Integrated Performance-Driven Design for Office Buildings in Hot-Arid Climates: Balancing Daylight, Glare, and Energy Performance

Hot-arid climates offer substantial opportunities for daylight harvesting and on-site solar energy generation but present significant challenges related to visual comfort, solar heat gains, and cooling demand. Design strategies intended to increase daylight penetration frequently alter occupant comfort conditions and overall building performance, requiring integrated evaluation during early design stages. This study investigates the relationships among daylight availability, visual comfort, and solar energy potential through an integrated building simulation workflow applied to a mid-rise building prototype in ASHRAE Climate Zone 3B. Climate analysis, annual daylight simulation, solar radiation modeling, photovoltaic yield estimation, and whole-building energy assessment were used to evaluate alternative design strategies, including external shading, building orientation, and rooftop photovoltaic deployment. The selected climate is characterized by annual solar radiation exceeding 2,100 kWh/m²·yr, creating favorable conditions for both passive and active solar design. Performance was assessed using Spatial Daylight Autonomy (sDA), Annual Sunlight Exposure (ASE), Daylight Glare Probability (DGP), Energy Use Intensity (EUI), and annual photovoltaic electricity generation. Comparative analyses revealed substantial variation among design alternatives. External shading reduced ASE from 30.5% to 9.0% and DGP from 41.0% to 16.9%, while maintaining high daylight availability (sDA reduced from 91.6% to 85.0%). Rooftop photovoltaic simulations estimated an annual electricity generation potential of 65,937 kWh from a 116-panel system under site-specific solar conditions. The results reveal a measurable trade-off between daylight availability and visual comfort in hot-arid climates. While configurations with greater daylight penetration increased solar exposure and glare risk, external shading achieved substantial reductions in ASE and DGP while preserving high daylight autonomy. The study demonstrates how integrated building simulation can quantify these interactions and support performance-informed design decisions that simultaneously address daylight quality, occupant comfort, and solar resource utilization.