Illuminating education : composition and use of lighting in public K-12 classrooms

Despite ample research on light's effect on the human body (and particularly its effect on student and teacher health and performance), understanding of light's role in operational energy consumption, and advancement made in architectural design to address these impacts, little is known about actual use patterns and occupant exposure to light in classroom settings. Through the measurement of lighting conditions and an examination of occupant behavior under both electric and natural lighting systems in K- 12 schools of Southern California, this research aims to bridge gaps between knowledge of light's impact on the human body and results of human exposure to various light as well as our understanding of occupant use and the current architectural design of schools. An analysis of illuminance and color temperature measurements across 21 classrooms, observations, and questionnaire responses from 27 teachers reveals muted daylight availability and low and warm color electric lighting conditions in the classroom that consistently falls below recommended illuminance and light levels, as well as lighting controls, installations, and design that may not allow for adequate control within these rooms by occupants. The work presented informs future design choices and assumptions made by architects of K- 12 schools, and may provide context for research on and estimates of light's biological impact on students.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Architecture.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2016

Author dc:creator

• Ballina, Mariana

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Leslie Keith Norford and Christoph Reinhart.

• Architecture.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/106405

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/106405