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Energy efficiency in lighting 
- the less considered criteria

by S. Ranasinghe A MlllumES (Lond) MIES (NA)

(The Archwatch (Daily News/SLIA Building & Housing Advisory Panel) at its bi-weekly meeting last week decided to publish an article on the importance on proper and efficient lighting in human habitations, written by S. Ranasinghe A MlllumES (Lond) MIES (NA) and published in Vol. 103 of the SLIA journal Architect.

The panel decided to highlight this topic following a letter written to the panel by a reader from Ratnapura as to why some of the Architects advise against building houses on type plans as proper ventilation and lighting which is very essential for a dwelling house cannot be properly decided upon without visiting the site.

This article clearly illustrates this point and will be very informative to future house builders.

It was also decided at this meeting to carry pen-portraits of Chartered Architects in this page under, know your Architects column as many readers write to this page for information on Architects, whom they could contact for housing matters.

The meeting was chaired by Architect Veranjan Kurukulasuriya Vice-Chairman Archwatch and Deputy Director/Architecture Department of Town and Country Planning, Battaramulla.)

Energy efficiency in lighting had in most instances been simply considered in terms of energy consumption by lamps and controlgear. So, the search for more efficient equipment continues; no doubt contributing to greater technological advancements in this field.

The role played by most lighting designers, though employing such efficient lamps and control gear in their exercises, signifies greater emphasis on aesthetics of the visual environment rather than functionality and energy efficiency.

It is disheartening to observe that either least or no attention is paid by many a lighting designer, to factors such as Interior Surface Reflectance's, Luminaire Photometrics, Effective Design Systems, Appropriate Lighting Levels, Brightness Balances etc., the many criteria that contribute strongly to energy efficiency.

It is also little understood by many, that these criteria could collectively contribute to more energy efficiency than efficient lamps and efficient control gear.

It is in this context that the writer attempts to explain that designing for energy efficiency in lighting is a multi-disciplinary exercise applicable to all situations.

Introduction

The continuing growth of world population and the commitment of every nation to improve the quality of life of its people, are factors that are causing a grave concern amongst every right thinking person.

Good lighting is one of the very important contributions to good living. When one refers to good lighting, it means both quantity and quality of light, in the work place, in the domestic environment, in the place of worship, in the place provided for recreation etc.

During the day, in most countries where there is good sunshine throughout the year, a good proportion of the lighting requirement is met with natural light and the balance supplemented with artificial light.

However, in situations where natural light is either not freely available or cannot be provided due to many other unavoidable reasons, such as design limitations, external obstructions etc., and during night time, total dependence on artificial lighting would be inevitable.

Energy to produce artificial light is derived from many sources such as fossil fuels, nuclear power, solar radiation, wind power etc., at a tremendous cost in terms of material and equipment, that is continually escalating.

It is also important to consider the fact that energy generation from some of these sources and its conversion to light contribute strongly to the pollution of the environment, which is a much valued and protected element essential to the sustenance of life on this planet.

Being aware of this situation, lamp and luminaire technology is constantly receiving attention at laboratory level to produce more efficient equipment and approaches to the art of lighting.

We see today more and more efficient lamps being produced for every type of application and these being used all over the world.

How best these technological products and recommendations could be adopted to suit specific national economic situations and developmental policies of different countries, specially the developing ones need careful considerations.

In addition to the efficacy factor of lamps, which no doubt is one of the most important considerations, there are many other criteria that contribute to lighting efficiency, every lighting designer, technologist or architect is quite aware of.

However, it is regretting to note that these criteria, which involve no extra monetary involvement but only a right understanding and a commitment to the cause, are receiving least or sometimes no attention at all in the implementation of many a lighting exercise.

It is surprising, when looking at them closely, that these other criteria could prove to be more efficient and environment friendly than the efficient lamp itself.

It is in this context that this paper attempts to enlighten the reader of the importance of paying attention to the following criteria, when creating an efficient, effective, and an economical lighting system.

The light source, be it the artificial lamp or the sun, are the fundamental considerations in the choice of an approach to designing a lighting system.

