Light use patterns in Portuguese school buildings: User comfort perception, behaviour and impacts on energy consumption

Lourenço, Patrícia; Pinheiro, Manuel Duarte; Heitor, Teresa

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.144

Cited by 29 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The measurement procedures with technical devices (such as a thermometer) focus on a value of each variable in a classroom full of students who differently perceive each factor. This is due to multiple reasons, such as the influence of metabolism in relation to gender in the case of temperature, [62] or a student's location within the classroom in relation to natural or artificial lighting [63]. Therefore, measuring the educational space through the perception of students is a feasible opportunity to assess whether there are relationships that explain student performance, to detect problems and, accordingly, to solve them.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Architectural Indoor Analysis: A Holistic Approach to Understand the Relation of Higher Education Classrooms and Academic Performance

2019

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The influence of learning space on users has been broadly accepted and tested. However, the literature has focused on single factor research, instead of holistic approaches. Additionally, lower educational levels have been the focus of interest, while higher education is moving towards multi-method teaching. This paper focuses on how learning spaces for different purposes (practice and lecture rooms) may influence academic performance from a holistic approach of learning physical environment perception. For this, the iPEP scale (Indoor physical environment perception) is used and validated through Cronbach Alpha and Exploratory Factorial Analysis. Then, multiple linear regression is conducted. The results indicate that iPEP measures near to 63 percent of the construct, which is structured in six factors. Moreover, linear regression analyses support previous literature concerning the influence of learning physical environment on academic performance (R 2 = 0.154). The differences obtained between practice and lecture room in terms of predictor variables bring to the light the need to diagnose learning environments before designing changes in educational buildings. This research provides a self-reported way to measure indoor environments, as well as evidence concerning the modern university, which desires to combine several teaching methods.These studies provide evidence that acoustic comfort is fundamental to support sustainable learning environments, which implement active pedagogies [15].Illumination combines artificial lighting and daylight to offer visual support and it influences visual perception, cognitive processing, behaviour, learning and academic performance [16][17][18]. Therefore, lighting design perspectives should be task-driven, as well as focusing on comfort to human health and perception [19]. Appropriate levels of visual comfort have been evidenced to improve social relations [20]. While daylight helps students to retain and learn information [21], long exposure to artificial lighting may cause stress and lead to irritability [22]. Buildings are highly artificial lighting dependent, as there was no concern about energy efficiency when educational facilities were designed, and nowadays represent a major factor of energy consumption.In traditional learning, the views through windows are considered as distractor, which may explain the lack of daylight through windows, despite its importance for children [23], who distinguish lighting requirements given the task performed. Nature inspires students through its aesthetic value and entails a restorative effect on the mind, which fosters concentration [24]. It stabilizes students' psychology and reduces their negative emotions [25], and leads to a proactive knowledge of the natural environment. This fact may foster a culture in which life-based learning is a must and encourage positive social interaction [26]. Landscape views and walls with living plants are correlated with better academic results [27,28] and may reduce stress [29], whilst increasing le...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Architectural Indoor Analysis: A Holistic Approach to Understand the Relation of Higher Education Classrooms and Academic Performance

2019

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“…Firstly, they were asked to fill in the questionnaire on user comfort perception, aligned with ISO 7730, with questions about comfort perception, which included environmental issues such as classroom location, lighting perception [52], indoor air quality and possible inconveniences linked to the pupil's position in the classroom. The survey was used to establish the boundary conditions of the classrooms, but its results are not discussed in this article in depth.…”

Section: Questionnairesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overheating in Schools: Factors Determining Children’s Perceptions of Overall Comfort Indoors

et al. 2020

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Climate change is raising the length and intensity of the warm season in the academic year, with a very significant impact on indoor classroom conditions. Increasingly frequent episodes of extreme heat are having an adverse effect on school activities, whose duration may have to be shortened or pace slackened. Fitting facilities with air conditioning does not always solve the problem and may even contribute to discomfort or worsen health conditions, often as a result of insufficient ventilation. Users have traditionally adopted measures to adapt to these situations, particularly in warm climates where mechanical refrigeration is absent or unavailable. Implementation of such measures or of natural ventilation is not always possible or their efficacy is limited in school environments, however. Such constraints, especially in a context where reasonable energy use and operating costs are a primary concern, inform the need to identify the factors that contribute to users’ perceptions of comfort. This study deploys a post-occupancy strategy combined with participatory action to empower occupants as agents actively engaging in their own comfort. It addresses user-identified classroom comfort parameters potentially applicable in the design and layout of thermally suitable spaces meriting occupant acceptance.

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“…1 shows the components of lighting quality, which consisted of individual well being, economics and architecture, where this study focused on the individual well being component that have influenced the students' performance and behaviour in the classroom. User behaviour can be defined as human's actions during a complex interactions with external and internal factors such as emotions, habits, routines, moral conduct, contextual conditions, attitude, values, beliefs, culture, norms and constraints (Gill et al, 2010;Lourenco, 2019). In brief, lighting quality can be seen as a contextual condition factor that influenced human behaviour, where a good lighting quality can improve: i. Visibility for efficient daily routine activities ii.…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

Illuminance Level Measurement at Lower Working Plane Height in Islamic Religious School

Yazit

Husini

Khamis

et al. 2020

AJUE

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Islamic religious school is an institution that integrates Quran hafazan (memorization) in the curriculum. Between 2011 to 2017, estimated that 900 new Islamic religious schools were established in Malaysia due to high demands. Designing a classroom layout that receives sufficient daylight is important because it influences the students’ task performance such as reading and writing. The standards recommend that any classrooms require an illuminance level between 300 lx to 500 lx when measured at working plane height between 800mm to 900mm, although the working plane height of rehal used for hafazan is between 250mm to 300mm. This study focused on the illuminance level measured at rehal working plane height for Arabic handwriting as a hafazan learning task in two selected standardised classrooms at Kolej Genius Insan. The students were required to rewrite the modified Balsam Alabdulkader-Leat (BAL) Arabic eye chart, where the students’ Arabic handwriting performance were evaluated based on their word per minute (wpm) scores. Both classrooms’ average illuminance level were 507 lx to 603 lx, which were too high based on standards and guidelines. The average Arabic handwriting scores for both classrooms were 9.4 and 12.6 wpm, which shows that the inefficient average illuminance level has caused the students’ performance to be very low. It can be concluded that the existing standardised classroom layout design was not suitable for hafazan learning tasks at rehal working plane height. Thus, the classroom layout design for Islamic religious schools needed further studies, which implicated the unsatisfied built environment of the classrooms and the school education for Islamic religious schools in Malaysia. Keywords: Arabic handwriting, Daylighting, Illuminance level, rehal, working plane

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Light use patterns in Portuguese school buildings: User comfort perception, behaviour and impacts on energy consumption

Cited by 29 publications

References 27 publications

Architectural Indoor Analysis: A Holistic Approach to Understand the Relation of Higher Education Classrooms and Academic Performance

Architectural Indoor Analysis: A Holistic Approach to Understand the Relation of Higher Education Classrooms and Academic Performance

Overheating in Schools: Factors Determining Children’s Perceptions of Overall Comfort Indoors

Illuminance Level Measurement at Lower Working Plane Height in Islamic Religious School

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