Daylight qualities in student dorms in Sweden: computer simulations and subjective impressions.

Abstract: Humans are less exposed to natural light during the day and less to darkness at night. Good daylighting provides visual comfort for performing tasks but also influences non-visual comfort. According to various studies, good daylight conditions can influence human physiology and behaviour, like sleep, alertness, mood and cognitive functions. Having good daylight conditions in our homes or student homes can be challenging, even more in Nordic countries. This research focuses on daylight in student dorms, located in Sweden. The influence of orientations and seasonality on daylight qualities is researched by using a survey with subjective evaluations and computer-simulated results. The survey and computer simulations show slight differences between the orientations for the existing situations in the student dorms. In summer and spring, daylight generally has more qualities than in winter and autumn, in some cases, glare can cause discomfort. Larger window dimensions result in more daylight entering future student homes. This improves the daylight conditions in winter and autumn, but east, south and west-facing rooms would benefit from shading to avoid potential glare. The amount of sky present in the outdoor view strongly influences the daylight qualities of a room.