An Expert Guide To Daylight and Sunlight Assessments

What is a daylight and sunlight assessment?

A daylight and sunlight assessment is a technical analysis that is an integral part of many planning applications. The main purpose of daylight & sunlight assessments is to evaluate the potential impact that a proposed development may have on its surrounding properties and environment. Assessments also evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme itself by testing internal daylight and sunlight of habitable rooms and testing external sunlight in proposed open spaces.

Important Note: It is imperative that daylight and sunlight reports include all information pertaining to the assessment. If full information is not presented and a scheme is granted permission, then the application can run the risk of a Judicial Review due to a positive decision being made without having the full set of information to hand.

Daylight and Sunlight Assessments are categorised into two categories: ‘Impact Assessment’ and ‘Scheme Performance’ of which there are several different metrics to assess:

Impact Assessment:

• Effect on daylight, Vertical Sky Component (VSC), to surrounding properties
• Effect on sunlight, Annual & Winter Probable Sunlight Hours (A/WPSH) to surrounding properties.
• Effect on sunlight to surrounding gardens and/or public open spaces, Sun on Ground (SOG)

Scheme Performance:

• Daylight access, Spatial Daylight Autonomy (SDA) within all habitable rooms of a proposed development.
• Sunlight access and Sunlight Exposure (SE) for the same rooms tested for daylight access.
• Sunlight access, Sun On Ground (SOG) to determine the level of sunlight on March 21st in the proposed amenity spaces.
• Shadow Diagrams. Hourly graphical representation of the shadows cast by a proposed development on the Summer and Winter Solstice (June 21st and December 21st) and Spring Equinox (March 21st). It is very important to note that these images are considered qualitative assessments in support of the quantitative daylight and sunlight assessment. They should not be used as a stand-alone response to any request for assessment of daylight and sunlight.

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