Energy and Buildings 38 (2006) 588599 www.elsevier.

com/locate/enbuild

A eld study of illuminance reduction

Y. Akashi *, P.R. Boyce
Lighting Research Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA Received 11 August 2005; received in revised form 8 September 2005; accepted 11 September 2005

Abstract Many ofces are illuminated at levels much higher than necessary for ofce tasks. Lowering ambient illuminance, while maintaining task illuminance, i.e., task-ambient lighting, can save energy without impairing visual performance. A downside of task-ambient lighting is rooms appear dark and gloomy. Maintaining brightness perception is the key to success in task-ambient lighting. To examine the practicality of brightness-enhanced task-ambient lighting for illuminance reduction a eld study was conducted in a modern ofce setting. This study examined ofce workers responses to approximately one-third lower ambient illuminance than the initial illuminance and two measures designed to enhance brightness perception: higher correlated color temperature lamps (6500 K) and sparkle elements. Surveys showed that after an initial adaptation period, ofce workers were generally satised with the lower level of ambient lighting. They did increase their use of task lighting at their desks but this had little impact on overall energy consumption. The 6500 K lamp was effective at increasing perceptions of brightness in ofces with the lower ambient light level. Over a longer period, the sparkle elements used did not signicantly change workers perceptions of gloom. # 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Illuminance; Brightness perception; Correlated color temperature; Task-ambient lighting; Parabolic louvered luminaire; Ofce

1. Background Lighting consumes approximately 20% of the electrical energy supplied to commercial buildings. Some of this energy is wasted in lighting areas that are not in use or by providing more light than needed in many areas and for many tasks. The waste associated with the former can be dealt with by installing occupancy sensors, but what can a lighting specier or facility manager do to reduce lighting energy consumption in areas, such as open-plan ofces that are occupied continuously throughout the day and where many different tasks are done? One answer is to use one of the task-ambient lighting systems proposed in the 1970s [13]. The concept behind taskambient lighting is that as long as enough light is provided to fulll the visual requirements of the work, the ambient light level in the ofce can be reduced signicantly, thereby saving energy. However, task-ambient lighting was never widely adopted, for two reasons, one technical, and the other perceptual. The technical reason was the difculty of providing electrical power to every desk. This is no longer a problem, the widespread use of personal computers having necessitated a

* Corresponding author. E-mail address: akashy@rpi.edu (Y. Akashi). 0378-7788/$ see front matter # 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2005.09.005

solution. The perceptual reason was the concern that many occupants would object to the gloomy appearance of the ofce. To overcome this problem, a mechanism to enhance the brightness of the ofce is needed. There are two approaches that might be used to increase the perception of brightness at a lower illuminance. One involves the use of lamps with a high correlated color temperature [46]. The other is to add sparkle elements to the ambient lighting system [7,8]. While such brightness-enhancing approaches might be used to alleviate any impression of gloom produced by a reduced ambient illuminance in an ofce, it is also worth noting that lower task illuminances may be more acceptable now than they were in the1970s. The reason for this is that the nature of ofce work has changed dramatically since the 1970s. Today, many people work mainly from a virtual desktop on a computer monitor, the self-luminous nature of which means that reducing the ambient illuminance will enhance the visibility of the display rather than reduce it. Further, what printed material is used is of better quality. The day of the fth carbon copy is over. Taken together, these changes in the visual stimuli used in ofce work imply that a lower illuminance on the desk may now be acceptable. This paper describes a study designed to examine the practicality of brightness-enhanced task-ambient lighting for illuminance reduction in a modern ofce setting.

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2. Site The study was undertaken in the Public Safety Department building in Middletown, CT. It was built in 1985 on an isolated green-eld site. The ofces are primarily large open-plan areas. There is a continuous band of windows around the outside walls. All the windows are tted with beige vertical blinds, many of which are drawn across. The decor of the building, which is a mixture of white ceiling and walls, grey carpet, and light grayish-blue furnishing, is typical of many other ofce buildings in the US. The building is occupied by the State Police, by departments dealing with building inspection and re inspection, and by the Ofce of the State Commissioner of Public Safety. Examination of the building showed that the open-plan areas of the rst oor-South (IF-South), second oorNorth (2F-North), and third oor-Central (3F-Central) ofces were suitable for the study. The 1F-South ofce could easily be divided as there was a long block of private ofces in the center that effectively separated the room into two parts (West and East). The ambient lighting of all these open-plan ofces is provided by a regular array of 2 ft 4 ft ceiling-recessed parabolic luminaires on 8 ft 10 ft centers. Every ambient lighting luminaire contains three 32 W uorescent lamps with a correlated color temperature (CCT) of 3500 K and a color rendering index (CRI) of 75. The luminaire is tted with an 18 cell, parabolic, semi-specular, pre-anodized louver (Fig. 1). Each cubicle in the ofces has at least two under-shelf units to provide task lighting, the length of the unit depending on the length of the shelf (4, 3, and 2 ft). Each under-shelf unit contains a single uorescent tube with a CCT of 3000 K and a CRI of 75, the aperture of the luminaire being covered by a linear prismatic panel. 3. Study design Table 1 summarizes the study design.

