The transformation of the architects’ vision to architectural form is a lengthy process. From initial sketch to day-to-day life, a design is transformed through the reality of occupation. No matter how much effort is put into a design its final effectiveness is determined by the end user. The access to ample daylight balanced with an adequate sense of visual privacy within ones one home is not often accounted for within the planning process. With current legislation making access to daylight a right within many developed countries, guaranteeing that access within the dense urban environment can mean putting resident’s privacy into question when planning to meet these daylight requirements. Failing to consider the privacy needs of all residents, especially immigrant groups, can lead to privacy driven modifications counterproductive to the overall goal of increasing access to daylight. Resident modifications can, in turn, lead to reductions of daylight levels within the home. There is a need for a system of analysis when it comes to the balance of access to daylight and adequate visual privacy, connecting the critical impacts of these factors on the human physiology and psychology. This proposal puts forward a system to analyze the relationship between the effective light transmission and the perceived visual privacy provided by a given visual privacy solution. The study is based off the analysis of current research regarding the effect of daylight on the human body, the importance of privacy within the home, the impact of cultural background on perception of privacy, and the impact of changing urban density on how people live. The research proposes a system of measurement taking into consideration both the quantitative effective daylight transmittance and a systematic qualitative analysis of perceived visual privacy through participant survey. The data collected would eventually be combined in a way that could be easily communicated to architects, designers, manufacturers and most importantly the end user. This system would be used to ensure that residents are able to effectively balance the level of privacy they require while mitigating the loss of daylight within their homes helping to insure the most benefits for the resident regardless of what home they find themselves in.

Purpose: This degree project aims to study how different choices regarding the size, location and type of windows affect daylight entry in an apartment building in Västerås. We have chosen to calculate the energy requirement when changing the window type, size and shielding factor. The purpose is also to come up with solution proposals that balance daylight input and energy for a smaller energy need in the apartment building. Method: The research method is based on a literature study that will lay the foundation for the work and a case study where a visit to the concerned building has been carried out. Interviews have also been conducted with experts in daylight and energy issues. Energy calculations and daylight- related calculations have also been made using the computer program Daylight Visualizer. The goal of the program is to find out the value of the daylight factor in two different apartments on two different floors. In each apartment, three different rooms in three different latitudes (north, west, and south) have been studied. Results: The results present several factors that affect daylight intake. These are screening angles, orientation, room height, room depth, building structure and placement of balconies. The properties of the windows in terms of daylight transmittance (LT value) and solar heat gain (g value) are very important to get a good result regarding both daylight and heat in the building. The balance between daylight and solar heat gain to reducing the energy needs for heating during the winter and cooling during the summer. The result based on the computer program for the first window alternative show that that the value of the daylight factor in all three rooms on the 12th floor (third floor) was between 0.59–0.31% and on the 19th floor (tenth floor) 1.01– 0.91%. The calculations of the energy balance show as monthly results, and the calculated annual need for active heating is about 27 MWh / year. The corresponding result according to calculations by the consulting company Kadesjös is approximately 59 MWh / year, but the difference between its calculations has not been studied further in this degree project. Conclusions: The calculation results indicate that the building has a very limited energy requirement for active heating in relation to its size and this is logical given that the heat losses are relatively small in terms of transmission, Exhaust and supply air ventilation with heat recovery (FTX system), and air leakage. The heat losses through window glazing in this case constitute to only about 12% of the building's total heat losses.