K-12 Lighting Strategies for a Better Tomorrow

The battle for students’ attention in K-12 spaces is an enduring struggle. If you’re feeling like phones, social media, and a constant stream of content are making student attention spans shorter, you’re likely on to something.

Bad lighting isn’t helping either.

Thoughtful lighting design, with a particular focus on natural light, has demonstrated significant positive impacts on learning outcomes. And access to daylight has been shown to increase mood and attention levels. We’ve written before about the concept of circadian lighting and its impact on occupant well-being and performance. And some of its most apparent impacts come in the K-12 space, where studies have shown that exposure to daylight allowed students to finish math tests 20 percent faster and finish reading tests 26 percent faster.

But there’s more to getting good lighting than simply poking holes in the fa?ade.

It’s safe to say that architects, school administrators, and lighting designers want windows and skylights in classrooms and adjacent learning spaces for their obvious benefits. However, this is rarely achieved through simply poking holes in the fa?ade for large windows. How often have you sat in a hot conference room in the late afternoon as the sun beats down through the windows? To get this right, there are many geographical, meteorological, and spatial considerations to explore related to this during design, including:

• Distraction Free Daylight: It may be more effective to utilize clerestory windows or skylights in a classroom adjacent to a busy playground to avoid distraction.

• Seasonal Considerations: Glare may become a larger issue in the winter when the angle of the sun is at its lowest, and so sheer and/or blackout window shades can help minimize glare. These shades can be controlled manually or may be electrically powered and controlled in tune with the lighting control system.

Like these examples, there are many other factors to consider making it crucial for all parties to work together to come up with an effective daylight design strategy.

Continue reading here:

K-12 Lighting Strategies for a Better Tomorrow - Glumac