Quality of Daylighting in Childcare Facilities: A Comparative Study of Polish Regulations with International Sustainability Rating Systems

This study examines the quality and availability of daylight in childcare facilities, focusing on compliance with Polish Technical Conditions (TCs) and comparing them with international certification systems such as BREEAM, LEED, and WELL. Polish regulations regarding sunlight exposure require revisions to support the sustainable development of buildings, impacting children’s well-being, their health, and the building’s energy efficiency. Daylight’s significance for children’s health and development underpins the investigation, highlighting its impact on the circadian rhythm, cognitive abilities, and well-being. The research utilized computational simulations with Rhinoceros 7 and Ladybug and Honeybee plugins to model a preschool room’s daylight performance under various window configurations and orientations. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted, focusing on parameters such as Daylight Factor (DF), Daylight Autonomy (DA), and Useful Daylight Illuminance (UDI). The findings revealed that while the TCs’ requirements ensure minimum daylight access, they result in nonoptimal lighting quality as defined by international standards. Almost half of the surveyed rooms in the case with a WFR of one-eighth did not meet the condition for having acceptable daylight levels, as defined in the study. In the same study, only about one-third of the analyzed variants achieved the threshold for good daylight quality. At a WFR of one-eighth, no room variant reached the level considered to indicate excellent daylight quality. The results show the need for revised regulations incorporating comprehensive metrics like Climate-Based Daylight Modeling (CBDM). This study suggests that integrating advanced methods of assessing daylight quality could significantly improve daylight conditions in childcare environments. This research is a starting point for discussing the need to modernize the Polish Technical Conditions (TC) to support the sustainable development of childcare facilities in Poland.