Enhancing visual comfort in classrooms through daylight utilization

Research has confirmed that the well-being and the school performance of pupils dependsignificantly on the quality of the luminous environment, which can be achieved throughdaylight utilization. This paper focuses on the impact of different fenestration systems on thevisual comfort achieved in classrooms. Various window locations, clerestories, roof openingsand light shelves were examined with regard to indoor daylight conditions. The study wasconducted as a parametric analysis, in which models incorporating the above-mentionedsystems were generated on the basis of a typical classroom. The outcomes of the analysisenabled the performance evaluation of the examined apertures. The main objective of thisstudy was not only to derive results regarding the performance of each system separately, butalso to highlight specific strategies, which would promote daylight admission withoutincreasing the construction and operation costs in school buildings.