Skylighting
Resources
Skylighting Design Guidelines & Software
- Program Information
 SkyCalc 2.0
® operates at three levels of detail:
- The first level requires little information from the user, instead relying on extensive
defaults to describe the user's skylighting system and building operation.
- The second level allows the user to modify any default in order to describe the
situation more precisely.
- The third level allows the user to enter detailed information about products and
schedules (such as performance data for specific products or detailed building operation
information).
All SkyCalc 2.0 ® reports can be printed easily. In addition, the user can
adjust the basic spreadsheet and save new Excel templates for different building projects
and/or climate zones. Since the program is installed as an Excel template, new copies can
be saved for different building projects and/or climate zones. SkyCalc 2.0 ®
also
can take into account a variety of climate conditions. The user selects a particular
climate zone, and SkyCalc 2.0 ® calculates the energy impacts from skylights on an
hourly basis throughout the year. (See Figure 1.)
Figure 1: This sample
SkyCalc 2.0 ®
daylight illumination chart illustrates average hourly room illumination (in
footcandles) that would result from a given skylighting design for a
particular climate.
SkyCalc 2.0 ® also includes an optimization feature that
helps designers identify where the energy performance of a particular design falls among a
range of possible designs. (See Figure 2.)
Figure 2: This graph is a
SkyCalc 2.0 ®
optimization curve for a Bakersfield grocery store. The store is equipped
with dimming controls and single-glazed, white acrylic skylights that cover five percent
of its gross roof area. This graph indicates that although this particular design will
save significant energy, the optimum area that could be used for skylights in this
building is slightly greater. SkyCalc 2.0 ®
also can produce a similar graph that
calculates energy cost savings.
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