The study explores the potential use of daylight in the office environment in a hot-humid climate of Malaysia, thus, to reduce the dependency on electric lighting and to create the potential for a more pleasing daylit environment. The thesis has investigated glare, seating orientations, window design, preference of lighting, lighting and visual comfort regulation, visual comfort and visual performance and computer simulation on glare in Malaysian offices. It has developed tools for assessing the visual environment in offices (in the field), focusing on the Malaysian conditions of daylight in office design. Specifically, it has investigated the current window and lighting application in office buildings through office workers' assessment using a questionnaire survey. It has assessed the current window and lighting application in office buildings based on field measurements. It has assessed visual and lighting condition and visual task performance using a Landolt Ring chart under a daylit office environment. Finally, it has analysed glare of a daylit office using computer simulation, Radiance. The major findings of the thesis show that a daylit office can be successfully used to provide an acceptable visual environment and reduce electric lighting within. However, there are some qualifications to this conclusion. Firstly, it has been found that daylight should be controlled either using timed glazing or shading devices. Secondly, the acceptable of a daylit environment depends on a certain extent on seating positions relative to windows. Interestingly, the best rated seating position reported by subjects is the least productive for visual task performance. Finally, it appears that glare calculation used in the advanced computer program is not suitable to calculate glare for Malaysian daylight condition. The western guidelines for visual comfort can be applied as general guidelines, with caution that Malaysian daylit conditions are expected to include a wider range of daylight levels
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:583405 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Denan, Zuraini |
| Publisher | Cardiff University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://orca.cf.ac.uk/55368/ |
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