How to Add Natural Light to University Classrooms and Lecture Halls
It is well known that sunlight is essential for human health and well-being. People need it in the same way as water and air. Besides, the maximum use of natural light improves energy efficiency in buildings, thus contributing to conservation of natural resources.
Solatube daylighting system
Sample dome used in the Solatube system
Yury Kazakov, Professor of the Department of Construction Technology and Elizaveta Chernova, a fourth-year student of the Faculty of Architecture, have developed a solar lighting technology for the SPbGASU rooms. A report containing their findings and recommendations was presented at the conference "Contemporary Problems of Architecture and Construction 2020", which took place in November in an online format.
✔ The authors have opted for the Solatube daylighting system, an energy-saving lighting technology that captures natural light at the rooftop, transferring it through an optical tube into the building interior spaces that have no windows or lack natural light. Energy saving is achieved due to a special reflective material (multilayer polymer coating) applied to the inner surface of the fibre, which prevents the transmission of infrared radiation.
«The studies conducted abroad to evaluate the effectiveness of such systems have shown an increase in workforce productivity by 12-16%. Employees who work in natural light conditions are 10–12 percent less likely to have symptoms of various diseases and start feeling better. Now, in the context of the fight against coronavirus, it is especially important», believes Professor Kazakov.
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The authors found that a large number of rooms in the main building of SPbGASU overlook the courtyards-wells, which is the reason for insufficient sunlight penetration. To remedy this situation, eight Solatube solar domes must be installed around the perimeter of each courtyard.
According to the calculations, the project will pay off in one or two years, and will further enable saving 521,400 rubles per year. The system is fast and easy to install, requiring a team of three specialists only.
The report presented by Professor Kazakov will be published in the conference proceedings with subsequent indexing in Scopus and Web of Science. By decision of the conference scientific committee, it was recommended for publication in the international scientific journals published by SPbGASU "Architecture and Engineering" and "Water and Ecology".
Text: Tatiana Petrova
Photos courtesy of Professor Yury Kazakov
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