Xtralite and Vitral are now a part of VELUX Commercial, and we are delighted to welcome you to our new website. Here, you will find our complete portfolio of daylight solutions and services for industrial, commercial and public buildings.

Daylight

The role daylight plays in our lives cannot be overstated, which has led us to undergo extensive daylighting research over the years. This research has allowed us to pull out a number of key topics on how the use of daylight can transform a building from within, increasing the well-being and enhancing the lives of building occupants.

Hessenwaldschule with daylight
Daylight

Six building schemes you can follow to design healthy buildings

How do you design and operate a healthy building? Answers to these questions can be found in an increasing number of methodologies and rating schemes that have seen the light around the world in recent years. They all share the ambition to strengthen the health and well-being of building users. Yet, they vary widely in terms of their overall scope, the metrics they use as proof of performance, and the weight that they put on the different phases in a building’s life cycle. The following chronological overview presents a selection of the most important and forward-looking tools, as well as their underlying methodologies.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter and receive monthly updates on new products, insights, and daylight inspiration. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Starry sky

When viewing the night sky, most of us feel an intimate connection to the universe. Yet starry skies and moonlit nights have become increasingly rare for city-dwellers today. Given the harm that too much light at night is inflicting on human beings and ecosystems, it is time to reconsider our relationship to the ‘nocturnal side’ of our lives and our culture.

By Paul Bogard, a writer and assistant professor of English at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA

Daylight in the built-up environment

Over the last one and a half centuries, artificial light and the restructuring of working times have seemingly ‘liberated’ us from the diurnal cycles of light and dark that nature imparts on us. Yet recent research has shown that this separation from nature comes at a considerable cost, causing health and social problems. A reconnection to the rhythms of nature is therefore needed – and this will also have a profound influence on architecture.

By Russell G. Foster, Professor of Circadian Neuroscience and the Head of Department of Ophthalmology at Oxford University

Buiten de Veste' school in Steenbergen, The Netherlands

All over the world, natural daylight has been exchanged for artificial light forms at the expense of our health and even productivity. With better building design, though, we can reclaim the daylight and improve well-being and performance.

Boys at school playing together

To truly enhance human well-being, building design needs to move beyond optimising single parameters such as temperature and humidity, to more holistic approaches that take their cues in health-supporting human behaviours. Based on the Five Ways to Well-Being that have recently been established by scientists, this article outlines the way architects can consider these aspects in their designs, in order to nudge building users into a healthier way of living.

By Koen Steemers, Professor of Sustainable Design and former Head of the Department of Architecture at the University of Cambridge.

Daylight in the built-up environment

A considerable body of research shows that people prefer daylit spaces to those lacking natural light. Why should this be? If there is sufficient light to see, why would people prefer one source to another? To answer this question, we need to understand the evolved relationship between humans and natural light.

By Judith Heerwagen, Ph.D., environmental psychologist in Seattle, Washington.

A birds eye view of Otto Shuner AG rooflight installations

Maximizing your industrial buildings daylight has several operational benefits. Good daylight provisions increase the comfort, health and productivity of your employees. Good daylight design can also help you to make safety an operational priority. Whether a warehouse, factory or HQ-VELUX Commercial can help you select the safest solution.

Sophie Amalie Gaarden with glass panel installation

Incorporating daylighting into healthcare building design has several benefits. Good daylighting canassist with patient recovery and connects people with the outdoors. This is particularly important for patients spending long periods of time recovering from treatment or operations. But it also helps employees to feel more comfortable in demanding roles. In the winter months, people suffering from (SAD) can improve mood by maximizing natural light exposure. Windows and roof glazing can play an important role in positivity, health and productivity.

Jumbo Food Market with Vario Thermal System as rooflight installation

Brick and mortar stores competing with online buyers need to maximize customer experience. Retail spaces with natural daylighting deliver a fuller shopping experience for customers; good daylight also creates an enjoyable environment for employees. Natural light creates a comfortable space that is inviting to spend time in. Roof glazing solutions can be cost-effective and have the potential to reduce artificial energy consumption.

