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Study of Luxalon ® Sun Louvres ProductsBy Lavinia LimLUXALON is a patented trademark of Hunter Douglas. The producttype under the LUXALON trademark is architectural products, rangingfrom interior products such as ceiling and cladding panels, to exteriorproducts such as louvres and exterior cladding. This study focuseson LUXALON Sun Louvres and the product types taken into analysisare:• 84R Sun Louvre• SL 70S – 132S Aluminium Sun Louvres• Aerofoils 200AF – 450AF• Aerobrise Sun Louvres Systems (Single/Double)This study is an exploration of the Sun Louvres products, with theaim of charting out the extent of daylighting potential of thesesystems and its usefulness in reality.The application of sun control systems in Singapore is concernedlargely with the shading capabilities of the product. Littleconsideration is given to the daylighting capabilities of the shadingsystem and the notion of balancing shading and natural daylighting.In the new light of environmental sustainability, designers are lookingout for products with greater energy saving value and naturaldaylighting is one energy saving method to tap into. Sun controlsystems hold the potential in providing natural daylightingpossibilities. They need not merely be shading systems but they cando a dual function of shading and allowing for daylight to enter theinterior space.Besides introducing daylight, the original function of louvres keepingout undesirable heat is still an important criteria in the choice of suncontrol products. Due to the necessity of keeping out the hotequatorial sun in Singapore, there is a large possibility of overshadingoccurring due to a lack of concrete pre-application study and analysisof the local climate and its result on the use of sun control systems.Hence the following study hopes to uncover the potential of the Sunlouvres products and its effectiveness in the Singapore climate, basedon Ecotect analysis.Singapore’s Solar ClimateIn order to engage product systems at their full potential, it isnecessary to first understand the local climate in which we are livingin. Understanding the solar climate aids designers in making a wellinformed decision with product choice and application.The solar climate in the tropics can be considered to be an extremeone with a very small range in variation. The solar climate in Singaporeis characterised by high solar radiation, high sun angle and a largeamount of diffuse daylight, all of which are relatively uniform in valuesthroughout the year. The following will introduce the main elementsof Singapore’s solar climate that greatly influences the use of naturaldaylighting and also the exposure to solar radiation.1. Sun PositionIn order to understand where the sun rays are coming from, it isimportant to refer to a sunpath diagram. The sunpath is theposition of the sun that constantly changes throughout the dayand throughout the year and a set of predicted sun positions ischarted in a sunpath diagram as seen in Figure 2. Figure 2 showsa stereographic projection generated from Ecotect, Figure 1,shows a sky dome projected onto a horizontal plane with theobserver located at the centre. Ecotect is a complete buildingdesign and environmental analysis tool that covers the broadrange of simulation and analysis functions required to trulyunderstand how a building design will operate and perform. Thesoftware is used extensively by engineers, local authorities,environmental consultants and building designers, as well asowner-builders and environmental enthusiasts alike.Figure 1 Figure 22. Sun AngleThe sun is positioned at a high sun angle above Singapore. Thesun angle between 1000 hours and 1400 hours is an average of65 o , refer to Figure 3. The sun angle is measured from thehorizontal plane to the ray of the sun when it hits the earth.The sun angle is an important factor in the application ofdaylighting systems, especially so in the use of sun shadingdevices and light reflectors as the angle becomes crucial in theeffectiveness of these systems. It can be generally said that ahigh sun angle prevents the illumination from the sun, frompenetrating far into a building interior, hence limiting its naturaldaylighting capabilities, thus a need for the use of daylightredirecting devices.The high sun angles reflected in Figure 3 corresponds to theSpring Equinox (20th / 21st of March) and the Autumn Equinox(22nd / 23rd of September) and the low sun angles correspondsto the Summer Solstice (21st / 22nd of June) and the WinterSolstice (21st / 22nd of December), giving an approximate sunangle range between 52 o and 89 o .Figure 3 Figure 43. Sky TypeThere are 4 different sky types and they reflect the level of luminanceof the sky that changes according to altitudes as shown in Figure 4.The sky type in Singapore is the International Commission onIllumination (CIE) Standard Overcast Sky. The Overcast Sky is acompletely clouded sky where the sun and its position are not apparent.The passage of radiation through the clouds usually produces close towhite light by mixing with moisture droplets. The distribution ofluminance in such a sky is symmetrical about the zenith and is lower atthe horizon than overhead.The luminance at the zenith is 3 times brighter than at the horizon. Anovercast sky due to high cloud cover causes a large amount of diffuseddaylight. However the diffused daylight in Singapore does not lack inbrightness, creating a whole sky of bright and glaring diffused light.This is unfortunate because the redirecting of direct sunlight is largelyeasier than redirecting diffused light and large amount of bright diffusedlight results in glare, which becomes a very big issue.Figure 54. Sun DirectionThere are basically only 2 Sun directions, North-South and East-Westof which daylight will penetrate a building. And East-West is the directionof the greatest concern due to it being the direction of sun travel, thusit is in this axis that a building will receive the most heat and illumination.Figure 65. Solar RadiationThe East and West are the directions of the greatest concern dueto it being the direction of the sun travel. Thus it is in this directionalaxis that a building will receive the most heat and illumination. Aresearch done by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), to analysethe amount of direct and diffuse incident solar radiation andtransmitted solar heat gain through a glass window, revealed thatthe total amount of solar radiation received on the east windowwas higher than that of the other orientations, at 370.3kW/m 2 .High solar radiation is expected in the equatorial region due to itsclose proximity to the sun. The diurnal temperature variation is small,from 31 o C to 33 o C during the day. The existence of such a largeamount of constant radiation infers that insulation from heat gainon a building façade is an important consideration. The lack of solarinsulation will result in the heating up of the interior space, leadingto a higher and more costly cooling load. Therefore, sun shadingdevices or sun deterring devices are essential in the tropical climate.The 4 louvred systems were compared based on the following criteria:1. Daylight LevelDaylight level is the amount of daylight that is allowed into theinterior. A high daylight level is ideal, for it results in savings inartificial lighting and other tangible benefits.2. Isolation LevelIsolation level reveals the amount of exposure the interior is allowedto solar radiation. The lower the level of isolation, the better becauseit prevents the interior from overheating.3. Extent of View to the OutsideA view to the outside is largely preferable in an office space. Viewto the outside can be defined by the elevational view or a slantedview out.4. Types and AdaptabilityTypes and adaptability of a system refers to the variations of aparticular system that allows it to be customised to apply to differentconfiguration of spaces and different climate. Adaptability is alsoimportant for it determines if special provisions are required for asystem’s application or can a system be integrated or beindependent of the building structure.5. Flexibility of BladeThe flexibility of blade refers to the blade’s ability for adjustment,be it manually or motorised. The ability to adjust the angle andorientation of the blade goes to aid the louvred system’s ability toblock out direct sunlight.6. Light Guiding PossibilityAnd last of all, the light guiding possibility is the opportunity of onelouvred system to be converted into a light redirecting device, whichgoes to improve the natural daylighting in a space.About LaviniaArchitecture to me is a means of humanistic design, tocreate sustainable buildings that embrace nature andspaces that elevate the human experiences. My designinclination is in the designing of parts to create the whole, through themanipulation of details and materials, resulting in a product, whichcombines both the idea and function, allowing for a greater humanisticappreciation of space.1819