Ljusets påverkan på ljudnivån i ett klassrum i grundskolan

Sammanfattning: A good work environment in school is crucial in order to effectively teach and learn. Two factors that have a strong impact on the environment in a classroom is the lighting and the sound level. Research has shown that both light and sound have an impact on the health, and while a lot of research has been done on the work environment and the impact by different factors, very few studies have focused on how light and sound affect each other. The purpose of this study is to shed light on how the lighting can affect the sound level in a classroom. The results of this study could be used as a reference as to how the lighting should be set up in order to creative the most effective work environment in a classroom. In order to study if the sound level changes depending on the lighting, a quantitative field experiment has been performed. The study took place in a classroom with 6th graders in primary school. During 12 weekdays over a period of 3 weeks, the decibel values were logged to find out whether the sound level changed. During the first week, the original lighting was used. During the second week, the light was dimmed, and during the third and final week, the light was unevenly spread out. The results show that the sound level is indeed affected by the lighting in the classroom. The unevenly spread out lighting setup with a focus on vertical surfaces resulted in the lowest sound level. One conclusion that can be drawn is that more focus on the ambient light affects the students positively. The most important conclusion is that a lighting setup with different luminaires and a variety of the light levels and spread depending of the time of the day and season, is affecting the sound level and work environment in the classroom in a positive way.