Energy savings through integration of the illumination natural and artificial, using a system of automatic dimming: Case study

Abstract

The reduction of electrical energy consumption in buildings is a subject of great interest in the international scientific community. In buildings with a lot of available natural light, designed with large glazed surfaces, the artificial lighting system is often oversized and cannot be divided into segments to meet lighting demands during daylight hours. This article presents an experimental study, conducted in a university lecture hall that has a glazed surface covering the whole wall at one end, which provides a level of internal illumination that is only sufficient for the area next to the window itself, even when the outside lighting conditions are very bright. It is therefore necessary to turn on the artificial lighting system. The mathematical approach used in this paper has been successfully applied by the authors in other fields of science [1-2]. Using an automatic dimmer system, the calibration of which is based on experimental measurements, the lighting is arranged in such a way as to illuminate the most disadvantaged areas of the room, and then to extend itself gradually to the whole of the room, over the period of time that the lecture hall is in use.