RIBA CPD Seminar

Natural light has a crucial role to play in enabling buildings to reach the energy efficiency targets stipulated by current legislation such as Part L of the Building Regulations. As market leaders, with Europe’s largest most comprehensive range of rooflight products, Brett Martin Daylight Systems are perfectly placed to provide the information you need. We can help to choose the right rooflights, minimise your carbon footprint and create attractive, user-friendly interiors. This CPD seminar provides the perfect opportunity for you and your colleagues to get up to speed on the relevant issues and solutions.

To arrange a Brett Martin Daylight Systems CPD Seminar click here.

Daylight for Learning

Research clearly shows that daylight reduces stress, improves attention spans and promotes learning. The most illuminating evidence for including rooflights in educational projects is a widely reported Board for Energy Efficiency study, which found that, in classrooms with the most daylighting, learning progressed 20% faster in maths and 25% faster in reading.

"The school designer should assume that daylight will be the prime means of lighting when it is available"

-Building Bulletin 90, Lighting Design for Schools – DfEE (Department for Education and Employment).

Brighter thinking, for brighter learning.

Daylight at Work

Again research proves what common sense suggests anyway: that natural light in the workplace increases productivity, reduces absenteeism and improves the speed and accuracy with which people perform everyday tasks. Many government regulations and guides have been written to take account of these findings. In fact the educational, retail and productivity benefits of installing rooflights are all based upon the same profound and indisputable physiological facts: natural light stimulates and regulates the release of the mood-enhancing neurotransmitter, serotonin by the body. Ultraviolet light from the sun also promotes Vitamin D production, which helps to build healthy teeth and bones by producing calcium.

People work better in natural light.

Daylight while Shopping

The serotonin produced in the human body by optimum levels of natural light doesn’t only have a positive effect on stress levels and attention span. It puts people in the mood to shop as well. A companion study to the California student survey researched 108 stores in a large retail chain - and found that the outlets with rooflights sold on average 40% more merchandise than those without. It’s simple really – stylish surroundings with lots of natural light encourage shoppers to linger longer and therefore spend more. Installing rooflights can make stores more profitable by keeping energy costs to a minimum as well.

Daylight at Home

Make your home stunning and your neighbours jealous by adding a Brett Martin rooflight. Bathroom, kitchen or lounge, you’ll create a spectacular feature, and transform the interior into a light, airy living space that’s energy efficient all year round.

Thermally efficient daylight
In order for a building to meet its CO₂ emissions targets as set out by Part L 2006 a minimum performance standard for rooflights averaged over the whole roof has been set at 2.2W/m²K.

15%-20% roof area
Installing between 15% to 20% of the roof area in rooflights is a practical solution to ensure lighting levels within the building are adequate and will reduce the artificial lighting requirement. The notional building used in the Regulations assumes 15% to 20% roof area in rooflights and research demonstrates that installing less than this amount will make compliance more difficult.

Solar Control
Independent research carried out by the De Montfort University shows that in a large volume building, with evenly distributed rooflights and moderate internal heat gains, a rooflight area up to 20% will not cause solar gain.

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Target U Value for rooflights: 2.2W/m²K