Hygienic Standardization of Daylight: Problems, Tasks, and International Experience (Literature Review)

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of the study was to analyze world experience and international practice of regulating natural lighting at schools and innovative solutions in this field. Results and discussions. The article presents the list of regulations of European countries regarding standard requirements for daylight and artificial lighting in residential and public buildings. The Daylight Factor (DF), which is the equivalent of the Russian natural illumination coefficient, varies from 0.8 to 5 per cent in different countries. The article describes lighting and insolation requirements for the daylight factor, light coefficient, combined discomfort indicator, light transmission coefficient, and light flux distribution in residential and public buildings, including comprehensive schools, in such countries as the United Kingdom, Germany, Greece, Poland, USA, Sweden, Cyprus, Netherlands, and Japan. The list of rated parameters of daylight both in the Russian Federation and in foreign countries is identical. At the same time, the requirements for natural lighting (DF, duration of insolation) in European standards are more stringent. The impact of daylight on schoolchildren’s health and performance was the subject of research in Sweden and the United States. Their authors concluded that studying in classrooms without daylight could disrupt the basic hormonal background, affect the ability of children to concentrate attention and interact with each other, influence growth and the number of days missed due to illness. Сonclusions. The analysis of international data proving the importance of daylight in forming optimal conditions for education and eyesight of schoolchildren and preventing health disorders enabled us to conclude on the necessity to launch scientific research into mathematical models of health risks for schoolchildren.