Differences between Daylighting and Electric Lighting in Affective Response

Abstract

Humans are spending more time indoors than ever due to urbanisation and industrialisation, leading to higher electricity consumption in lighting systems. Recent research has demonstrated the significance of maintaining a balance between daylight and electric light to create an ideal learning environment that can significantly impact students’ academic performance. The objective of this study is to analyse the changes in students’ emotional response depending on the type of lighting in the classroom—whether it is daylight, electric light, or a combination of both. A field study was conducted with 521 university students to assess their affective response to the lighting environment inside their classroom. The results show that students prefer a Clear-efficient lighting environment for writing–reading tasks and a Soft-calm atmosphere for using electronic devices. For the paying attention tasks, a combination of daylighting and electric lighting is determined to be the best solution, while for the tasks of discussing–teamwork, students prefer daylighting. Daylighting is found to be the only lighting option that students like. Despite this, students still consider electric lighting and the combination of daylight and electric light adequate for a classroom. The findings of this study may help educators and designers create learning spaces that promote a positive and stimulating student environment by understanding the relationship between the lighting environment and students’ affective responses.