Investigation into the Influence of External Walls Reflectivity on the Indoor Daylight Availability in Desert Climates

Hot arid climates are characterized by clear sunny sky most of the year time. Such climates affects the urban morphology, which requires sometimes dense urban fabric. Narrow streets have significant effect on the amount of daylight permeating indoor residential zones, which may have a negative or positive effect on the overall visual performance.
This paper studies the quantitative effect of using different Façade reflectivity ratios, under different street widths, on the indoor daylight autonomy. The researcher performed a parametric analysis using DIVA for Rhino simulation tool on a hypothetical residential building unit with various window ratios facing neighbouring buildings. Four main orientations were examined under different urban contexts and wall reflectivity. This paper aims to measure daylight autonomy and address possible strategies and solutions to achieve better daylighting that can be used by architects at early design stages of housing developments in the desert climates.