how it influences schools

Next May 16, the International Day of Light will be celebrated. On this occasion, the company VELUX has carried out an interesting study on how natural light affects school classrooms through the installation of appropriate glass surfaces.

For this project, VELUX installed four roof windows in a classroom at the Aravaca Waldorf School in Madrid, with two on each side of the room. This was intended to measure how schools with more natural light can achieve a better learning process as well as better energy efficiency.

Reduced consumption of artificial light

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The first thing we found in this study, is that thanks to these four windows, the consumption of artificial light was reduced by 90% thanks to all the light that passes through those four installed windows. To check this, VELUX measured the incidence of daylight at 27 points on the students’ tables.

Another strength of the study is the improvement of indoor air quality (IAQ).Indoor Air Quality), thanks to the chimney effect of the windows facing each other on the roof, even in months when VELUX ACTIVE is not available, the intelligent system from VELUX which ensures natural and automatic ventilation.₂ within the room fell by 82.14%, from 8,400 ppm in February 2019 to 1,500 ppm in January this year.

It should be noted that the study is currently at a standstill due to the closure of schools by Covid-19, but it is expected to continue next fall.

Intelligent solar control

The data collection establishes a connection between daylighting and energy efficiency. Thus, after installing the appropriate glass surface (15% of the classroom’s square meters) including roof windows, the classroom temperature increased by up to 1.5ºC during the winter without the need for any other factor, reaching a range of 19.5-21.5ºC compared to 18-20ºC before the renovation.

In this line, the report reveals that daylight levels are even too high in a quarter of the 27 points analysed, so VELUX proposes regulating the entry of light through roof window accessories such as curtains, blinds and external awnings, with automatic and intelligent control systems. Intelligent solar control allows for better lighting comfort in the classroom without compromising interior thermal comfort.

Reform, health benefits

This project is part of the 2020 Reform Plan that VELUX is carrying out to disseminate the benefits of reforming and opening windows, as well as replacing old window models with more modern ones in the home itself, comfort, energy efficiency and the health of its tenants.

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