Home Design Guides: Lighting, Windows
Windows and daylight
The most common and essential form of daylighting in almost all homes, windows play a very big part in lighting design.
Skylights and roof lanterns
Skylights generally allow much more light into a room than windows do, thanks to their access to direct sunlight.
Sawtooth roofs
This traditional daylighting method is mostly used in industrial buildings, but is now making a comeback in homes.
Clerestory windows
Traditionally narrow bands of windows across the tops of buildings, but now seems to include any 'higher-than-average' window.
Transoms and fanlights
These small windows are usually placed above doors, and often allow both improved lighting and ventilation.
Light shelves
Light shelves work on a fairly basic principle. A shelf is installed outside of a window, which reflects additional light back into a room. They are particularly effective for houses where eaves might otherwise reduce the amount of light entering a window at certain times of the day.