Evaluation of Compliance with the Lighting Standards for School Workspace

Adequate lighting bestows visual and non-visual advantages hence promoting improved performance and health.  The study undertakes to measure the level of illuminance in classrooms, laboratories, libraries, corridors, and washrooms of Liceo de Cagayan University - Main Campus in order to evaluate compliance with the available lighting standards.  Spatial orientation was tested to determine its effect on light intensity, and uniformity of illuminance among workspace of the same type was also analyzed.  It was found out that there was non-compliance of all the laboratories and libraries.  Only 3 out of 23 classrooms were compliant with the standard illuminance value of 300 lux, having mean illuminance values of 396.73 lux, 623.81 lux, and 480.55 lux.  There were 9 out of 10 corridors and 6 of the 8 washrooms that met the standard of 200 lux, their mean illuminance more than double that of the standard.  Illuminance was significantly higher in areas closer to the windows, and there was no uniformity of illuminance among workspace of the same class.  It was observed that the amount of daylight greatly influences the light intensity within the workspace and that the lighting solutions installed were not able to supplement daylight to achieve the prescribed level of illuminance.

Keywords: Illuminance level, spatial orientation, lighting standards, school workspace, lux