LET THERE BE (DAY) LIGHT
Skylights improve student performance and save energy
The following article was reprinted with permission from the December 1999/January 2000 edition of Education West Magazine
By Gary Giacomo
“Let the sunshine in” was a snappy chorus from the final act the 1960s rock musical Hair. Today, facility managers, armed with data from respected studies, are requesting designs that incorporate natural lighting in new construction designs and remodeling.
Skylights, outfitted with louvers and diffusers, are especially well-suited for most areas of the West. Skylights provide illumination with full spectrum daylight. Exposure to full spectrum lighting has been shown to reduce fatigue and eyestrain. Windows, in comparison which also provide full-spectrum light, also may offer a view, which in a classroom setting, may provide inspiration, or as many teachers will attest - distraction.
Prior to the widespread use of fluorescent lighting in late 1950s and 1960s skylighting was a widely used method of providing light to industrial and warehouse buildings.
Recent analysis has shown that skylighting has enormous potential to provide energy savings in single-story buildings. Turning off electric lights when sufficient daylight is available can save a significant amount of energy. Furthermore, since daylight introduces less heat into a building that the equivalent amount of electric light, cooling costs can also be reduced.
Studies have shown that a skylighting system coupled with photosensor controls to turn off unneeded electric lights, will produce net whole building energy savings in almost all parts of the county.
THE DAYLIGHTING INITIATIVE
A study prepared earlier this year for San Francisco-based Pacific Gas and Electric Company sought to demonstrate a clear relationship between the presence of daylight and human performance in buildings with skylights rather than daylight from windows.
Prior to this study (The Daylighting Initiative), the relationship between daylighted buildings and occupant productivity had not been rigorously documented.
The study demonstrated better school test performance (10 to 20 percent) when students were exposed to daylight.
TEST SCORES AND DAYLIGHT
School test results were analyzed from three school districts: Capistrano, in Orange County, California, Poudre in Fort Collins, Colorado and Seattle No. 1 in Seattle, Washington.
In Capistrano, students in daylighted classrooms progressed 20 percent faster on math tests and 2 6 percent faster on reading tests than in classrooms with no daylight.
In a similar vein, the study found that in Seattle and Fort Collins, students in classrooms with the most daylighting were found to have 7 to 18 percent higher scores than those with the least sunlight.
SUNSHINE IN S0UTHERN CALIFORNIA
The Capistrano Unified School District, a fairly affluent district in Orange County, California, had a recognizable problem with its older schools. Built with few windows many students complained that they felt claustrophobic' in the district's classrooms. These comments coupled with concerns over energy efficiency compelled the school board to consider natural light as essential to the learning experience. In the early 1980s the school board directed architects to maximize natural lighting in all new buildings.
Since that time the district has built 11 schools that feature skylights in the classrooms. One successful design uses an inverted plastic pyramid diffuser recessed into the ceiling to distribute light evenly Most the skylights also have built-in louvers, allowing classrooms to be dimmed for video presentations.
“Our schools consisted of typically constructed classroom spaces," said Capistrano's Assistant Superintendent of Facilities Planning, David Doomey.
“The school board was looking for ways to improve the comfort level in the classroom and was also looking for energy savings during the mid-1980s. Improved test scores was a side benefit," said Doomey, who is the current chair of CASH - the Coalition for Adequate School Housing. "We have had a three-way winner," he added.
The district currently has five schools under construction, and passage of a bond measure in November will help fund four more schools in the near future.
"We will use natural lighting as much as we can in the new construction," says Doomey. "We try to re-use designs several times. There is no reason to change success."
ROCKY MOUNTAIN LIGHT
At the growing Poudre School District in Fort Collins, Colorado there are many new facilities incorporating natural light. The approach to day- Fort Collins began in 1987 with a goal of energy efficiency. Since then the district has built seven schools incorporating daylighting designs. According to Poudre District Architect Mike Spearnak, designs incorporate clerestory windows- essentially windows like vaulted ceilings - to achieve illumination without the use of electric lights. Some of the designs incorporate an automatic dimming system with built in light sensors.
According to Spearnak the classrooms are well-lit even on cloudy days. Teachers who come into their classrooms before sunrise and turn on the electric lights, sometimes need to be reminded to turn them off as the day brightens-forgetting about the natural light component. Quilted shades keep heat in the rooms at night.
In the initial designs there were complaints about glare on blackboards, but those problems have been mitigated through the use of frosted glass and improved orientation in later designs, according to Spearnak.
The daylighting designs in Poudre are part of a larger move toward sustainable or "green" buildings and also building designs that can be incorporated into the district' s math and science curriculum.
DESERT SUNSHINE
The design team for the multi-age I library at the college of the Desert, Palm Springs, California decided to advantage of the abundant natural I available in the desert climate to reduce energy use.
To minimize the penetration desert heat and direct-beam light, design includes carefully shaded vertical glazing in high clerestories the vaulted offices. Roof monitors over the reading carrels ensure ample light without solar heat penetration. When supplementary natural light is available continuous dimming controls modulate the fluorescent light in the offices and reading and stack areas. Most of faculty offices and the dining hall at the college have also been retrofitted with skylights.
Gary Giacomo is the editor of Education West.
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