A Study on Window Configuration to Enhance Daylight Performances in Apartments of Dhaka

The proper distribution of daylight in a room is essential to ensure visual comfort of occupants and energy saving of a building. Window configurations often decide the building day lighting performance considering fixed pattern of the sun movement. This study investigates the performance of a window configuration in order to minimize the cost for lighting in apartments located in Dhaka. For this research, different types of daylight performance metrics were analyzed with computer simulation programme, such as ECOTECT, RADIENCE and DAYSIM. A study model of a representative residential apartments in Dhaka is created at the beginning, and a series of simulations is performed with various window configurations to evaluate the average illumination value and the uniformity of the luminous distribution inside the apartments. The simulation results are compared with the experimental measurements obtained from field. The results will refer the characteristics of preferable window configuration in terms of achieving a uniform illumination distribution in apartment interior space. The output of the research will be helpful for the designers not only to improve the luminous conditions of residential apartments, but also to guide for an energy saving solution.