Indoor lighting is known to affect people’s wellbeing, mood and behaviour. The rapid development of new energy-efficient lamp technologies has enabled new lighting applications in home environments. To investigate the prospects of introducing a personalised light emitting diode (LED)-based home lighting technology, a mixed-methods research study was carried out, applying the goal-framing theory. The results, based on a questionnaire survey ( N = 536), show that purchasing costs of energy-efficient lamps have little effect on consumers’ lamp choices, and that the degree of consumer acceptance of LED lamps has increased in recent years without resulting in increased lighting use. The results confirm that Swedish homes are characterised by many lamps, an average of 39 per home, but there is a significant variation across tenure type. Based on a qualitative analysis of interviews with 12 participants, the conclusion can be drawn that residents seem to know what kind of lighting they want, but they do not necessarily have what they want for a variety of reasons. Besides individual characteristics, situational factors influence residents’ home lighting and visual comfort, such as the indoor built home environment and the availability of lighting products. Consequently, responsibility for residents’ actual home lighting also lies with housing developers, lighting producers and providers.

Promoting resource- and energy-efficient home lighting through technology and behaviour change requires an understanding of how residents currently use lighting and what they want from it. However, users' needs and desires relating to lighting in homes are poorly understood, as research is still limited. This paper aims to provide a fuller picture of residents' experiences with their home lighting. Interviews about how residents perceive the character of lighting and luminaires and lighting use suggest that home lighting has nine capabilities: to enable vision; to facilitate visual tasks; to display objects; to send a message; to support a particular atmosphere; to shape the architectural space; to offer a visual aesthetic experience; to maintain or change rhythmicity; and to evoke memories. Secondary data confirmed five of them. The identified capabilities relate to behavioural goals, psychological wellbeing and social needs. We conclude that seemingly wasted light in people's homes, i.e. lights left on in unoccupied rooms, can serve a purpose for the residents, such as avoiding visual or aesthetic discomfort, making the home inviting, benefitting people outside and providing safety. Findings have implications for the further development of new lighting technologies and design, energy-saving campaigns targeting residents and for urban outdoor environments.

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What are inhabitants' perceptions and uses of windows in multi-dwelling buildings? This paper reports on a field study that explores daylight, the visual connection to the outside and the role of windows in the home during the day and night. Qualitative interviews were held with 20 participants living in multi-dwelling buildings. The thematic analysis identified two main components as characteristic of residents' experiences with their windows. The first, 'perceived dwelling comfort', consists of different types of comfort qualities, for example, keeping the body sufficiently warm or cool, blocking exterior noise, enabling visual tasks, perceiving the room to be adequately daylit, visually pleasant and spacious, obtaining visual privacy, and having an outside view to provide information and engagement. The second, 'preferred exposure to external elements' (e.g. air, sound, light, people outside) expresses a desire for personal control and reflects variability over time (momentary, daily, seasonal, ageing) and between individuals or groups. Windows represent an enjoyment of the home and fulfil much more than physical needs. They must allow sufficient personal control over fresh and cool air, sound, sunlight, streetlighting and privacy.