The use of lighting simulation in the evidence-based design process: A case study approach using visual comfort analysis in offices

Abstract

The EBD-SIM (evidence-based design, simulation) framework is a conceptual framework developed to integrate the use of lighting simulation in the EBD process to provide a holistic performance evaluation method. A real-time case study, executed in a fully operational office building, is used to demonstrate the framework's performance. The case study focused on visual comfort analysis. The objective is to demonstrate the applicability of the developed EBD-SIM framework using correlations between current visual comfort metrics and actual human perception as evaluation criteria. The data were collected via simulation for visual comfort analysis and via questionnaires for instantaneous and annual visual comfort perception. The study showed that for user perception, the most crucial factor for visual comfort is the amount of light on a task area, and simple metrics such as Eh-room and Eh-task had a higher correlation with perceived visual comfort than complex performance metrics such as Daylight Autonomy (DA). To improve the design process, the study suggests that, among other things, post-occupancy evaluations (POEs) should be conducted more frequently to obtain better insight into user perception of daylight and subsequently use new evidence to further improve the design of the EBD-SIM model.

Transforming Building Criteria to Evidence Index

“…POE is an integral part of the EBD process [3,18], which distinguishes between eight phases that refer to a continuous workflow stepwise progression. The modified EBD process fitted to a servitized construction product for cognitive building solution may include the following:…”

“…EBD for the built environment can be defined as the process of design decisions on credible research and lessons learned from previous design experiences as evidence to achieve the best possible outcomes [14,15]. EBD is the antecedent of the building performance evaluation [16,17] and recent research has shown how EBD can be connected to digital tools, like lighting simulations [18]. This research has identified the importance of selecting KPIs (or metrics) for identifying evidence [19] during the evidencebased optimization (EBO).…”

The Implementation of Visual Comfort Evaluation in the Evidence-Based Design Process Using Lighting Simulation

“…Investigation regarding the application of simulation tools in the EBD process is ongoing [5][6][7][8][9]. A conceptual framework was developed to integrate the use of lighting simulation within the EBD process in a systematic way: the EBD-SIM framework [6].…”

“…The study concluded that the translation between the user evaluation and the simulationbased evaluation was a critical step in the integration of lighting simulation with EBD. Therefore, an initial validation study [7] was dedicated to a first application of the EBD-SIM framework in a post-occupancy evaluation (POE) step.…”

“…A real-time case study in a fully operational office building was conducted to analyze visual comfort from a subjective ('the user') and an objective ('the simulation') point of view to provide a systematic performance evaluation using the EBD-SIM framework [7]. It covered both long-term and short-term evaluations of the light environment.…”