Solar reflected glare affecting visual performance

Visual comfort is important to the wellbeing of people and their productivity. However, too much light in the field of view can cause discomfort and disability glare. Under certain conditions it can even cause accidents. This paper addresses the disability glare created by veiling glare and the effect it may have of reducing the visual performance in outdoor spaces. Veiling glare is a particular case when light is reflected off a surface and causes annoyance or impairment of a task to the person in a particular view angle. Two factors that determine the nature and magnitude of veiling reflections are the specularity of the surface being viewed and the geometrical relationship between the observer, the surface and any source of high luminance. Different methods to assess disability glare exist but there is still no clear understanding on criteria to judge an outdoor scenario. A case study where reflected glare form Photovoltaics overlooking a building is of particular concern is presented.