Daylighting, energy and glazed balconies: a study of a refurbishment project in Engelsby, near Flensberg, Germany

The passive solar glazed sunspace taking the form of a sun-facing conservatory or glazed balcony has been encouraged as an energy-saving feature in both new and refurbished buildings. Doubts have been raised previously as to whether any real energy savings are possible and whether in fact these spaces increase energy consumption. Little attention has been given to the effect on daylighting where these have been added during refurbishment. This paper discusses these issues and describes the refurbishment of a high-rise social housing building in Germany where design solutions were developed to ensure good daylighdng and energy-saving potential. A contrast is provided with a refurbishment in France where glazed balconies were added instead of existing balconies being glazed.