Effects Of Variation Of The Color Characteristics Of Lighting Sources By The Environmental Context

Over recent years the importance of using daylight in indoor environments to achieve reductions of energy consumption was largely discussed, but the use of daylight is even more important because of its effects on human beings. Daylight has a more uniform spectral distribution than the artificial sources (especially discharge lamps) and consequently it allows a better color perception; moreover it changes during the day both in intensity and spectral power distribution (SPD). For all these reasons, daylight ensures a high comfort in carrying out all the human activities and is also important to the circadian rhythm regulation; therefore it results necessary to evaluate the entrance of natur…

Evaluation of Daylight Availability for Energy Savings.

Dynamic daylight simulations are very useful instruments in daylighting design process. They allow an in depth analysis of indoor daylight availability levels and define if they are adequate to perform a particular visual task. Their results can be used to design shading devices or lighting control systems and compare different technical solutions. The use of these simulations is likely to spread in the common design practice since some regulations and green building rating systems suggest their use. This paper presents dynamic daylight simulation results related to an open-plan office, performed with Autodesk 3ds Max Design ® , which is a calculation software validated by recent researches…

Lighting control systems: Factors affecting energy savings' evaluation

Abstract The use of automated lighting control systems allows to reduce lighting costs and to achieve significant energy savings. The energy performances of controls are affected by many factors, the impact of which is very difficult to account for during the design process. The goal of this paper is to describe the factors that influence the control systems’ energy performances, to analyze how the currently available calculation tools take them into account and finally to propose a simple method to adjust results obtained from the simulation software.

Indoor lighting quality: Effects of different wall colours

This paper reports the results of measurements performed in a test room to investigate the impact of using different wall colours and light scenes on indoor lighting quality. Eye level spectral irradiances were measured for a user located inside the room and seated at a desk. These measurements allow the use of the Irradiance Toolbox, which makes it possible to calculate equivalent illuminances for the photopigments in the human eye. Moreover, the CIECAM02 colour appearance model was used to investigate the variations in hue and chroma values of the different wall colours when changing the light scene. The results demonstrate that there are significant variations in eye level spectral irra…

Perceived and measured colour attributes under different sources

The role of weather data files in Climate-based Daylight Modeling

Abstract This paper illustrates the results of daylight simulations of a simple standalone office carried out using different weather data files (IWEC, Meteonorm, Satel-Light and TRY), for five European locations (Copenhagen, London, Milan, Nancy, Rome). The aim was to analyze the impact of choosing one weather file or another on the prediction of daylight availability in an indoor environment. Results were analyzed both in terms of Annual and Monthly Light Exposures and dynamic daylight performance metrics. It was demonstrated that IWEC, Meteonorm and Satel-Light weather files determine similar outcomes, instead TRY weather data always produces considerably lower values. Moreover the diffe…

Indoor artificial lighting: Prediction of the circadian effects of different spectral power distributions.

The study presented in this paper aims to evaluate if and how the environment affects the circadian impact of a light source by predicting circadian stimulus (CS) resulting from the exposure to different light scenes, using equations reported in studies by Rea et al. The main findings are: (1) Above 600 lx at eye level the increase of CS is little; (2) Between 50 lx and 200 lx at the eye level an increase of only 50 lx determines a significant increase of CS; (3) Light sources with correlated colour temperatures between 2900 K and 4200 K have similar impacts on the circadian system according to the calculation method used; (4) Even an almost neutral environment affects the circadian impact…

Subjective responses to different light sources. A study on light preferences and comparison of standard light measures with human individual estimates

The experimental research here described investigates how people perceive different light sources that have same CCTs and illuminance values on a visual task. The results show that photometric quantities like illuminances and CCTs fail to guarantee users comfort, because parameters like SPD of the light source and its technology heavily influence people's perception of an environment.

