An Alternative Approach in Assessing Visual Comfort Based on Students' Perceptions in Daylit Classrooms in the Tropics

Abstract

Daylight is the best lighting source for classrooms that are mostly used during the daytime. Effectiveness and productivity can be achieved if visual comfort meets the recommendations set. This study aims to develop an alternative visual comfort assessments method based on students' perceptions in the classroom with daylight. The study was carried out by collecting students' perceptions and daylight illuminance data from 25 classrooms located in seven schools in Makassar, Indonesia. A total of 737 students responded to this study. This research was conducted from morning to noon in each school. The results showed that the majority of students, as many as 57.5%, felt that the level of daylight was "Perceptible", and only 6.5% felt it was "Intolerable". The results of daylight intensity measurements of 25 classes showed that only 28% of classes meet the minimum standard of the Indonesian National Standard (SNI), and as many as 82% of classes do not meet the standard. Using a new method based on student perception, it was concluded that as many as 28% of classes were categorized as "Acceptable", as many as 48% of classes were categorized as "Preferred," and around 24% were not included in either category. This shows that there are classes that are not in accordance with recommendations, but are still acceptable according to students' perceptions. This new assessment method can be an alternative addition for designers to assess the comfort of a room with daylight by users' preferences.

Evaluation of the Visual Comfort and Daylight Performance of the Visual Art Classrooms

“…Several studies argue that in addition to illuminance measurements, subjective perception of lighting conditions by the occupants should be considered [31,33,41,46,[58][59][60][61]. Visual comfort should be addressed by comparing the values of daylight performance values and the subjective assessments of the students [58].…”

“…Several studies argue that in addition to illuminance measurements, subjective perception of lighting conditions by the occupants should be considered [31,33,41,46,[58][59][60][61]. Visual comfort should be addressed by comparing the values of daylight performance values and the subjective assessments of the students [58]. The level of visual discomfort is expressed in a different way by students from regions with different backgrounds, even in cases where the simulation results are close to the standard [59].…”