R&T Committee Block Turns its Attention to Optical Properties

The Research and Technology Committee Block continued its business this afternoon as the Optical Properties Subcommittee convened. Subcommittee Chair Sneh Kumar, of Traco, brought the meeting to order.

The subcommittee heard reports from a number of its task groups, including Optical Property Priorities and Daylighting Rating. Mike Rubin, of LBNL, presented the “Top Ten Optical Subcommittee Priorities” list, which ranged from research and standards for diffuse glazing and shading materials to completing the “100 Shade” project. He then provided a status update on international standards.

Mudit Saxena, of Heschong Mahone Group, and Roger LeBrun, of VELUX-America, Inc., who co-chair the Daylighting Rating Task Group, reported on recent activities. Mudit noted that the task group has held five virtual meetings since the NFRC Spring 2010 Membership Meeting in New Orleans. The task group decided upon definitions for two phases of daylighting potential ratings:

• Phase 1: To create a rating system for daylighting potential utilizing the existing NFRC Visible Transmittance (VT) rating combined with known, bright day incident illuminance values

• Phase 2: To create a rating system to allow designers to utilize a standardized measurement of the appropriate illumination characteristics of fenestration products considering directions effects for incident and emitted illumination, illumination quality, illumination quantity, illumination distribution and other complex variables as needed

The Daylighting Task Group also presented the scope and purposes of both phases, based on the task group’s discussions.

The subcommittee concluded its meeting by passing a motion to form an optical properties interlaboratories comparison (ILC) task group. Rubin will chair the ILC 2009 Task Group.