The Old Royal Station in Ballater 

Daylight solutions for airports and railway stations represent a challenge to designers. But it is one that has excellent rewards for people who often use these crowded spaces. In airports or train stations commuters often feel frustrated or overwhelmed. But these emotions can be positively affected by good daylight design.

The Bodmin Jail Hotel

Realizing the potential of daylight in hotel and conference centre projects has several benefits. Guest and visitors can experience better time spent in more natural communal spaces. While staff have shown improved happiness and an increase in productivity.

 An exterior view of office Appel

Daylight solutions can improve productivity, comfort and the well-being of office employees. Daylighting is also energy-efficient and cost effective, reducing reliance on artificial lighting. Check out our eBook: Designing daylight solutions for commercial buildings for a closer look at the impact of daylight on occupants in commercial buildings and incorporating daylight into building design.

Outside of our homes, most of our time is spent at work. Since the digital age began workplaces have made the move into office-based settings. But it is still possible to maintain a connection with the outdoors with good daylight design.

Sports Centre Bertrange with special Grillodur daylight system

Daylight solutions enrich the recreational experiences people have when using sports facilities. Natural light in a well-being environment assists in keeping users comfortable when exercising. Communal facilities are better utilized when your building has evenly distributed illuminance levels, and lots of fresh air. A connection to the outside is proven to improve mood and the overall well-being of people.

Daylight & Architecture

While the science of well-being is relatively nascent, the UK Government’s ‘Foresight’ project sheds a great deal of light on five factors that have a proven effect on well-being¹, leading to the definition of the Five Ways to Well-Being (connect, keep active, take notice, keep learning, give).² The question remains, though, how do we design buildings that can positively influence these five factors?

By Koen Steemers, Professor of Sustainable Design and has been Head of the Department of Architecture at the University of Cambridge.

Before and after images of rooflight refurbishment with VELUX Modular skylights

There are several factors that influence the success of commercial rooflight refurbishment projects. From choosing the correct daylight solution and getting the right technical advice through to installation support and ongoing service and maintenance. Schedules are often tight, so it helps to have the involvement of a rooflight manufacturer who can offer support, knowledge and technical expertise that can deliver a renovation project within a set time frame.

Three Nordhavn terminals with rooflight installations

Daylight solutions help to create quality, attractive, and comfortable spaces to spend time in. A range of rooflight solutions are available to maximize natural light exposure in public buildings. Public buildings are freely available to the public and accessible for use by all citizens. Community spaces such as town halls are also considered to be public buildings.

Interior before and after views of a Grillodur rooflight installation as part of a refurbishment project in Switzerland.

When choosing a new daylight solution as part of a refurbishment project, understanding a building’s functionality plays an important role in decision making. If able to establish the influential factors involved in design, specification and installation, better decisions can be made.

University of Southern Denmark featuring VELUX Modular Skylights

Did you know that well-designed classrooms make a significant difference to academic performance? Studies have found that improved physical characteristics can boost the learning abilities of students. In this article, we dive into what daylight and electric light mean to the equation.

Atrium skylights seen from inside the UK Hydrographic Office

Two hundred modules of the VELUX Modular Skylight system were installed in 5 days as part of an efficient programme for BAM construction.

Modular skylights with blinds

The new European Standard for daylight design covers four different areas: daylight provision, assessment of the view out of windows, access to sunlight, prevention of glare.

Internal image of Glenpark Early Years featuring VELUX Modular Skylights

The new European standard for daylight design in buildings, EN 17037, has been written so that it can be applied to any building.

DSV Headquarters featuring VELUX Modular Skylights

In the UK, EN 17037 became effective in 2019, and conflicting national standards have since been withdrawn.

Skylights and Green solution house in screen