Daylight Performance of Classrooms in a Mediterranean School Heritage Building

Francesco Nocera,Vincenzo Costanzo,Alessandro Lo Faro,Chiara Raciti

doi:10.3390/su10103705

Francesco Nocera, Vincenzo Costanzo + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su10103705

Copy DOI

Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Oct 16, 2018
Citations: 50	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Catania

Abstract

In school buildings, natural light has considerable physiological benefits, and increases energy efficiency while reducing the operational energy consumption of buildings. It is thus crucial to maximize the amount of daylight, as well as to improve its quality, in educational premises. In Italy and other European countries, many historic buildings are reused as school buildings, changing their original function. This process of adaptive reusing is one method for conserving heritage buildings, however sometimes this process sacrifices the quality of daylight and well being of pupils. It has therefore become apparent that it is difficult to reconcile the cultural value of historic buildings with comfort standards. This study aimed to investigate the natural lighting performance of a school located in an historic building, and proposes different technological solutions to improve the visual comfort in classrooms whilst also respecting the cultural value of built heritage. Daylight performance was carried out in a representative classroom in the ‘Caserma Gaetano Abela’, an historical building located in Siracusa (Italy). A daylight model built in Radiance was first validated against an illuminance measurement campaign, and was then used to run detailed dynamic simulations. Climate Based Daylight Modelling (CBDM) metrics were used to show the achievable improvements in visual comfort conditions by means of proposed retrofit interventions. These interventions may also be used in other areas of southern Europe with similar climatic and constructive/distributive characteristics of architectural heritage.

Highlights

For many years, daylight has been a subject of interest in school buildings because it is closely associated with the improvement of students’ performance and health conditions [1,2]
This study aimed to investigate the natural lighting performance of a school located in an historic building, and proposes different technological solutions to improve the visual comfort in classrooms whilst respecting the cultural value of built heritage
The exploitation of natural light is an important factor for energy reduction purposes, as pointed out in a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) where it is shown that artificial lighting is responsible for around 14% of the electricity consumption in the European Union [9]

Summary

Introduction

Daylight has been a subject of interest in school buildings because it is closely associated with the improvement of students’ performance and health conditions [1,2]. The exploitation of natural light is an important factor for energy reduction purposes, as pointed out in a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) where it is shown that artificial lighting is responsible for around 14% of the electricity consumption in the European Union [9]. A series of different visual activities are performed within the classroom that require specific visual conditions in order to be successfully accomplished. This characteristic is accentuated in historic buildings which are reused for purposes different from their original design, or that cannot be longer used as per their original design [11]

Objectives

Results

Conclusion