Introduction

Visual discomfort from window is normally due to the glare. Glare is often resulted whenever
there is a huge contrast level within a human field of view, especially during the direct
penetration of sunlight. Sunlight and daylight are distinguishable in the sense that sunlight is
mostly due to direct solar radiation which is least useful to an inhabitable space whereas
daylight is due to diffuse solar radiation. Glare is a very subjective perception of brightness
and contrast in a room or space, depending on individual. As a guide given in MS1525:2013,
the brightness inside a building and the associated distribution can be classified by the
daylight factors as shown in table below:
Table 1: Classification of glare level based on DF (extracted from MS1525:2013)
DF (%) Lighting Glare Thermal Comfort
>6.0 Intolerable Intolerable Uncomfortable
3.5 6.0 Tolerable Uncomfortable Tolerable
1.0 3.5 Acceptable Acceptable Acceptable
< 1.0 Perceptible Imperceptible Acceptable

The simplest form of description of the daylight distribution, penetration and intensity is the
Daylight Factor (DF), expressed as a percentage. This is the ratio of the internal illuminance
(E
internal
) at a point in a room to the instantaneous external illuminance (E
external
) on a
horizontal surface:
F =
E
ntcnuI
E
cxtcnuI
1uu%
Description of Input
The public circulation or corridor of level 3 (approximate 2,190m
2
) is simulated for three
scenarios described below:
Scenario East West
Scenario 1 Single Glazing Ceramic Fritted Glass with 50% Coverage
Scenario 2 Single Glazing Ceramic Fritted Glass with 60% Coverage
Scenario 3 Single Glazing Ceramic Fritted Glass with 70% Coverage
Scenario 4 Single Glazing Single Glazing

The glass properties are summarized as below:

Ceramic Fritted Glass with 50% Coverage


Ceramic Fritted Glass with 60% Coverage


Ceramic Fritted Glass with 70% Coverage

U-value SC VLT(%)
Single Glazing 5.8 0.94 92
Single glazing glass
The test reference sky and working plane for analysis is summarized below:
Sky condition : CIE Overcast Sky
Sky illuminance level : 18 klux
Working plane : 800mm above respective floor
Ceiling reflection : 80%
Wall reflection : 60%
Floor reflection : 40%
The faade based on latest 3D-architectural layout is given below:

Western faade

Eastern faade
Result
Scenario 1: Ceramic fritted glass with 50% coverage


RAD Daylight Factors

Contour Band Within

Above

(from-to) Pts (%) Pts (%)
0-0.5 11977 26.64 44952 100
0.5-1 17476 38.88 32975 73.36
1-1.5 3915 8.71 15499 34.48
1.5-2 2230 4.96 11584 25.77
2-2.5 1684 3.75 9354 20.81
2.5-3 1251 2.78 7670 17.06
3-3.5 832 1.85 6419 14.28
3.5-4 538 1.2 5587 12.43
4-4.5 471 1.05 5049 11.23
4.5-5 341 0.76 4578 10.18
5-5.5 331 0.74 4237 9.43
5.5-6 312 0.69 3906 8.69
>6.0 3594 8.00
Scenario 2: Ceramic fritted glass with 60% coverage



RAD Daylight Factors

Contour Band Within

Above

(from-to) Pts (%) Pts (%)
0-0.5 12155 27.04 44952 100
0.5-1 17220 38.31 32797 72.96
1-1.5 4684 10.42 15577 34.65
1.5-2 2436 5.42 10893 24.23
2-2.5 1166 2.59 8457 18.81
2.5-3 1054 2.34 7291 16.22
3-3.5 819 1.82 6237 13.87
3.5-4 568 1.26 5418 12.05
4-4.5 486 1.08 4850 10.79
4.5-5 386 0.86 4364 9.71
5-5.5 450 1.00 3978 8.85
5.5-6 287 0.64 3528 7.85
>6.0 3241 7.21
Scenario 3: Ceramic fritted glass with 70% coverage

