Design Adjustments For Daylighting and Visual Comfort in a Classroom with Conventional Shadings

This paper evaluates how design adjustments applied to roller shades and louvres (namely the height of the shadings head and the angles of the louvre slats) can improve their annual and spatial effectiveness to provide autonomous daylight levels, reduce daylight glare problems, and offer views outside. The strategies were analogous to the rule of thumb that relates the window head height with the depth of daylight penetration. Climate-based daylight simulations were performed to calculate the Useful Daylight Illuminance, spatial Disturbing Glare, and View Factors in a classroom located at a 19° latitude. Temporal maps were included to assess the shadings’ performance not only over space but also over time. Results showed that roller shades performed better when they were applied letting the top of the window clear. On the contrary, louvres performed better when they covered the entire glazing. It is concluded that simple design adjustments can greatly improve the daylight and visual performance in buildings.