Search results

The paper aims to describe the positive and negative effects of night lights in historical sites, as well as the most salient challenges faced by the visitors of these sites and determine ways to address them. The study aims to suggest several light-and-shadow approaches and designs to enhance the experience of visiting historical sites.

This study identifies problems of nightlife in historical sites with an online international questionnaire to determine the preferences and difficulties faced by visitors of historical sites during day and night. After that Egypt was determined as a sample case of a developing country; its archaeological sites need to be improved. The main problems of historical Egyptian sites were investigated and approaches in developing historical sites with interactive lighting design were presented after an online questionnaire to the Egyptian society.

The paper shows that archaeological sites need some development, especially in their technological and lighting aspects, to overcome visitors’ low night-time interest in archaeological sites. Research has found certain limitations in the effects of constructing artificial illumination. The study provides modern sustainable solution for some light challenges in historical sites with approaches and solutions to solve it.

The results of that research could be applied in developing countries, but with larger specific studies to the historical urban locations according to the politics of the country.

The paper includes sustainable approaches in developing historical sites with technological lighting design required to enhance historical sites at night-time and make visits more interactive and interesting.

This paper presents an identified need of historical sites visitors’ to study applying modern approaches in enhancing urban historical sites.

Describes the rapid technical development that took place in the lighting industry in the 1980s, driven by energy cost pressures. Discusses product development, office lighting problems, legislation, changing working needs, new design approaches, HF fluorescent lighting, maintenance, and energy and lighting. Concludes that both economic pressures and users′ demand for better quality lighting are dictating a more professional approach to lighting scheme design.

The purpose of this paper is to address a project for lighting an old town in Italy. Its originality lies in the holistic approach that aims to fulfil several objectives. One is to reduce energy consumption by using efficient lamps and advanced control systems; the second one is to make the network viable and useful for many purposes by integrating ICT devices; the third one is to provide a new identity to the older part of the city by using new technologies and design concepts; while the last one is to ensure street and pedestrian safety according to codes and standards.

The plan of the city of Bagheria and the stock of luminaires of the city are analysed. A multidisciplinary approach has been adopted in order to: analyse the existing lighting infrastructure highlighting critical areas; design a new displacement and select typologies of luminaries able to provide proper light quality and distribution; propose an aesthetic solution and technical design for relevant historical building; and to include in the design process the concept of a new multifunctional pole. Together with an analysis of social benefits, an assessment of economic costs and benefits are discussed.

The project allows good energy savings, meets the standard requirements and gives a relevant and strategic improvement in social and environmental management of the city.

The work provides an example of integrated design of street lighting infrastructures for urban renovation in old cities in degraded environments.

This study aims to focus on the use of a survey questionnaire to inform a sustainable lighting design modification of an existing university library on the campus of a large land‐grant university in the Mid‐Western USA and also aims to suggest that a similar methodology may be useful in other facilities' design applications.

A 40‐item questionnaire was developed, which sought to evaluate the effect of the existing lighting design on end‐users' perceptions and opinions at the university library and to gather general opinions regarding sustainability from library end‐users. The self‐administered survey asked respondents how much they agreed or disagreed (on a five‐point, Likert‐type scale) with a set of statements about sustainability, their use of the library, and their understanding of and reaction to its existing illumination.

A total of 183 respondents completed and returned questionnaires, the majority of whom indicated that they were undergraduate students enrolled at the university. The survey results indicate that the respondents were aware of sustainability and sustainable lighting; that they were dissatisfied with the library's existing lighting; and that they suggested that these issues be addressed by the university to reduce the library's environmental footprint.

The study fills a gap in the literature since it documents the application of citizen participation theory to solicit input from stakeholders in an institutional setting to influence facility design. However, the research is limited by the fact that the sample comprised mostly of female undergraduate students.

End‐users influenced the design development of a university library's lighting renovation. This renovation is ultimately anticipated to lower the energy consumed to illuminate the facility, to increase the end‐users' perceptions of the facility's sustainability, to meet new university guidelines, and to reduce the facility's environmental impact. There are potential applications for the procedures described herein for other facilities in the integration of stakeholders in renovation projects.

The purpose of this paper is to differentiate human responses to different light switch designs to determine the effects of these common interfaces on user perceptions and use of electric lighting in public buildings.

Empirical studies were conducted to assess and examine user perceptions with regard to design characteristics of light switches, and occupants’ use of electric lighting was examined through field observations made in a public toilet.

The results point to the possibility of identifying characteristics of light switches that attract user attention and thereby encourage energy-saving behaviour in public buildings. A light switch perceived as simple but oversized affected occupants to turn off the lights more frequently when leaving the space under study as compared to switches of normal size.

Information on user perceptions of light switches may be limited by the assessments being carried out only in controlled environments. Assessing user perceptions in field observations is thus desirable, as it will provide more information on the perceptions in actual settings.

Effective design of user interfaces could provide a means of lowering energy use from electric lighting by affecting the behaviour of users. Using user perceptions to define critical design characteristics could contribute to design improvements in the interfaces with respect to users’ viewpoints.

