Going Green: Natural Light

I have walked into houses many times before during the day, just to be meet with a sense of darkness because of lack of natural lighting. Unfortunately, this has become the case increasingly where I have noticed houses are being built without adequate light consideration, even to the point of totally eliminating windows in some areas. Some cast a shadow of darkness into their home by putting large parking canopies that totally block off natural lighting from entering the house.

Lighting is one of the major elements of design, and as such, it’s important to make the most of natural lighting even before buying a single bulb. This can be done by

•  Designing big windows, and ensuring curtains are pulled back during the day
• Avoid very heavy curtains
• Avoid color tinted windows

Use of natural lighting has great benefits which include:

•  Health – Use of natural lighting has been studied to reduce eye strain, reduce stress, help body metabolism and enhance growth especially of children, assists in natural hormonal development among many other wellness benefits. Studies have also shown that people who work in well lit environments are happier, healthier and more productive.
• Cost benefit – Natural light cuts down electricity bills due to minimized use of artificial lighting.
•  Ambiance – It makes a space look bigger and increases appreciation of the interior look of a place, by bringing out the natural colours, textures and patterns.

Let’s all have a natural light filled day!