4. Modications to lighting installations 4.1. Stage 1 Before starting the rst stage of the demonstration, the existing 3500 K lamps in the ambient lighting luminaires and the 3000 K lamps in the under-shelf luminaires in all the ofces were replaced with new lamps and the luminaires were cleaned. 4.2. Stage 2 For the second stage, the central lamp was taken from each ambient lighting luminaire in the 2F-North and 3F-Central ofces with the exception of the occasional luminaires used to provide escape route lighting in an emergency. A shield plate was installed to mask the empty central row of the luminaire louver so that the luminaire looked like two single-lamp luminaires close together (Fig. 2). In the 2F-North ofce, all luminaires were re-lamped with 6500 K lamps. In the 3FCentral ofce, the 3500 K lamps were retained. In the 1FSouth-West ofce, the 3500 K lamps were replaced with 6500 K lamps (see Table 1). 4.3. Stage 3 For this third stage, sparkle elements were installed in the luminaires on the 2F-North and 3F-Central ofces. These elements are essentially pyramid-shaped with openings top and bottom, and a at plate with an opening through which the pyramidal element can be seen. The sparkle elements were made of white powder-coated aluminum. One sparkle element was tted into a single cell of the louvers of all ambient lighting luminaires in the two ofces (Fig. 3). In the 1F-South-West ofce, the 6500 K lamps in the ambient lighting luminaires were replaced with 5000 K lamps (see Table 1).

Fig. 1. Parabolic louvered luminaires (stage 1).

Fig. 2. Parabolic louvered luminaires with central panels (stage 2). Central lamps were removed from all luminaires except emergency luminaires.

590 Table 1 Study design Month First stage Second stage 1F-South-West Ambient lighting with three 6500 K lamps 1F-South-West Ambient lighting with three 5000 K lamps 1F-South

Y. Akashi, P.R. Boyce / Energy and Buildings 38 (2006) 588599

3F-Central As is
a

2F-North As isa Task-ambient lighting with two 6500 K lamps Task-ambient lighting with two 6500 K lamps and sparkle

As is 1F-South-East Ambient lighting with three 3500 K lamps 1F-South-East Ambient lighting with three 3500 K lamps

Task-ambient lighting with two 3500 K lamps Task-ambient lighting with two 3500 K lamps and sparkle

Third stage

Under the as is condition, each ambient lighting luminaire had three 3500 K lamps.

5. Illuminance measurements Illuminance measurements were recorded at three locations in each cubicle equipped for occupationon the horizontal task area of the desk, on the computer screen, and at the eye of the worker, seated in the cubicle and looking at the computer screen. The 1F-South-West, 1F-South-East, 2F-North, and 3F-Central ofces had 24, 24, 42, and 46 occupied cubicles, respectively. Table 2 shows the mean illuminances (with standard deviations) provided by the ambient lighting alone, in each ofce, at the three locations, in the three stages of this study. Table 3 shows the mean illuminances (and standard deviations) on the work area of the desk, the computer screen, and the workers eyes, from the ambient lighting and task lighting combined, for the three stages of the study. Examination of Table 2 shows that during the rst stage of the study, similar mean illuminances are produced in all the ofces by the ambient lighting alone. This is as it should be as at this stage, all the ofces have the same ambient lighting. In the second stage, the mean illuminances provided by the ambient lighting alone in the 2F-North and 3F-Central locations were reduced by about one-third because one lamp had been removed from most of the ambient lighting luminaires. However, there was also a noticeable reduction in the mean illuminance in the two rst oor locations where the number of lamps/luminaire was unchanged. To check their validity, illuminance measure-

