According to Designing for the Future, a guide published by the AIA Center for Building Performance, high quality lighting improves students’ moods, behavior and concentration, which in turn improves their learning. Lighting quality means visual comfort, good color, uniformity and balanced brightness. Poor quality lighting means shadows, glare, lamp flicker or chaotic lighting patterns. Here are some key strategies for achieving good quality lighting in schools:
- Control glare by using adjustable blinds or shades and shielding the lamps with lenses.
- Position fixtures in such a way that light is evenly distributed throughout the room.
- Keep lights clean and replace them when they start to flicker and buzz
- Include windows or skylights in every classroom if possible – studies show that students with daylight in the classrooms perform better.
- Make sure light levels are appropriate to the tasks being performed. The IESNA Lighting Handbook, 9th Edition, recommends footcandles of 40-50 in classrooms, 20-40 in computer rooms and 10 vertical footcandles in corridors.
- The brightest surfaces in the room should be the desktops and focal points such as the front wall or board.
- In the classroom, use pendant light fixtures that direct at least 50% of the light upward. In the corridors, surface-mounted fixtures allow for greater ceiling height.
- Use lighter-colored surfaces on walls and furniture, which save energy by maximizing reflected light, and are more comfortable visually.
- Use lighting controls to save energy
- Dimming controls adjust lights to appropriate levels for tasks being performed
- Photosensors optimize use of daylight
- Occupancy sensors make sure lights are not on when rooms are empty. Make sure sensors are located inside classrooms so they don’t detect motion in the corridor.