Pimkamol Mattsson

Optimal office lighting use : A Swedish case study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the optimal office lighting use with different types of lighting controls to achieve energy savings and provide visual comfort for individuals. Design/methodology/approach – A case study and field measurements were carried out in 18 single-occupancy offices in Sweden where six different lighting controls were investigated. Occupancy and daylight hours were key issues for determining the lighting use. For each office, occupancy patterns, use of a ceiling luminaire, energy usage and perceptions of office lighting in the spring-summer and autumn-winter were established. Findings – The use of luminaires varied among the occupants and could be habitual. Though the study yielded positive results concerning the potential for manual or daylight dimming with occupancy switch-off controls to increase optimal lighting use, combining dimming controls with manual on/off controls is rather effective if occupants generally sit in their offices most of the day. Research...