Abstarct: In recent years, increasing energy consumption has led researchers to focus on energy efficiency and use of renewable and cheap energy such as sunlight. Daylight is a sustainable energy source for buildings in which activities are done during the day. However, in deep spaces, appropriate daylight may not receive to spaces which are far from windows. To solve the problem, daylight systems such as light shelves are provided. The research studied the use of natural light by providing light shelves in schools, in particular, the south design atelier in the Shahrood University of Technology. Hence, at first, natural light in the atelier was simulated for various systems of light shelves and louvers using Radiance software. Then, the performance of the light shelves was tested by a model. Finally, a light shelf in combination with internal louvers was installed in the atelier and its performance was evaluated by a survey. The results lead to the definition of the optimum characteristics of the system. Also, users’ feedback showed the effectiveness of light selves and problems related to the performance of lighting fixtures.