Assessment of Artificial Lighting Conditions in Sunlight-Deprived Classrooms

Abstract

Numerous studies on classroom lighting emphasize a close and significant relationship between students' concentration, comprehension of course content, and the efficiency of activities such as drawing, writing, and practices, with the lighting conditions. In this context, it is particularly important to properly design both the physical and psychological effects of artificial lighting, especially in sunlight-deprived classrooms. This study examines the artificial lighting conditions of a classroom located in the basement of a university building, which has no visual connection to the outdoors. The classroom is utilized by students from the departments of Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Industrial Design. The study investigates the effects of current artificial lighting on students, focusing on aspects such as visual perception satisfaction, light colour, illuminance level, glare, and the temporal light modulation effect. To assess students' perception of the existing lighting conditions, an online questionnaire was administered, and a total of 104 students (65 female, 39 male) who had previous experience with the classroom participated in the study. Technical measurements of the existing luminaires were conducted, and the classroom was digitally modelled using the DIALux Evo lighting software. The collected data were analysed using the SPSS statistical analysis program. The findings of the study indicate that students perceived the artificial lighting conditions as inadequate in terms of visual comfort. Moreover, based on technical measurements, simulations, and user evaluations, it was determined that the existing luminaires caused glare and temporal light modulation effects, negatively affecting the classroom environment.