Today’s schools, industrial complexes and retail spaces are more concerned than ever with the question of building for wellness: How can we make the occupants of these spaces both happier and healthier? For many designers, the answer lies in connecting people on the inside with the environment found outside. By providing access to natural light, spaces can drastically improve the mental state of occupants on a day-to-day basis.
That’s what Brian Grohe, LEED AP, commercial sales manager at VELUX, works to achieve. “Introducing more natural light into spaces will increase the natural well-being, productivity and happiness of the occupants,” says Grohe. The skylight manufacturer strives to accomplish that goal in a number of ways, and Grohe walked us through the top seven suggestions from VELUX for clients who want to create spaces that promote well-being.
1. Get more sun, more often
While any skylight can allow light into a room when the sun is high in the sky, it takes a special design to keep natural light flowing in steadily as the sun moves throughout the day. To provide occupants with maximum sunlight, the VELUX Dynamic Dome commercial skylight was designed with an innovative shape that redirects more sunlight into the building especially at lower ray angles, including the lower angles of the morning and afternoon. GPS solar-tracking skylights, popular a few years ago, accomplished the same result with mirrors and a sun-tracking system, but the Dynamic Dome gets the same results from a static fixed unit — no GPS or extraneous technology necessary. “It was designed with the end goal of giving a maximized natural lighting footprint for as many hours of the day as possible through a fixed skylight without any moving pieces,” says Grohe.
2. Rethink sunlight transmittal
The Dynamic Dome also helps those looking for healthier spaces with its redesigned, clear outer dome. While most skylights use a prismatic or white outer dome to filter light as it enters a space, the clear dome lets more light in to be captured by an interior prismatic layer that then relays the light into the space.
3. Make installations easier
To simplify the process of installing skylights, VELUX created the completely scalable VELUX Modular Skylight system (VMS). A modular skylight system with an easy and highly repetitive installation process, the scalable VMS affords designers easier and more flexible access to natural light benefits. “It really doesn’t matter if it’s a two-modular system or a 2,000-modular system,” says Grohe. “The installation and assembly of the system is always the same.” This streamlined process also means that the VMS modular system can be easily integrated into a variety of rooflines, making it simple to match other skylights — even units with complicated designs.
4. Don’t sacrifice design for daylight
“Whether a high-end custom home or horse barn, natural light is great for the occupants, but it also maintains a great aesthetic on the outside of the building with nice clean lines,” Grohe says about the VMS system’s aesthetics. Great design and beautiful visuals can play a huge role in the healthy attitudes of a particular space, especially when they feature larger monumental skylights. The VMS system makes it easy to architecturally blend functional skylights with numerous types of buildings, making it ideal for getting the most out of natural light while implementing an attractive contemporary feel.
5. Take advantage of natural ventilation
VELUX also offers a wide range of accessories that enhance the skylight products in your buildings to create even healthier spaces. The VMS system in particular can be equipped with hidden ventilation components that create a natural exhaust of fresh air. Organic circulation helps occupants breathe fresher and reduces HVAC usage, and touchscreen control pads make it easy to control vents and blinds. Airflow essentially comes naturally to spaces equipped with this high-tech ventilation system.
6. Bring natural light into hard-to-reach places
For large environments with suspended ceilings — such as schools and manufacturing facilities — electrical systems and various pieces of equipment can obstruct natural light. The Tubular SUN TUNNEL commercial skylight is a curved skylight that can be adjusted to direct light into specific areas of a building. This tubular skylight allows architects and designers to illuminate dark corners and large rooms so that the entirety of large interiors can benefit from the sun. Grohe also notes that the solution can be flexibly used to work on as wide or as specific of an area as a designer chooses.
7. Keep sunlight functional
That same ability to be more precise with light allows designers to create natural lighting designs that work well with necessary electrical layouts. “For example,” says Grohe, “you could direct the light into a certain area and away from a different part of a classroom where more activity is based.” This ability to completely control the way that natural light hits a room means designers can tailor the benefits of natural light without interfering with other designated areas in the same space that might require specific colors or task-based lighting. That gives everyone the benefits of natural light without interfering with different potential functions.
The VELUX commitment to energy efficiency has driven its desire to create new lighting innovations for more than 75 years. Its products look at the whole impact of healthy practices, working to create healthier and more efficient buildings that then pass on those positive traits to every occupant.
