Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-06-23
LIGHTING or LIVING ROOMS.
Have the Bedroom Windows So as to r
oeire the Sunlight.

Have the Bed, -,om Windows So as TO Re-
oeiye the Sunlight.
M Trelat's definition of a well lighted
room Is that 1t Is one In which light has
been introduced IL sufficient quantity and
has beer SO distributed that objects in
any part Of 1t are clearly seen without
special effort This Is much too vague
for either scientific or practical purposes.
Must we require that room shall be so
|, light that one can in any part Of it. with
out trouble. see clearly the eve of fine
cambric needlef That might be proper
requirement In watch factory. but is un-
necessary to demand 1t In living rooms
On the other hand, 1t seems probable
that TO keep q living room healthy 1t
needs not only the diffused light of day.
but the entrance of the direct rays of the
sun-that is, we want summing as well as
lighting II we have an isolated house in
this latitude, It's east. west and south
sides will be we'll summed. while its north
side will not For such house the rules
for window height and area. from sani-
tary point Of view. are that for rooms
having windows upon but one side the
area Of the openings should be at least
one-fourth or one-ffth of the area of the
wall In which they are placed, and the
distance from the window to the opposite
wall should not be more than one and
one-half times the height of the top of the
window from the floor
Ii we speak of houses in q city we have
to take into consideration the shadows
cast by other houses and the width of the
street In its relation to the height of the
houses upon it. The theoretical rule is
that the height of buildings on street
should never exceed one and hale times
the width of the street. Although. as
stated above. the north side of the house
Is less summed. yet north windows give
very agreeable light. They are preferred
by those who work Immediately In front
Of windows. as microscopists, draughts-
men, ETC., and are strongly recommended
for the main source Of lighting Of school
rooms. though in this case they should
always be supplemented by windows in
the east or west walls For bedrooms
south windows are preferable.
In the lighting Of school rooms the
chief point as to direction Is that the
principal light should come from the left
of the scholars, and that they should
never face the light. So long as these
rules are observed there cannot be too
much light In q school room, and there
need be no fear about cross lights unless
the room is to be used as a drawing
school. and even then it Is easy enough to
cut off the light from one side. In living
rooms. and more especially in drawing
rooms and parlors. the full benefit of the
windows Is. as q rule, not obtained They
are more or less obscured with curtains
and draperies. which are SO arranged as to
cut of precisely that part Of the window
which is most important for Illuminating
purposes-viz.. the top. Careful house
keepers do not want sunlight in their
parlors. and. SO long as this is the case. it
is probable that they will not have it.
sanitary reformers to the contrary not
withstanding In planning dwelling.
therefore, we should try to give the win
dows Of the bedrooms such an aspect that
they will receive the sunlight. and the
same should be done for the room which
is to be the chief sitting and living room.
while the apartments of state can do very
well without much natural illumination
Engineering and Building Record