Committed to take a lead role within the building industry and qualify decision-making, we have conducted multiple research studies focusing on the impact of daylight and natural ventilation on health and wellbeing as well as how building design can combine a comfortable living space with energy efficiency and a delicate use of resources.

Today, our research portfolio comprises more than 60 projects, studies and papers. These have been conducted in close collaboration between our own research team and some of the leading universities and research institutions across Europe and North-America.

Our research focuses on:

• The effects of daylight, thermal comfort and indoor air quality on health and wellbeing
• The effects of daylight/darkness, temperatures and indoor air quality on sleep quality
• The costs to society of unhealthy building – and in particular the role of daylight and indoor climate
• How to balance energy efficiency and a healthy indoor climate and with sustainability.  

Latest research
The latest research includes studies of the correlation between daylight and productivity in classrooms across Europe, development of a Circadian House vision, how mental and physical health can benefit from an optimal daily pattern of light and dark exposures:

• Daylight and academic performance
  Research conducted in collaboration with the UPMC / INSERM (Epidemiology of Allergic and Respiratory Disease (EPAR) Department, IPLESP) in France, examined the correlation between daylight and productivity in classrooms across Europe. One conclusion was that pupils performed way better in maths and logic tests in classrooms with larger windows, a higher percentage of windows facing south and adequate daylight control.
  
  Another study, conducted at Endrup school in eastern Denmark, showed that pupils' performance increased  when  they were in classrooms with improved daylight conditions and indoor climate.

• The Circadian House
  The Circadian House is a vision for human-centric and healthy building design. Circadian Houses allow their inhabitants to live in sync with the daily and seasonal cycles of the outdoor environment. Circadian architecture enhances human health and well-being by adjusting the home’s lighting and ventilation following the 24 hour day and night cycle and seasonal changes of day length.

• The psychological and physiological effect of windows
  A study by the Canadian National Research Council (NRC), looked at how windows and skylights offer benefits to occupants through different physiological and psychological mechanisms. It analysed how our mental and physical health can benefit from an optimal daily pattern of light and dark exposures. If we follow these patterns, e.g. such as an effective use of windows, we can potentially achieve  a healthier living.

• Measuring the sunlight beam
  A study, conducted together with Loughborough University in England, presents a detailed evaluation of the sunlight potential of spaces, by focusing on the amount of sunlight that can enter a room. The researchers developed a new measure for this calculation called the ‘sunlight beam index’.

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Research projects initiated by the VELUX Group between 2006 and 2015

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Conference interventions by the VELUX Group detailing results and analyses from the Daylight, Energy and Indoor Climate Knowledge Centre

• Active House – a focus on ventilation and the thermal environment 
  
• Active House and the need for a holistic approach
• Active House – the how-to's
• Active House, zero-energy renovation in Germany
• A new daylight standard
• Daylight Factor vs Climate-based Daylight Modelling: an interim solution
• Daylighting metrics, electricity efficiency and the circadian system
• Daylight Metrics and Climate-based Daylight Modelling
• Daylight Visualizer and Energy and Indoor Climate Visualizer
• Energy and Indoor Climate Visualizer
• How daylight in buildings can efftect Circadian response
• Hybrid vs mechanical ventialtion systems in achieving energy efficiency
• Indoor environment and sleep
• Levels of light, health benefits and efficient light sources
• Light exposure for health and wellbeing
• Maison Air et Lumière – an evaluation of indoor air quality
• Model Home 2020 – an indoor environment with natural living conditions
• Model Home 2020 – a post-occupancy evaluation
• Model Home 2020 – one year on
• RenovActive: affordable and scalabale climate renovation
• Solhuset – an Active School success story
• Sunlighthouse – an evaluation of the thermal environment, solar shading and natural ventilation
• Sunlight provision: a model for evaluation
• The benefits of automatic operation and control in passive cooling of buildings
• The impact of ventilation on health and wellbeing
• The importance of indoor environment for good sleep quality
• The potential socio-economic benefits of improved air quality in Danish schools
• The Sunlight Beam Index
• Tomorrow's buildings today – results, conclusions and learnings
• VELUX Model Homes: strategies for achieving thermal comfort
• Ventilation strategies for indoor air quality: comparative simulations
• We feel instinctively that windows are desirable. But why?

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