Touting Wellness Benefits, Top Architectural Lighting Designers Call for Greater Use of Natural Interior Daylight. daylight.
[NEWS] Philadelphia – June 15, 2015 – Eneref Institute, a leading advocate for sustainable development, announces the launch of its Natural Interior Daylight (NID) initiative to encourage greater use of sunlight as a primary light source in homes and buildings.
Expert advisors to the Natural Interior Daylight initiative include three of the nation’s most influential lighting designers: Nancy Clanton, Jim Benya, and Chip Israel.
The initiative launched a virtual campus (nid.eneref.org) featuring a repository of advocacy reports demonstrating successful applications of natural interior daylight in homes and buildings. Eneref advocacy reports draw on the expertise of advisors as well as testimonial interviews with end-user customers to provide a uniquely authentic, real-world perspective on a variety of technologies and solutions.
In addition, Eneref Institute published a report in LD+A, the journal of the Illuminating Engineering Society, outlining the current market obstacles to daylighting.
(http://www.eneref.org/reports/eneref_obstacles_daylighting_lda_2014.pdf)
Increased human wellness and productivity benefits in spaces prioritizing daylight have been confirmed by three evidence-based Heschong Mahone studies—findings echoed in Eneref Institute advocacy reports.
“Daylighting should be considered in any high-performance building,” says Nancy Clanton, President of Clanton & Associates, a national leader in sustainable lighting design.
The use of interior daylight such as energy efficient windows and skylights—in place of or in conjunction with traditional electric lighting—can significantly reduce a building’s energy load. Lighting represents almost 20% of global electricity consumption.
“Whenever we work with clients, our team always encourages daylighting because it makes sense for both energy efficiency and the overall well-being of occupants,” explains Deborah Burnett, US lighting designer and wellness SME principal of Benya Burnett Consultancy.
“We’re delighted to participate in Eneref Institute’s independent initiative because it will benefit our entire daylighting industry,” said John Lawton, electrical engineer and global product skylight manager for VELUX (www.veluxusa.com), the world’s largest manufacturer of residential skylights.
“Rooftop prismatic skylights offer facility owners an excellent, low-cost opportunity to enhance the quality of the interior lighting when coupled with proper installation and maintenance,” explained John Godwin, Vice President of CentiMark (www.centimark.com), the leading commercial roofing and flooring contractor.
“Sustainability is just good design,” according to Chip Israel, an internationally recognized lighting designer and president of the Lighting Design Alliance.
The benefits of natural interior daylight outweigh the investment; as sustainable practices grow more common, its use in homes and buildings will continue to increase, according to Seth Warren Rose, Founding Director of Eneref Institute.
“You don’t need a degree in illuminating engineering to know that a room with a view—one with windows that lets in natural light—is what people want. Inherently, we just know,” explains Eneref Institute Founding Director Seth Warren Rose.
For more information about the daylighting market, see the Eneref Institute report “Seven Market Obstacles of Natural Interior Daylight.”
(http://www.eneref.org/reports/eneref_obstacles_daylighting_lda_2014.pdf)
About Eneref Institute:
Eneref Institute (www.eneref.org) is a research and advocacy organization focused on environmental and social responsibility opportunities. The mission of Eneref Institute is to launch initiatives that raise awareness for clear, specific solutions which promote efficient use of natural resources, demonstrate social responsibility, and foster a peaceful, earth-friendly economy. Eneref Institute leads industry specific initiatives and works closely with government agencies, including the US Department of Defense, Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.
About Clanton & Associates:
Clanton & Associates (www.clantonassociates.com) is a lighting design firm specializing in sustainable design. The firm’s lighting design projects reflect Canton’s philosophy of sustainable design, and ten of their projects have been named to the AIA Committee on the Environment Earth Day Top Ten List.
About Benya Burnett Consultancy:
Benya Burnett (www.benyaburnett.com) combines Edison award-winning lighting design with internationally recognized expertise in light, health and epigenetic design.
About Lighting Design Alliance:
Lighting Design Alliance (www.lightingdesignalliance.com) is an internationally-known, full-service architectural lighting design firm. Expertise includes the design and specification of complete lighting and control systems, concept through installation.