Skylight wells: A finite element approach to analysis of efficiency

M. Boubekri, W. Anninos

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Skylight well efficiency (WE), a measure of the overall light transmittance of a skylight well, is influenced by the intrinsic characteristics of the well, such as its geometry and the visible reflectance of all its inner boundaries. In this study, a finite-element approach is used to model the distribution of the luminous energy inside square skylight wells with varying splay angles, height-to-width ratios, well-wall reflectance and effective reflectance of the glazed cover. Resulting efficiencies are compared to the results published by Serres and Murdoch where the skylight well efficiency was evaluated analytically on the assumption that the well-wall exitance is uniform across each surface irrespective of the depth of the well. The finite-element approach showed differences of up to 6% compared to the uniform exitance approach.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)153-159
Number of pages7
JournalLighting Research & Technology
Volume27
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1995

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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