Lit environments quality: A software for the analysis of luminance maps obtained with the HDR imaging technique

Abstract Energy performance of lighting systems has assumed a significant role in the assessment of buildings’ consumptions and consequently lighting design is aimed to reduce installed power but at the same time to achieve an excellent lighting quality both for visual and health purposes. Lighting design is nowadays essentially based on illuminance values on visual tasks and surrounding areas, but today designers’ and researchers’ interest is focused on the analysis of luminance maps obtained through video luminance meters or with numeric simulation tools. Luminance maps availability focus the attention on a more accurate study of the light reaching the eyes (luminance), rather than on the…

Dynamic daylight simulations: Impact of weather file’s choice

Abstract This paper is the second step of a research project aimed at investigating the impact of the use of different weather data files on daylight simulations’ results. Simulations were carried out for a simple standalone office using three weather files (IWEC, Meteonorm and Satel-Light) for two European locations (Copenhagen and Rome); moreover the office’s exposure was changed according to the four main orientations (North, East, South and West). Results were analyzed both in terms of Annual and Monthly Light Exposures, dynamic daylight performance metrics (DA, DAcon, UDI) and sunlight’s incidence. It was demonstrated that differences between the results obtained with the different wea…

Methods to Evaluate Lighting Quality in Educational Environments

Abstract The current standard for lighting of indoor work places (EN 12464-1) essentially prescribes values of photometric quantities (illuminance, Unified Glare Index, etc.); therefore it does not allow a comprehensive analysis of the luminous environment. In Italy, educational buildings do not always comply with the standard requirements for lighting. Therefore an analysis of their current state is needed and this paper illustrates two methods, developed by the authors, to carry out this investigation: the former is based on the analysis of luminance maps obtained through the HDR imaging technique whereas the latter focuses on the evaluation of non-visual effects of light.

An Overview on Solar Shading Systems for Buildings

Abstract In recent years, different types of solar shading devices have been proposed, depending on building orientation, location, window characteristics, etc. They can contribute to improve or worsen building thermal and lighting performances both from an energy and comfort point of view. The present paper reports a critical analysis of some studies that investigate shading devices’ effects on building thermal and/or lighting performances. This article points out the difficulty in comparing the different results given the lack of uniformity between the studies, since they analysed buildings with different characteristics, locations and using various indices. Therefore a protocol to carry …

Assessing lighting quality in indoor environments

The impact of the software’s choice on dynamic daylight simulations’ results: A comparison between Daysim and 3ds Max Design®

Abstract Evaluating indoor daylight availability is extremely important in order to define the characteristics of an environment in terms of visual comfort and energy performances of lighting systems. The criticism of the static calculation approach based on Daylight Factor led to the development of the Climate Based Daylight Modeling (CBDM) one. Dynamic simulations are performed thanks to the use of specific software and the choice of a calculation tool or another could provide different output results. Therefore the aim of this paper is to compare results of dynamic daylight simulations carried out with two different software, Daysim and 3ds Max Design® and referred to a simple office loc…

Winter and summer analysis of daylight characteristics in offices

Abstract This paper reports a comparison of the results of daylight measurements carried out in summer and winter in three offices, with different exposures and characteristics, located in Naples (Italy). The aim was to extend and enrich the findings of a previous study which reported the results of summer measurements about desk illuminances and circadian impact. The research project includes measurements carried out in other seasons and a comparison between measured and software simulated values with the final goal of developing design guidelines. This research confirmed that the spectral distributions and CCTs of the light reaching the eye of a person seated at the desk in these offices …

Lighting in educational environments: An example of a complete analysis of the effects of daylight and electric light on occupants

Abstract Light induces not only visual responses but also non-visual effects, indeed it affects performance, mood, attention and influences the synchronization of the biological clock. Duration, timing, intensity and the spectral power distribution of the light that reaches the eyes can have influence on human circadian rhythm and consequently on health. Given the important impact of the non-visual responses on people wellbeing, developing a model that allows lighting designers to predict them is a fundamental goal. In this paper a case study is reported: a series of measurements were carried out in a University classroom in order to study daylight and electric light characteristics and als…

Daylighting offices: A first step toward an analysis of photobiological effects for design practice purposes

Abstract The research presented in this paper reports an analysis of daylight in three offices with different exposures and characteristics located in Naples (Italy). The goal was to fully investigate daylight characteristics, also considering the circadian impact of daylight entering these offices, with the hope to develop guidelines to better assess daylight quality in built environments. One of the main findings of this research is that the spectral distributions and CCTs of the light reaching the eye of a person seated at the desk in these offices are similar irrespective of the offices' different characteristics (dimensions, surfaces' spectral reflectances, external obstructions, etc.)…