28 August, 2023
Windows
Natural light will transform any interior! Natural light for interiors! - the Internet has been full of such buzzphrases recently. And they appear not only in lifestyle or interior design contexts. We encounter them, for example, when discussing health, well-being and efficiency at work. As a manufacturer of windows, a product designed to provide access to natural light, we feel that we should have a say in this discussion.
Windows can assume many functions. They allow us to see what is going on around us. The wall also looks much better with them than without them. Nevertheless, the primary purpose of installing windows is to invite natural light into the room.
Initially, this was not a matter of preference but of necessity. There was no switch on the wall to light up the room with an electric bulb, and certainly no LEDs. We had a choice of natural light sources, including the sun or an open, only much later enclosed fire in various lamps, which was either dangerous or expensive and always inefficient.
The appearance of a window was necessary, even at the expense of reduced wall insulation. Nowadays, the problem is almost eliminated because the thermal insulation of windows is very high, but this is an achievement of only the last decades. People have for centuries accepted the cold only to take advantage of sunlight.
We can get access to natural light using a wide variety of windows. In addition to classic solutions, we have roof windows or sliding systems, tall French windows and windows in fancy shapes, and fixed windows forming transparent walls. The options are many, but the goal is the same: natural light.
Intuitively, we understand that we need sufficient light. When there is far too little of it, our eyesight falters. The trouble starts much sooner, although we may fail to notice it.
We should always think about our health first. A natural light source such as the sun has much more in store for us than just the full spectrum of the visible band, which is responsible for the comfort of our eyes. It is no secret that in poorly lit rooms, our eyesight will shortly fatigue, which, in the long run, can negatively affect the eye's accommodation and visual acuity.
Natural light allows our eyes to work in the conditions they have been adapted to by evolution, reducing the strain on the eyes and the brain, which, like a computer, is processing incoming images. Artificial light may seem the same as natural light, but it is not. Natural daylight has different characteristics from the light from various fluorescent lamps and even traditional light bulbs. And that's just the visible band.
The invisible bands of light can also do a lot. Some transmit a lot of heat and are responsible for pleasantly warming our skin. Another part reacts with the deeper tissues and is a crucial factor in the production of vitamin D. This is one of the vitamins that affect our skeletal system, the immune system and general well-being.
When there is not enough natural light, we feel it very quickly. Usually, however, we are unaware of the reasons for the distress to our body and mind. When we are affected by:
there can be many reasons for this, but one of the most common is insufficient access to natural light. Prolonged sunlight deprivation has even been linked to mental illnesses such as depression.
We feel discomfort, especially in autumn and winter, when, due to the Earth's position to the sun, the intensity of daylight is naturally lower. Added to this is the increased overcast typical of these seasons. Any mistakes and missed opportunities in the design of homes or offices become much more significant.
Even if we are employers primarily focused on the productivity of our employees, we must not forget the impact of daylight on work. Insufficient light from natural sources significantly reduces productivity, triggering the phenomena described above. Employers, who employ themselves and often forget to take care of the staff of their one-person company, should take special care of the light supply.
The aim of designing access to natural light is to be healthy and productive, but there are more reasons to do this. One of them may seem trivial, although it is not at all. It is interior design, or how such an arrangement is perceived afterwards.
If we want to lighten and enlarge a room, the best way would be to remove a partition and create a new, large space. In practice, this is usually impossible, so we have to resort to other measures. Natural daylight is one of them.
The more daylight there is, the bigger and more spacious a room appears. The less there is, the sadder and more cramped it becomes. This is why architects always try to include windows in limited zones. Kitchens in concrete panel buildings are an example of this: flats with kitchens outfitted with windows look better, are more desirable than those without windows and fetch higher prices on the market.
We should promote natural light in the home by using bright colours, mirrors and glazing. This will lead to its diffusion, and although the intensity of diffused light is lower than that of a direct source, one type cumulates with the other, translating into a much better overall effect.
No tricks will help us if the light does not come through the window first. The arrangement of the windows and their features are decisive. Therefore, we should be guided by a few principles when designing or renovating homes. More light means:
Which rooms in the house are dark? In principle, none, at least not all the time. But nothing prevents us from having enough daylight in every nook and cranny of the house. It just has to be taken care of at the planning stage of the house.
We use different rooms at different times of the day and in different ways. Architects who know their job are aware of this. That is why a good house design provides for the cardinal directions in the projects and positions all rooms in their context. In what way?
Each of the directions that windows can face has its own characteristics and optimal use:
A lot depends on our preferences and lifestyle. We must remember that with light comes heat, so a well-lit study pleasant in winter may not be a good idea in summer when the heat is pouring from the sky.
When it comes to the excess of heat, we can deal with it almost effortlessly.
Light is the energy from thermonuclear reactions occurring in the sun. It sounds dangerous, but fortunately, we are far enough away from our star that these explosions of unimaginable force are, at most, a nuisance to us, resulting in overheated interiors or, occasionally, unreliable mobile service.
This is a trivial problem compared to the essence of the phenomenon, but this does not in any way reduce its daily annoyance. Fortunately, the solution is ready and it does not have to be just expensive air conditioning. To reduce the amount of heat in rooms, we can use:
The operation of roller shutters, blinds and shutters does not need to be explained to anyone. It is only worth pointing out that if you we interior or screen roller blinds, we can choose materials with various light permeabilities.
Venetian blinds are an interesting idea because when they are positioned horizontally, they do not eliminate natural light completely, but they strongly reduce the amount of heat. This is because the heat is retained on the lamellas before the window and natural daylight enters the room diffused, without most of its energy.
On the other hand, glazing with a lower g, i.e. reduced light transmission coefficient, is a conscious choice for property users. One can opt for glazing with a high g and let all the light in, or defend against it with a relatively lower g.
Whenever we prioritise the desire for daylight in our interiors, we aim to ensure that nothing interferes with the photons passing through the windows.
When we use sandblasted glass, frosted glass, glass tinting or one of the many other aesthetic options available to investors, we limit the amount of light and heat entering the interior.
We can do this selectively or comprehensively. Tinting the glazing to a particular colour filters out most of the light, retaining only the band corresponding to its wavelength. Coating the glass with a layer that reflects natural light will result in fewer or no photons entering the interior if the covering is precise enough.
We must remember that the daylight levels depend on such decisive factors as the weather and the season. There are also many trivial factors, including, for example, the cleanliness of the glazing. A property in a dusty environment, or one wanting window cleaning for a long time, will have a limited light inflow.
Natural light in the home and office is a great value we must handle prudently. It can change our perception of interiors and how we feel about them. The impact of daylight on our health is substantial and direct. It cannot be replaced by artificial light despite the availability of special-purpose lamps created for such purposes originally in Scandinavia.
We should not shy away from consciously designing light access, i.e. thinking about how our building should be positioned concerning the cardinal directions and which windows or sliding systems it should be equipped with. Let's make sure we choose the proper glazing and plan how to arrange the rooms in the house.
We must also bear in mind that light means heat, which implies using the right window coverings and technologies in the windows themselves. There are plenty of possibilities, so let's utilise them for our health and well-being and save on electricity bills at the same time.
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Eko-Okna S.A.
Kornice, ul. Spacerowa 4
47-480 Pietrowice Wielkie
NIP: 6391813241
KRS: 0000586067
Olszyny 9
44-373 Wodzisław Śląski
Naftowa 23
47-225 Kędzierzyn-Koźle
