Long-term patterns of use of occupant controlled office lighting

Abstract

This paper reports daily and seasonal patterns of lighting use in offices where occupants were able to vary the level of illuminance falling on their working areas. The results show that occupants set a wide range of illuminances, many of which are significantly below CIBSE Code recommendations leading to significant energy savings throughout the year. Although users report use of controls for a variety of reasons, the results of the long-term monitoring of switching behaviour reveals that very few in fact use them for anything other than to switch on upon arrival at work, with further use of systems during the day being rare. Evidence suggests that the way in which systems are configured exerts influence over the level of electric light occupants work under. There is some evidence of an effect of daylight availability on levels set but little evidence to suggest pervasive and consistent user preferences for levels of electric light.