Chenxiao's Room at RVRC

Location

My room is on the level 5 of a 8-storey block (Tower Block) in Ridge View Residential College (RVRC). The Tower Block is the tallest of all blocks in RVRC. Therefore, the higher levels of the building does not receive shading due to adjacent blocks. The block sits at the foot of a small hill against the north-facing slope of the hill.

Room Layout & Design Features

The room is west-oriented with one window, connected to the common corridor through a door on the east side of the room.

Above the door frame there is a set of built-in air vent that facilitates ventilation in the room when the door is closed.

Data Measurement

- on the table (for luminance measurement)

- in front of the window (for wind speed measurement)

*When ceiling fan is turned on: wind speed = 1.4m/s

Daylight Analysis

The simulation results largely tally with the measurements. In the morning from sunrise to 8am, the room does not receive direct daylight and has low luminance readings across the measurements, all of which are below 50lux. The 0800 simulation result showed a higher luminance for the entrance area as the door is assumed to be open so as to have a simulation of the strongest possible sunlight in the room. In reality, the door is closed for most of the time, leading to negligible increase in morning daylight.

The room, due to its orientation to the west, experiences strong afternoon glare between 1600 and 1800. This is not reflected in measurements due to the weather condition on the day of experiment. However, the simulation does tally with my experience by showing that a portion of the floor receive significantly more daylight than the rest of the room in the afternoon. Again, the window and curtain are assumed to be fully open in simulation for the strongest possible sunlight result in the room. In reality, the curtain has to be fully closed in the afternoon to reduce glare.

Based on measurements, on an overcast day the luminance at the table is similar for morning and late afternoon. Both have values between 300 and 400lux when the window and curtain are fully opened, which falls within the acceptable range of luminance for studying and reading.