlighting the aesthetic of your interior.

One of the easiest ways to achieve more daylighting is through the use of windows, as they readily admit light. While you can’t simply replace all your walls and roof with glass, there are some ways to maximize the reach of sunlight into your home without sacrificing your privacy. Renewal by Andersen® of New Jersey explains more in this post.

Create a Plan First

You will only waste effort, time and materials when you go about a daylighting project without a master plan. For this reason, map out your home first and find strategic areas where walls can be fenestrated (or even totally replaced) with a floor-to-ceiling window.

In general, conventional window replacement wisdom dictates that windows should face wherever the sun is. Because the sun moves east to west slightly south—given that we’re in the northern hemisphere—the windows of your home should also face south. Obviously, the opposite is true for people in the southern hemisphere, such as Australia.

Consider Adjacent Placement

While you can simply place windows on this orientation wherever you please, you can also maximize light admittance by placing them adjacent to walls (instead of smack dab in the middle). This allows light to “touch” the nearby wall and reflect off them, allowing more light to reach further into the room. If you can, place lighter walls next to your windows for higher reflectance values, but avoid using a mirror to prevent glare.

Place Your Windows Nearer the Top

Have you ever wondered why, in some warehouses—where by all rights it should be dim—it isn’t as dark when there are just awning windows near the ceiling? This is because as the sun is in the sky, the angle of light makes it so that the higher the window, the more light can come in. This means placing your window at least at the upper third of a wall can do wonders than it would had it been installed at eye level.

Renewal by Andersen of New Jersey is the most trusted specialist for windows and doors in the area, and our expertise with windows allows us to both make and install our very own products. To experience the Renewal by Andersen difference, call us today at (866) 609-5033. You can also fill out our form to get started. We serve New Jersey residents.