Architecture Canada | RAIC is pleased to offer an interactive online course, developed by the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), directed at Architects and allied built-environment professionals, that examines the application of core sunlighting approaches and technologies in commercial buildings as sustainable strategies to reduce costs, offset greenhouse gas, and provide a substantially improved indoor environment in workplaces.
Course Description
Electricity demands for lighting in commercial buildings accounts for approximately 30% of overall electricity consumption. Using natural sunlight as much as possible can help reduce lighting electricity demands - saving money and energy for building owners and operators while also improving the quality of illumination.
One common method of bringing daylight into a building involves the use of skylights and tubular daylighting devices; however, these devices are less effective in lighting multi-storey buildings. Other methods involve using high floor-to-ceiling heights and larger windows. These methods often lead to heat loss in winter months and heat gain in summer months.
Core sunlighting is emerging as a viable architectural approach in both new and existing commercial buildings. It is a sustainable strategy used to reduce energy costs, offset greenhouse gas, and improve the indoor workplace environment.
This interactive online course will employ videos, case studies, and design process application to address topics such as: historical applications, current issues, emerging technological advances, applying core sunlighting strategies to buildings, and how these systems influence green building architecture.
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Develop a common framework to define core sunlighting and its scope of application;
- Review basic scientific principles of illumination, sunlight harvesting and distribution;
- Develop methodologies to quantify performance and analyze the cost-benefits of core
- sunlighting strategies;
- Identify technical issues in deploying core sunlighting technologies within buildings; and
- Connect the importance of utilizing core sunlighting in the built environment as a
- sustainable building strategy to support the sustainability goals common to many communities.