In a study of windowed vs. windowless intensive care units in hospitals, it was discovered that
Depression, disorientation, hallucinations, loss of memory and delusions were significantly less common in the windowed (yet viewless) ICU. The implication was that daylight alone provided critical information, perhaps about time and weather patterns, to the patients, which in turn led to
stress reduction.
(Report by the Parsons School of Design, New School of Social Research in New York analyzing 60 studies andarticles on the topic of daylighting and productivity, 1999)
The lack of daylight can disrupt one’s chronobiology (internal body clock). Moderate disruption of chronobiology can lead to “jet lag,” while more serious disruption can lead to the serious performance and short- and long-term health problems evidenced by shift workers. An example of this is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), characterized by recurrent, annual clinical depression, accompanied by oversleeping, overeating, decreased work productivity and social withdrawal.
(Report by the Parsons School of Design, New School of Social Research in New York analyzing 60 studies and articles on the topic of daylighting and productivity, 1999)
The Centre for the Analysis and Dissemination of Demonstrated Energy Technologies in the
Netherlands reports that a hospital in Canada found that cardiac patients who were in wards receiving direct sunlight were in the hospital for shorter periods, by as much as 11%.
(CADDET Energy Efficiency Newsletter, 2000)
A study by the U.S. Department of Energy found that employees who sit near windows have 20% fewer symptoms common to workers in “sick buildings.” The conclusion: Give people light and spend less on healthcare.
(Smart Business from ZDWire, August 14, 2000)
The use of daylight for illumination in non-residential buildings greatly reduces the risk of business disruption during power outages and greatly increases public health and safety during any emergency which may involve disruptions of the electricity supply. The incorporation of a large stock of buildings throughout the state with adequate daylighting increases
the options for voluntary power reductions during peak emergencies.
(“Integrated Energy Systems: Productivity and Building Science” Report prepared
for the California Energy Commission Public Interest Energy Research Program by the New Building Institute Inc., October 2003)
When Prince Street Technologies, a subsidiary of Interface Carpets, built a new 160,000-squarefoot factory in Cartersville, Ga., it used extensive natural daylighting (including 32 skylights), which was linked with improved worker safety. In the first three years after moving into the new facility, workers compensation cases dropped from 20 per year to under one per year, for savings worth an estimated $100,000 to $200,000 a year.
(The non-profit Center for Energy & Climate Solutions’ Cool Companies website, www.cool-companies.org, 2002)