This paper however will not consider the artificial lamp, but other factors such as natural light, luminaire design, interior surface reflectances, brightness balance, design systems, control methods etc; to achieve a cost effective, environmental friendly lighting approach.

Natural lighting

Natural light which is the visible radiation of the sun reaching the earth's surface in different ways, is a freely available light source that should be intelligently harnessed to make use of its beneficial constituents or interior lighting, or it also contains the element of radiation that produces heat, which in certain situations could be undesirable.

In countries blessed with an abundance of sunshine during a greater part of the year, natural lighting is the most economical approach to lighting of most interiors by day.

Tropical countries should therefore look at this aspect positively, when designing buildings, to optimise the intake of natural light, whilst minimising on the intake of radiation that would produce undesirable heat.

Even countries in the temperate zone of the world, experiencing overcast sky conditions during a greater part of the year have appreciated the economic advantage of natural lighting, both in terms of freely available light and the solar radiation that provides them with the much needed heat during certain parts of the year.

In this context, the architecture of buildings could incorporate many positive features, such as proper orientation of windows, appropriate shapes and sizes of windows, less intricate interiors, good surface reflectances, incorporation of court yards and atriums etc; in order to make them daylight conscious buildings.

Such attention would also lead to an appreciable reduction in the energy needed for the supplementary artificial lighting during the day.

A very brief clarification of each of the above stated aspects would be considered useful.

Maximum benefit from windows would be derived by orientating them towards specific directions which would be specific to the country and the particular location, where the sky brightness would be maximum throughout the working period during the day.

In certain parts of the world, orientation towards both Northern and Southern hemispheres, with correctly designed sun shading devices have proved to provide best results.

Shapes and sizes of windows

Shapes and sizes of windows are very important considerations in a good daylighting exercise. Excessively large windows and glazed wall cladding produce a totally negative effect in the tropical regions of the world.

They contribute to excessive glare and immense heat build up within the interior, completely negating the requirement.

Surprisingly, extensively glazed multi-storey buildings are gaining popularity in tropical regions of the world, specially in the developing countries, to satisfy meaningless aesthetic and prestige considerations.

These buildings consume more energy to neutralise the heat build up than to provide artificial lighting.

Free flow of light

An important consideration in the design of buildings for optimum daylighting, is that free flow of light in to the interior, through openings in horizontal or vertical surfaces should not be obstructed but assisted.

In this regard the spaces should firstly be least intricate and secondly the surfaces should be made adequately and effectively reflective to permit interplay of light for deeper penetration.

These are two simple considerations generally overlooked by most designers who are more concerned with aesthetics rather than functionality.

Sun light as opposed to day light

Sunlight, as opposed to daylight, is an extremely effective component of natural light, with an efficiency of about 100 lm/w, which can be intelligently harnessed to provide very effective lighting to interiors.

This is specially so, in certain parts of the world where sun light is plentifully available during most parts of the year.

In certain regions of the world, that come within the 46 degrees sun paths, when shifting from the Northern-hemisphere to the Southern-hemisphere the sun light reflected off the external surfaces, specially the ground, could be made to effectively enter interior space through properly designed windows.

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Architectural walk through Jaffna

by Dr. Ranjith Dayaratne

Continued from Dec. 31

A recent conference in Mostar examining the architectural implications of war in Bosnia revealed the powerful ideological assaults, which have been articulated through architecture as a supplement to the war efforts.

Cultural monuments, cities and settlements are major elements that record and retain historical ownerships and are therefore subject to erasure and destruction to claim historical territorial ownerships.

As Andrew Hersher shows, neologisms have been coined during the Bosnian war to describe the assaults on cultural monuments, such as "warchitecture," the deliberate destruction of architecture, and "urbicide", the deliberate destruction of cities.

These terms define what is essentially the architectural counterpart to ethnic cleansing: the destruction of the architectural and urban settings within the landscapes of Conflict.

Apart from destruction however, it promotes building for the dead: and for the use of those engaged in killing!: The former "Buildings for Memory" of the dead and the latter "Buildings for Defence" of those who are still not dead.

The impact of the wars on architecture is all the more visible in Asia and Africa where 20th century wars have erupted at an alarming scale. For a long long time, Vietnam was fighting with an invading army, while Cambodia was battling their own people as enemies of ideology.

