VISUAL COMFORT ANALYSIS OF VARIOUS WINDOW-SHADINGS FOR OFFICE BUILDINGS IN KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

Abstract

This research studies the visual comfort of various window-shadings for office buildings in Kabul, Afghanistan. Visual comfort is vital in ensuring the overall health and well-being of building occupants, particularly in offices where occupants work for long hours, depending on lighting to perform their visual tasks efficiently. The absence of visual comfort is proven to affect the health and productivity of the occupants negatively. Shading devices are great solar protection systems for enhancing visual comfort in indoor spaces, especially in locations with higher solar radiation exposure and latitudes such as Kabul. They should be well-designed and accurately selected to avoid any adverse effects. Hence, this research first studies and identifies different window shadings for improving visual comfort in Kabul, then analyzes the simulated shading devices through comparative analysis, and finally evaluates the most suitable of these shadings for visual comfort enhancement in office buildings in Kabul, Afghanistan.