The impact of lighting and indoor air quality conditions on students’ comfort and performance in higher education: a 2x2 factorial design approach

Background and aim. To improve the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in schools, the Dutch government issued a program of requirements (PoR) “Fresh Schools”. This study aims to determine the effect of adopting class A (high IEQ) or B (moderate IEQ) of this PoR on students’ comfort and performance. Requirements for indoor air quality (IAQ), indicated by CO2 concentration, and lighting conditions, defined by horizontal illuminance (HI) at the desktop, were systematically examined.
Methods and data. In a classroom where specific IEQ conditions were established and monitored, students’ perceived comfort and performance were measured using questionnaires. Furthermore, students’ cognitive performance was assessed with the Stroop test and their short-term academic performance was measured with a content-related test. Data from 83 students resulting in 285 responses were analyzed, which were distributed across four combinations of moderate and high IAQ and HI levels. Linear mixed models were computed to determine the contribution of these two factors to students’ comfort and performance.
Results. The results indicated that high IAQ levels did not significantly enhance students’ perceived IAQ and performance, compared to moderate levels. In contrast, high HI levels did contribute significantly to students’ perceived lighting comfort (PLC) and students’ cognitive performance, when compared with moderate HI levels. The interaction between the two factors investigated was significant, indicating that the effect of HI levels on outcome variable PLC depends on the level of IAQ.
Originality. The study was performed during a regular academic course which suggests a high ecological validity of the observed effects.
Practical or societal implications. Building-services engineers, designers, and facility managers can use these findings when seeking to design appropriate learning environments for future generations.