An Investigation on the areas and locations of sunlight patches in patient rooms

Date

2006

Author

Tanrıöver, Sezin

Metadata

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Explored in this study were the patterns of direct sunlight received by differentlyoriented patient rooms in healthcare facilities. Desktop Radiance 1.02® software was used to simulate conditions in a typical double patient room. The area and locations of sunlight patches on room surfaces were considered as analog indicators for the investigation. The setting was defined as Ankara, Turkey. Seven orientations and 3 positions of standard-size window openings were studied in different combinations at solstices and equinoxes, from sunrise to sunset on an hourly basis for comparison. Data compiled were statistically analyzed and results for various combinations of orientation and opening position recorded. All these showed that there was no difference in the total amount of direct sunlight received between rooms with different orientations but there was, with different opening positions. Orientation created a difference in the amount of direct sunlight when the room surfaces were studied separately. Rooms with right and left-shifted openings received direct sunlight mostly on walls while those with centered openings received direct sunlight mostly on floor surfaces. Results suggested there were sufficient grounds for further investigation focusing on decisions related to the design of patient rooms, such as layout (e.g., the location of beds) and to choice of surfacing materials, colors and textures.

Subject Keywords

Heallth facilities, Health facilities, Hospitals

URI

http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/3/12608063/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/16524

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Theses