Daylighting provision and visual comfort in unilaterally and bilaterally illuminated classrooms

Abstract

Children between the ages of 6 and 14 spend much of their day in school classrooms, where they are exposed to only a fraction of the daylight quantities typical for natural outdoor conditions. This paper examines unilaterally and bilaterally illuminated classrooms in terms of quantitative and qualitative requirements for daylighting in classrooms during both winter and summer. The results of measurements and simulations pointed out the advantages of bilaterally illuminated classrooms when compared to unilaterally illuminated ones. In winter, the windows placed on two opposite walls provide a significantly higher uniformity of daylight. In summer, in addition to the improved uniformity, this window arrangement offers higher variability in shading strategies, resulting in greater availability of daylight and better visual comfort. These factors can potentially prevent or limit the development of myopia.