Measuring the Daylight Performance of Classrooms: Can a One Point Sensor Measurement Predict the Daylight Distribution within a Space?

Abstract

The New Zealand Ministry of Education (MoE) has begun measuring the light, temperature, noise and CO2 level of 21 selected schools using a single sensor. This sensor is being developed as a method for routine measurement in order to understand the performance of New Zealand's school buildings. This study used a Climate Based Daylight Modelling to appraise the MoE methodology, to determine what can be learned from the use of a single sensor in one location in a classroom, to estimate the lighting comfort across a space. Daylighting is focused upon because it has the most spatial variation in a space. The findings of this study support the assertion that a one-point sensor measurement on a vertical wall could predict illuminance across the centre of the horizontal work plane; and provide a useful benchmark to estimate the light distribution across a space. However, regardless of how representative of a space a one-point measurement is, it is difficult to quantify the daylight distribution over time throughout the space. If various daylight indicators are well documented and analysed alongside the measured data, a strategically positioned one-point sensor on the vertical wall could be useful in predicting the daylight quantity of a space.

Perception of the luminous environment in university classrooms in Algeria

“…These variables are of primary importance in learning buildings because they help to improve and reduce building energy consumption. They also impact on student's health, well-being, and performance (De Dear et al, 2015, Ackley et al, 2017, 2018. Indeed, daylight affects the physiological and psychological state of teachers and students, improves cognitive performance and satisfaction and reduces eyestrain.…”

Use of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Monitors to Assess Ventilation Effectiveness in Schools

“…This paper is an extended experiment that builds on an earlier work by (Ackley, 2021a;Ackley et al, 2020Ackley et al, , 2021bAckley et al, , 2018, which investigated if a one-point sensor measurement could reveal the distribution of lighting and thermal performance across a space. While the previous studies focused only on the lighting and thermal variable, the specific objectives of this study are: _ To explore the adequacy of using a one-point CO 2 sensor to assess the ventilation performance of classrooms.…”