RAD Daylight Factors

Contour Band Within

Above

(from-to) Pts (%) Pts (%)
0-0.5 19331 43 44952 100
0.5-1 12732 28.32 25621 57
1-1.5 3582 7.97 12889 28.67
1.5-2 1550 3.45 9307 20.7
2-2.5 1083 2.41 7757 17.26
2.5-3 1093 2.43 6674 14.85
3-3.5 817 1.82 5581 12.42
3.5-4 594 1.32 4764 10.6
4-4.5 542 1.21 4170 9.28
4.5-5 320 0.71 3628 8.07
5-5.5 254 0.57 3308 7.04
5.5-6 257 0.57 3051 6.79
>6 2794 6.22






Scenario 4: All normal single glaze glass


RAD Daylight Factors

Contour Band Within

Above

(from-to) Pts (%) Pts (%)
0-0.5 8899 19.8 44952 100
0.5-1 17319 38.53 36053 80.2
1-1.5 5593 12.44 18734 41.68
1.5-2 2035 4.53 13141 29.23
2-2.5 1264 2.81 11106 24.71
2.5-3 1185 2.64 9842 21.89
3-3.5 920 2.05 8657 19.26
3.5-4 591 1.31 7737 17.21
4-4.5 518 1.15 7146 15.9
4.5-5 344 0.77 6628 14.74
5-5.5 318 0.71 6284 13.98
5.6-6 289 0.64 5933 13.27
>6.0 5644 12.56
Discussion & Conclusion
Its important to note that there are two components that cause glare from windows. They
are direct glare from sunlight and brightness of window due to intense daylight. Firstly, the
direct glare is anticipated to occur at Eastern faade and Western faade as shown in site
plan below with overlaid sun-path.

Assuming the mall operates from 10.00a.m to 10.00p.m. The mall will experience high angle
sunlight from 10.00a.m. until 12.00p.m where sun is directly overhead. At this short period of
time, the direct glare in Eastern faade is minimal. After 12.00p.m., the sun angle will slowly
move to low angle and until sunset. At this period, the Western faade will experience the
sunlight from all angles. Therefore, direct glare from Eastern faade is minimal while
Western faade is critical. The direct glare can only be fully addressed with fins, blinds, or
other shading devices that obstruct the direct penetration of sunlight to the occupants in the
building. The proposed ceramic fritted glass can only partially address the direct glare.
Generally, the greater the coverage of ceramic frit pattern, the better the direct glare control.
However, greater coverage will also reduce the useable daylight (DF 1.0~3.5%) that
admitted to the building.
Secondly, the intense of brightness admitted to the building by windows can result in glare.
Daylight factor (DF) is the key indicator for the glare occurrence possibility as described in
the introduction. The sky condition tested in the simulation is CIE overcast sky. CIE overcast
sky resembles to the cloudy sky where illuminance of sky is assumed to be uniformly-
distributed throughout the sky dome. The daylight factor simulation is summarized in table
below:
11.00
13.00
15.00
DF (%)
Tolerance
level to glare
Percentage of affected area (%)
Scenario 1
(50%
coverage)
Scenario 2
(60%
coverage)
Scenario 3
(70%
coverage)
Scenario 4
(0%
coverage)
>6.0 Intolerable 8.00 7.21 6.22 12.56
3.5 6.0 Uncomfortable 4.44 4.84 4.38 4.58
1.0 3.5 Acceptable 22.05 22.59 18.08 24.47
< 1.0 Imperceptible 65.52 65.35 71.32 58.33

It can be seen from the table above that the proposed fritted glass in Western faade
reduces affected area of intolerable glare from 12.56% to 8.00% for Scenario 1, 7.21% for
Scenario 2 and 6.22% for Scenario 3. As aforementioned, the greater the coverage
percentage of ceramic frit pattern, the better the glare control, but the lower the usable
daylight admitted through the glass. By comparing between the four scenarios, the 60%
coverage ceramic frit pattern glass or Scenario 2 is preferable over other two options due to
the better glare control while the reduction of usable daylight is insignificant comparing to
Scenario 1.