24 Sep, 2023
Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA)
MSc Advanced Sustainable Design Dissertation
MSc Advanced Sustainable Design Dissertation
To what extent can parametric modelling be used in daylighting design for optimal light levels and energy use for single-family residential retrofit projects in the United Kingdom?
Abstract
Incorporating daylight has long been a necessary component of architecture. Natural light has numerous biophilic benefits and can lead to reduced energy consumption. Global initiatives aimed at decarbonising the building sector have made sustainability a vital responsibility for the architect. However, designers are often met with conflicting objectives: ideal light levels for occupant satisfaction and achieving design ambitions, and creating an energy efficient building.
Emergences in computational workflows have allowed designers to use parametric modelling to study how their decisions impact final results. Multi-objective optimisation works to create numerous design solutions for the same problem swiftly. No longer is it necessary to sacrifice form or function.
However, current applications of parametric modelling are mostly used for public typologies, large-scale projects, new-builds, and in well-known architecture firms. There exists a gap in the knowledge between the technology and both residential typologies and retrofit projects. In addition, smaller architecture firms often struggle to keep pace with technological advancements that are vital to the ever-changing design process.
The aim of this paper is to bridge the gap and provide architects with tools to incorporate parametric design into projects of all typologies throughout the design stages. Specifically, the investigation studies aperture depth, skylight ratio (SLR), visual transmittance (VT), and solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) to optimise total energy use intensity (EUI), useful daylight illuminance (UDI), and glare autonomy (GA). These metrics give insight to how the daylighting strategies influence energy efficiency, adequate light levels, and visual comfort.
The methodology uses a case study building of a single-family residential retrofit project. A Rhinoceros model was created, Grasshopper plug-ins Honeybee, Radiance, and EnergyPlus were used to run energy and daylight simulations, and Wallacei ran multi-objective optimisations. Most- and least-fit solutions based on each objective were identified, and their corresponding parameters were studied to make connections between how the combined parameters impact the fitness values independently. A pareto front was found and filtered based on solutions that performed better than the baseline. Finally, an optimised solution with the average highest-ranking fitness values was identified, and a thorough investigation was conducted. The optimised solution resulted in a design with 19% EUI, 6% UDI, and 5% GA improvements from the baseline.
This investigation demonstrates the power of parametric modelling to manage large amounts of data and create holistic solutions to a given design challenge. It builds upon previous parametric modelling applications by investigating residential and retrofit projects. The programme’s flexibility gives designers at all levels the power to optimised specific daylighting and energy saving metrics based on certain parameters to fit the unique goals of their projects.
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