Lighting classrooms and kindergartens

Children spend much of the day in class, and poor light directly affects attention, eyes and mood. Here is how to choose lighting for classrooms and kindergartens.

When light is poor, adults notice immediately and switch on a lamp or open the curtains. Children rarely complain. They simply bend closer to the notebook, squint, tire quickly and lose focus. That is why classroom and kindergarten lighting should be based on concrete criteria rather than a teacher's or parent's impression that "it looks fine".

How much light the desks need

EN 12464-1, the European standard widely referred to for workplace lighting, recommends around 300 lux at desk level in school classrooms, and around 500 lux for evening classes and adult education. Rooms for precise work — art, technology and laboratories — call for more.

Uniformity matters as much as the number. If the centre of the room is bright while the back rows, far from the windows, are dim, the average may look acceptable but the children at the back still struggle. Fittings should be spread across the whole ceiling rather than set in a single line down the middle.

The board needs its own light

A board is a vertical surface, and general ceiling light does not illuminate it well. The best solution is a dedicated fitting above the board, aimed at it. There are two risks: light bouncing off a glossy board into pupils' eyes, and the teacher looking straight into the source. Adjust the angle by trial, checking from different rows. Where a whiteboard or projector screen is used, it should be possible to switch the board light off separately during projection.

Glare and screens

When a child looks up, a bare lamp or bright panel should not be in direct view. Diffused fittings with opal or microprismatic covers are usually more comfortable in classrooms than open-lamp fittings. Standards assess discomfort glare with the Unified Glare Rating (UGR), and classrooms require low values.

In rooms with interactive boards, tablets or computers, reflections on screens are an extra problem. Placing fittings beside rather than directly above screens, and taking window orientation into account, reduces them.

Balancing daylight

Daylight is the most valuable source in a classroom, but it has to be controlled. When sunlight falls directly on a desk, the page glares and the child cannot read. Blinds or curtains should diffuse daylight rather than simply block it. Wiring rows of fittings parallel to the windows on separate switches helps: at midday the row by the windows can be switched off while the back row stays on. That saves energy and keeps light even across the room.

The teacher's desk is a zone of its own. Teachers mark notebooks and fill in registers while keeping an eye on the class. Light on that desk should be no weaker than on pupils' desks, without the fitting shining into the children's eyes.

Kindergartens: play, naps and safety

A kindergarten hosts more varied activity: drawing at tables, playing on the floor, an afternoon nap. Children often sit and lie on the floor, which means they look up into ceiling fittings far more often than adults do, so diffused light is especially important.

In the nap room the general light should go fully off, while a low supervision light lets staff keep an eye on the children. Warm white light helps create a calm atmosphere.

The safety rules are simple and non-negotiable:

• No bare lamps, table lamps or extension leads within children's reach.
• Enclosed fittings with shatter-resistant diffusers are preferable to open glass bulbs.
• Wall lights are mounted above a child's reach.
• Sockets are fitted with protective shutters or covers.

Colour rendering and upkeep

In an art lesson a child needs to see the true colour of the paints. Poor colour rendering makes reds and oranges hard to separate and turns greens greyish, which matters in art and science lessons. Check the Ra value when buying lamps and fittings for a classroom.

Areas outside the classrooms deserve attention too. On stairs, the edge of each step must be clearly visible; children run down at break time, and a step in shadow increases the risk of a fall. Corridors and cloakrooms are used on winter mornings while it is still dark, so their switches should sit at the entrance within easy reach. For an assembly hall or classroom used for evening parents' meetings, soft light that can be dimmed is more comfortable.

Dusty diffusers and failed lamps gradually reduce light levels without anyone noticing. Cleaning fittings during school holidays and replacing flickering or off-colour lamps with identical types is a simple but effective routine.

Zaferoğlu Elektrik manufactures LED lamps at its plant in Ganja, and its catalogue includes standard E27 lamps, spot lamps and other types. The range an educational building needs can be filtered on the website and a request for an offer sent.