Pakistan and India have been at war over Kashmir while Afghanistan fought the Russians first and their own war lords later on, only to confront the largest army of the contemporary world.

Sri Lanka swiftly joined the list with its 19 year ethnic war, and now it seems that Indonesia may be knocking on the door.

The African continent has of course been worse than Asia in that many of the African countries have been at war with either each other or within themselves all the time.

Wars in Algeria, Angola, Siera Leone, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Ivory Coast, Somalia, Sudan, Nigeria, and Zaire have devastated their traditional landscapes, architecture and their communities.

The continent has been in a state of turmoil, with a dozen armed conflicts in progress, ranging from small local skirmishes to modern warfare.

The vast majority of the 30 or so wars fought on the continent since 1970 have been intra-state in origin and have accounted for more than half of all war-related deaths worldwide resulting in more than eight million refugees and displaced persons.

Until deadly 1994 conflict, Rwanda was the most densely populated country in Africa and had the highest fertility rate. Architecture was flourishing and many new buildings were being built.

While the war has claimed millions of lives, the chaos has also destroyed the infrastructure, housing, and complete cities and towns.

In the 1980s, agrarian communities in Ethiopia were nearly destroyed when all the farmers went off to fight its civil war and today, the country still depends on foreign food imports for its survival and its many villages and buildings are in ruins.

According to a 1991 report by the World Bank. Most Africans are unable to rebuild their houses and the cities look like ghost towns with dilapidated and damaged buildings, which amply demonstrate the unavoidable damage caused to the environments by man made disasters.

Indeed, civil conflicts and wars have also led to significant ecological damage and biodiversity losses in and outside protected areas, as well as to the marginalization of environmental management institutions and conservation programmes.

By 1991, the wildlife populations of national parks and reserves in Angola had been reduced by civil war to only 10 percent of their 1975 levels. Similarly, two decades of war and unrest in Cambodia have destroyed 35% of its forest cover.

In Vietnam, bombs alone are estimated to have consumed over 2 million acres of land. And in Afghanistan, one quarter of the forests were destroyed, leading to the conclusion that "the damage to the forests may be the greatest environmental catastrophe that occurred in Afghanistan during the war".

Regardless of the political logic, vident conflicts within and between nations are - by definition - designed to bring about the purposeful destruction of humans, resources, buildings and landscape.

Most conflicts mete out damage to buildings as the first form of eruption. Iraq's actions in the Persian Gulf brought the connection of war and the environment to world attention though wars throughout history have included premeditated destruction of the ecosystem and the built environment, assaults on this scale remain, thankfully, more as an exception than the rule.

Perhaps of greater concern, however is the wide range of inherent environmental damage that occurs in the preparation, execution and aftermath of many violent conflicts.

Yet, although it is self-evident that wars cause environmental damage, and loss of the human settlements and heritage in addition to lost opportunities for development, it is surprising how seldom environmental advocates or architects raise the issues.

The impact of a particular weapon's testing ground may be debated, or we may condemn the senseless loss of species to combat, but it is rare to perceive war itself as being, fundamentally, an attack on the environment and architecture.

The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka no doubt has influenced the practice of architecture in numerous and significant other ways in addition to damaging and destroying buildings.

In its most direct and obvious implication, the national development programmes stalled and de-railed because of the war and have taken away the many opportunities that would have otherwise been available to the making of architecture.

Investments are hard to come by and areas so recognized as been vulnerable and war-close, have receded to oblivion, devoid of habitation and development activities.

Indeed these have resulted in the re-organization of the spatial development landscape and its pattern. For example, the Trincomalee beach, so considered one of the most attractive beaches where tourist hotels were booming at the break of war in 1983, have now been completely abandoned by the tourist industry.

Imagine how much construction would have happened over the 20 years had there been peace!

If the practice of architecture is so affected by the break of wars and the fruition of conflicts to such proportions, and that peace is an absolute necessity for its sustenance and nourishment, then a question may be asked if the architects and architecture they produce can somehow contribute to ensure the inhibition of wars in the societies in which they practice.

