Concepts of user-centred lighting controls for office applications: A systematic literature review

Due to the very limited information available during building design phase, lighting automation systems tend to follow pre-defined control curves and use normative default values. However, these are unlikely to reflect the wide variation in daily working hours and individual lighting preferences. Inadequate user modelling can result in missed energy and comfort targets, as well as insufficient light doses. Given that the building sector accounts for around one third of the world's energy demand, and lighting is one of the main consumers, a higher level of user representation in lighting control systems is essential to meet climate and environmental targets. The general practical applicability of user-centred concepts usually fails due to implementation, inadequate mapping of objectives to required parameters, availability of information and mapping in control systems. This comprehensive literature review of 160 articles evaluates the potential of individual control concepts in relation to the target criteria of lighting systems and identifies the necessary technical system components for greater applicability. The focus of the review is on daylight and artificial lighting and their application in office environments. From the results obtained, key elements for better implementation of user-centred concepts in lighting control were derived. These include zoned lighting, human-in-the-loop approaches, and sensor fusion. Post-occupancy evaluation, supported by social science methods, can help to capture relevant physiological and psychological parameters. The review concludes that post-occupancy optimisation of user-centred lighting applications offers great potential for overcoming previous design limitations and subsequently reducing performance gaps.