Evaluation of the illuminance and satisfaction in educational spaces and their compliance with international standards

Since each person usually spends many years of his life in educational spaces, the desirable design of these spaces in accordance with standards and qualitative indicators is very effective on improving the level of education. Using the natural light has a significant impact on human behavior, learning, and health. The present study has investigated the illuminance in 6 classes in both technical faculty (north-south direction) and oil faculty (20 degrees rotation from the north to west) at Ilam University, as a case study of the educational space, according to orientation, the number of window and its location in the building. For this purpose, in the first method, the illuminance in the classrooms is measured at different points with the Lux Meter ST-1309 Standard. Then, in the second method and simultaneously with the first method, the questionnaires were completed by students to assess students satisfaction with illuminance, and the data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software. According to the analysis of results of the questionnaire, most students were slightly dissatisfied with the illuminance of their classroom. Finally, in the third method, Design Builder software was used to simulate the mentioned classes and their illuminance was compared according to the three standards BREEAM, LEED and Green Star. According to the BREEAM and LEED standards, none of the classes did have enough light and according to the Green Star standard, only two classes No 4 and No 5 at the Faculty of Oil, each of them just earn one score. This means that 30% of the classroom space has acceptable light. In general, according to the results of all three methods and in confirmation of each other, the illuminance of the desired classes is not appropriate and standard.

Keywords:

Daylight , Educational Space , Design Builder , Visual Comfort