While this may sound like a far-fetched suggestion for the architects to ponder on, many argue that the closer relations that seem to exist between the people and their built-environments which the practice of architecture intervenes in without doubt lends to the thought that a certain opportunity may lie in architecture to do so, if only we are willing to recognize these possibilities.

In an article titled "Say No to Casual Architecture" burrowing the popular catch phrase in England in the 90s "Say No to Casual Sex", Eric Dudley asks the question what might builders of the environment contribute to inhibiting wars.

In so doing, he claims that contrary to popular belief, architecture can indeed influence the maintenance of peace among the societies if only it will rise up to its social responsibilities. He alleges that Architecture makes social inequality manifest, and propagates social differences for its own glory.

He writes "My proposition is that the architect has not been history's midwife so much as its whore. If the client tells the architect to build to the glory of God, the corporation, or the third Reich, then if the fee is right, the architect does just that. The architect is a dream maker; a fulfiller of desires; a professional in the craft of flattery.

Like the whore or the hairdresser, the architect is a street-wise therapist skilled at building people up when they are lacking in confidence. Such a role may occasionally be valuable; Often it will be demeaning, trivial or counter productive; less clear is its potential for danger and even for the encouragement of war".

Concluded

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Lessons to learn in housing the poor

by Archt. Dylan Holsinger & Archt. Sadev Wittachy

Continued from Dec. 31

At "Sahaspura", it can be observed that the re-location programme has been carried out giving maximum emphasis on re-creating a feeling of neighbourhood or community by the Architects.

From the initial stage of the project, it is notable to see that the participation of the people directly involved has been sought, extending even to the process of selecting the design proposals.

While the construction was in progress. REEL has carried out social development programmes to introduce high-rise living, and condition the people directly affected.

Looking at the complex itself, it can be observed that the spaces have been created to give a community feeling.

The complex comprises of a ground floor containing commercial areas, community facilities such as pre-school, community hall and recreational spaces while 13 upper levels accommodate dwelling units and secondary commercial and community spaces.

The upper floors have been conceived as a network of "Main Roads", "Junctions" and "Streets" linked to each other.

The vertical circulation shafts direct people to the "Main Road", which is a wide corridor with views towards the exterior and where shops and boutiques for commercial activity are located.

The road corridor

This "Road" or the corridor is wide enough to facilitate even children's play and act as community spaces which people gather and chat and resemble the "Roads" where the occupants in their earlier settlements were quite familiar with.

On either end of this main corridor or "Road" are the "Junctions" from which the "Streets" commence. The dwelling units are planned along these "Streets' with each dwelling unit being provided with a private verandah.

Advantages

Each of these verandahs seem to be used to the advantage of the occupants for their purpose, be if for gardening, drying of clothes or even slightly modifying as a way-side boutique where little items required by the community are sold, creating self-employment.

Provision to mingle and interact

At the end of each of these "Streets" spaces are provided for communal/public bathing resembling the "road side tap". These spaces seem to have been planned to facilitate occupants to mingle and interact with each other while attending to their washing of clothes, bathing, etc.

Gradual change

It is interesting to observe that when moved into better surroundings, the lifestyles of the occupants began to change gradually. An important addition to these dwellings are their own toilets which makes for another interesting observation, which was how the occupants now shun the "road side tap" and prefer to do all their washing and bathing in their own apartments.

The occupants feel that they don't have to go back to doing the same things they did when they were in their former habitats. They now perceive themselves as being at different social strata.

No more do they want to mingle and interact with their neighbours in the way they used to. The inter-dependence within these communities which existed seems to be changing.

This goes to show that proper housing can help to change a person's mindset either positively or otherwise and duplicating what happens on the ground does not always work.

A socio-economic survey carried out by REEL reveals that the occupants are satisfied with the new environment and do not feel uneasy thinking that they are living in high rise housing.

This challenges the common "myth" that high rise housing is always a failure when re-locating shanty dwellers, and opens up completely new vistas for thought for future developments in and outside the country.

With proper legal ownership of their dwelling unit and feeling more socially acceptable, the occupant can look forward to a more secure and a better lifestyle and become useful and responsible citizens to the country. Concluded

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