This paper contributes to the subject with a basic, field-based approach to formulating an understanding of how design via user perceptions may encourage energy-saving behaviour.

Lighting – from the firmament and the filament – is intrinsically linked with library design, influencing many factors from user comfort and productivity to spatial perception and connotation. For centuries, daylight governed libraries, forging built form and determining access hours. Within the last 100 years, the ascendancy of electric lighting has expanded possibilities and added challenges to library lighting design. The recent advent of the computer, and the light emanating from their screens, has provoked consideration of other light issues. This article addresses how to integrate light – in all its manifestations – within the context of library design.

An interdisciplinary body of literature has focused on the role of lighting in mitigating patient and employee stress and error-producing conditions in hospital settings. The purpose of this study is to explore how a new circadian lighting system installed in a small pharmacy unit with no penetration of natural light is experienced by staff. Psychosocial variables, such as affective organizational commitment, perceived productivity, well-being, and satisfaction with the physical work environment, were measured to further a line of inquiry that may help facilities managers and hospital administrators make optimal choices when purchasing lighting and commissioning retrofits.

Post-occupancy evaluation; mixed methods survey design.

While affective organizational commitment, perceived productivity, well-being and satisfaction with the physical work environment were experienced, to some extent, by employees, low average responses about whether the setting had improved, as the circadian lighting had been installed suggest that the retrofit did not affect them as positively as expected. Counter to the intention of the installation, participants did not perceive the circadian lighting as having strongly improved their levels of stress, concentration, mood or fatigue at work.

More research on simulated daylighting should be done to optimize occupant responses to lighting retrofits in hospitals. This case study supports recommendations to measure relevant psychosocial variables before and after a design change. Similarly, sized units within hospitals and health care facilities that possess analogous dimensions and design constraints concerning a lack of daylight penetration will benefit from this study’s mixed methods, results and interpretations.

Lighting is a highly sophisticated and powerful industry with an increasing number of manufacturers and design consultants. Yet many retailers still do not realise the importance of treating lighting as part of an overall design approach — or the need for “separation” that is, concentrating on lighting the merchandise as opposed to the shop walls.

Electric lighting accounts for a large share of energy consumption in commercial buildings. Utilization of daylight can significantly help to reduce the need for artificial lighting, increase workers productivity, customers’ satisfaction and consequently improve sales. However, excessive use of glazing and absence of lighting controls can contribute greatly to higher energy need for heating and cooling and cause undesired glare effects. Thus, optimizing the size, position and materials of external glazing, with the addition of deflectors and dynamic artificial lighting, can become key aspects in the design of sustainable low energy buildings. The purpose of this paper is to analyze daylight potential and energy performance of a hall-type commercial building, situated in the cold climate of Finland, by utilizing different combinations of skylights, windows and lighting controls.

The authors have used computer simulations to estimate daylight and energy performance of a single floor commercial building in relation to various combinations of skylights and windows with variable glazing materials, light deflectors and zonal lighting controls.

The results show that electric light energy saving potential ranges from a negligible 1.9 percent to a significant 58.6 percent in the case of glass skylights and wall windows using multi-zone lighting control. Total delivered energy ranges between increase of 1.5 and 21.2 percent in the cases with single zone lighting control and between decrease of 4.5 percent and increase of 4.5 percent in the cases with multi-zone control. The highest decrease in primary energy consumption was 2.2 percent for single zone and 17.6 percent for multi-zone lighting control. The research underlines the significant potential of electric light energy savings using daylighting strategies that, including the control of direct solar access for glare and internal gains, can be more than 50 percent.

This research combines accurate daylight and energy assessment for commercial hall buildings based in cold climate region with multiple design variations. The novelty of this work is the consideration of interior elements, shelves and deflectors, in the calculations. This is made possible through the combined use of validated simulation platforms for detailed annual daylighting and electric lighting calculation (Radiance and Daysim) and energy analysis (IDA-ICE, Equa Simulation AB). This method allows to obtain a reliable assessment of the potential of using natural light sources in buildings.

The purpose of this study is to compare the natural lighting performance of roof skylight systems in buildings with atriums and to compare the sustainability and energy efficiency of several roof skylight systems for educational buildings with atriums.

Five roof skylight systems previously assessed in another study were adapted for simulation. In order to determine the effects of each skylight system on natural lighting, all the physical data of the building to be studied were recorded and entered into a computer.

The results of the study showed that roof skylight systems should be designed both to limit light during periods of maximum daylight to avoid such problems as glare, flare, and so on; and to direct light indoors as fully as possible during periods of limited daylight. In this regard, the “Moving Sunshade Double Layer” roof system showed better performance than the other four roof skylight systems.

In subsequent studies, roof systems appropriate for natural lighting should be studied for other plan types, hospitals, public buildings and so on. Moreover, real structures in which direct environment measurements can be taken could be used for obtaining data, instead of simulations.

Use of the roof system suggested by the research will minimize lighting and air conditioning costs, and enhance building sustainability.

This study explores methods of taking advantage of natural lighting indoors through the use of roof skylight systems, and identifies the most appropriate, sustainable and energy efficient roof skylight system for education buildings having an atrium.