Schematic Design

Retailers may see increased sales linked with daylighting, according to studies showing a correlation between sales and natural lighting. Additional savings may be seen by employers through increased employee retention and satisfaction as well as productivity and reduced absenteeism.

Designing for daylighting will allow you to reduce the number of ambient light fixtures and their frequency of use, reducing the cost of electric lighting both upfront and in operations.

Prescriptive compliance paths for EAc1 (other than energy modeling) do not allow window-to-wall ratios greater than the relevant reference standard. Projects using these compliance paths are limited in the amount of allowable glazing area.

Consider designing spaces with narrow floor plates so that most spaces are near windows and have access to daylight.

Hold an integrated design meeting with the architect, interior designers, mechanical engineer, lighting designer and the end users to discuss daylighting-related tradeoffs.   Optimize glazing area while preventing excessive heat gain and glare; and use open space planning that allows for greater light transfer while preserving privacy.

Some “regularly occupied” spaces may be exempt from the daylighting calculation if their uses are daylight-sensitive. Examples include museum or gallery spaces, auditoriums and high-security areas. If you have daylight-sensitive spaces in your project that you would like to exempt from the calculation, you must provide a detailed narrative explanation and exemption request along with the credit documentation.

 Previous CIRs offer some guidance for this. Note that this path is approved on a case-by-case basis and may not succeed.

Your project's regularly occupied spaces should be defined consistently across other LEED credits, especially EQc8.2: Daylight and Views—Views. Note that aisles between open plan workstations are considered part of that occupied space and if not included skew the results of the calculation.

Identify regularly occupied spaces that need to be included in the LEED daylight calculation. Locate these spaces near perimeter glazing, courtyards, or other daylight sources.

Enter the names of the regularly occupied spaces in the LEED EQc8.1-8.2

Ensure that the spaces identified as “regularly occupied” are consistent across credits, especially for EQc8.1: Daylighting and Views—Daylighting.