Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Daylighting is often underutilized in regions characterized by tropical climates. In Malaysia, architectural designs frequently incorporate enclosed walls and facades to minimize solar heat gain. However, this approach limits the penetration of natural daylight into deeper interior spaces. As a result, larger and deeper spaces, such as exhibition galleries, often rely on artificial lighting to achieve adequate illumination, thereby increasing the building’s overall energy demand. To mitigate the reliance on artificial lighting, this study aims to identify and evaluate the effectiveness of vertical and horizontal louvred shading systems applied to an exhibition gallery's atrium skylight within a tropical climate context. Both vertical and horizontal louvred shading configurations were analysed using the VELUX Daylight Visualizer simulation software. The Phase 1 simulation results indicate that the vertical louvred Type D (D = 600 mm, L = 300 mm) and horizontal louvred Type 3 (D = 150 mm, L = 450 mm) configurations demonstrated superior daylight performance when applied independently to the atrium skylight. In contrast, the Phase 2 simulation revealed that combining both louvred shading systems significantly enhances daylight performance. The integrated Type D2 configuration—comprising vertical louvred Type D (D = 600 mm, L = 300 mm) and horizontal louvred Type 2 (D = 150 mm, L = 300 mm)—achieved the most optimal daylight distribution for the atrium skylight in the exhibition gallery compared to other design configurations.
Authors: Desmand Hii Jing Chao, Christopher Heng Yii, Nooriati Taib, Gabriel Ling Hoh Teck, Lim Jing Jing
Institutions: Universiti Sains Malaysia, University of Technology Malaysia
Language: English
Subfield: Building and Construction
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4411072404