Daylighting performance of high school learning environment in tropics.

Abstract

The quality of the indoor environment, including the lighting conditions, is crucial in classrooms as it directly affects students’ learning performance and productivity. Natural light is the best light source for visual comfort, aesthetics, and energy effi-ciency. Malaysia is in a tropical region and has abundant daylight availability that could meet the required lighting during the day. However, in Malaysian schools, electric lights are frequently switched on during classes in the daytime; hence, day-lighting is not efficiently utilised. This study investigates the daylighting performance in classrooms in a national high school in Penang, Malaysia. Fieldwork was conducted by measuring incident illumination levels inside selected classrooms in the Teluk Kumbar High School. The results show that average illumination levels were between 400 lux to 1000 lux, more than enough in most classrooms because of the relatively large windows with clear glass. The average daylight ratios recorded in the classrooms were between 6.4 and 9.2%, which may result in glare problems. Simulations were conducted using Design-Builder to further evaluate the annual daylighting performance including Daylight Autonomy (DA), Annual Sun Exposure (ASE) and Useful Daylight Illuminance (UDI). Based on the findings, it is recommended to use shading devices or replace the glazing type to improve daylighting performance for visual comfort. Proper design and selection of windows in schools can significantly improve indoor lighting quality for students and reduce solar heat gain.