| LBNL’s Windows and Daylighting Group provides technical support to
government and industry efforts to help architects, engineers, and other commercial
building specifiers choose energy-efficient and cost-effective residential windows. The
following are resources which provide practical information and advice: The Federal Technology Alert on Spectrally Selective Glazings is a 44 page brochure which explains how this relatively new and low-cost technology can reduce cooling loads in commercial buildings without any loss in visible light or change in appearance. Tips for Daylighting presents an integrated approach to the cost-effective use of daylighting in the perimeter zones of new commercial buildings. These easy steps and rules-of-thumb serve as a quick reference for designers and emphasize "how-to" practical details. WINDOW+5 SOFTWARE Suite - Several LBNL modeling tools (WINDOW, THERM, the International Glazing Database, Optics) are essential to modeling the thermal and optical performance of glazings and complete fenestration products. These tools are useful to product and component manufacturers and to architects/engineers looking to design new products or better understand existing product performance. DOE-2- this computer tool is the primary tool used by engineers and some architects to assess the impact of various design options on annual energy use. The tool allows detailed tradeoffs to be made of all fenestration design variables (windows and skylights; including shading and daylighting effects) for any type and size of commercial building in any climate. We provide links to 3rd party vendors who sell the software and consultants who use it to provide services to other designers. BDA- Version 1 of this newly developed software tool for the conceptual design phase of commercial building design contains a detailed daylighting analysis capability and a module that does simplified analysis of total building energy use. The building design can be rapidly created and altered using a CAD front-end. RADIANCE - this powerful daylighting and lighting design analysis tool has been used in many state of the art projects to assess the quantitative and qualitative aspects of lighting in a building. Because it produces an accurate, photorealistic picture of the space, it provides a powerful set of results to decision makers. A new, more user friendly version with an AutoCAD front end will be available in mid- 1999. For more information contact Eleanor Lee |