Retrofit Strategies for the Improvement of Visual Comfort and Energy Performance of Classrooms with Large Windows Exposed to East

The effectiveness of various types of high performance glazing and external shading is evaluated, by means of simulations of visual comfort and energy fficiency. Simulations were carried out for a case study which is representative of a typical classroom of a school, located in a town of Tuscany, where instrumental monitoring of existing thermal and lighting conditions was conducted. The case study was selected through an analysis of energy consumption of the whole school building stock of the city, over a period of five years. The analysis has allowed to select the most critical one in terms of energy consumption and the most representative one regarding the Italian school building stock. The selected building has been analyzed by means of building performance simulation software. A survey about the school users’ perception of comfort levels was also carried out by means of questionnaires.