ments were repeated. Similar results were found. There are three possible contributors to the reduction in illuminances that occurred in the 1F-South ofces; the smaller lumen output of the higher CCT lamps in 1F-South-West, the lumen depreciation of all the lamps in both ofces, and the appearance in both ofces of new computers with a black nish rather than the putty-colored models present in the rst stage of the study. 6. Surveys 6.1. Procedure 6.1.1. Short-form questionnaire survey To obtain occupants opinions on the ofce lighting, two types of questionnaire were administered. The short-form questionnaire was anonymous and was administered using a questionnaire card completed several times during each stage of the study. The card contained twelve statements with which the occupants had to indicate their agreement or disagreement, except for statement 12, where the occupants were asked to select from three possible answers, better, about the same or worse. The statements were: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) I like the lighting in this ofce. Overall, the lighting is comfortable. With this lighting, I can see my work clearly. The ofce looks bright. The ofce looks gloomy. The light xtures in the ceiling are too bright. The lighting in my cubicle is too bright for the tasks I perform. The lighting in my cubicle is too dim for the tasks I perform. The lighting in my cubicle is not in the right place. The lighting is too warm in color for an ofce. The lighting is too cool in color for an ofce. How does the lighting of your ofce compare with the lighting of other ofces you have worked in?

Fig. 3. Parabolic louvered luminaires with central panels and sparkle elements (stage 3). Central lamps were removed from all luminaires except emergency luminaires.

In total, 11 short-form questionnaire surveys were administered; 5 during the 9 months of stage 1, 4 during the 9 months of stage 2, and 2 during the 3 months of stage 3. The numbers of

Y. Akashi, P.R. Boyce / Energy and Buildings 38 (2006) 588599 Table 2 Mean illuminances (and standard deviations) from ambient lighting alone (lx) Stage Desk 1 1F-South-West 1F-South-East 2F-North 3F-Center 586 571 558 544 (189) (114) (141) (141) 2 517 462 346 370 (128) (64) (99) (79) 3 448 421 324 362 (102) (79) (81) (73) Screen 1 392 383 338 332 (85) (82) (96) (75) 2 322 339 226 237 (85) (46) (70) (51) 3 309 339 193 201 (86) (55) (57) (52) Eye 1 227 223 224 189 (49) (60) (72) (45) 2 235 196 152 153 (58) (51) (51) (34) 3 235 164 130 138

591

(119) (48) (47) (45)

short-form questionnaires completed were 83, 90, and 71 for the 1F-South, 2F-North, and 3F-Central ofces, respectively, in the rst stage. The corresponding numbers for the three ofces were 52, 60, and 48 for the second stage and 30, 26, and 26 for the third stage. 6.1.2. Detailed questionnaire survey In addition to the short-form questionnaire survey, a more detailed survey was administered in stages 2 and 3. The objective of the detailed survey was to conrm and clarify the results obtained from the short-form survey. Questions corresponding to the statements in the short-form questionnaire were used. Responses were made using 5-point scales instead of simple agree/disagree choices. The questions in the detailed questionnaire survey are listed below: 1. How do you like the lighting in this ofce? 2: dislike very much, 1: dislike, 0: neutral, 1: like, 2: like very much. 2. How comfortable is the lighting in this ofce? 2: very uncomfortable, 1: uncomfortable, 0: neutral, 1: comfortable, 2: very comfortable. 3. How well can you see to do your work in your cubicle? 2: very poorly, 1: poorly, 0: neutral, 1: well, 2: very well. 4. How bright does the ofce look? 2: very gloomy, 1: gloomy, 0: neutral, 1: bright, 2: very bright. 5. Are the light xtures in the ceiling? 2: too dark, 1: dark, 0: neutral, 1: bright, 2: too bright. 6. How bright is the lighting in your cubicle for the tasks you perform? 2: too dim, 1: dim, 0: about right, 1: bright, 2: too bright.

7. Is the under-shelf lighting in your cubicle located appropriately for your work? 2: very inappropriately, 1: inappropriately, 0: neutrally, 1: appropriately, 2: very appropriately? 8. Is the color of the lighting in the ofce? 2: too cool, 1: cool, 0: neutral, 1: warm, 2: too warm. 9. How does the lighting in your ofce compare with other ofces you have worked in? 2: much worse, 1: worse, 0: about the same, 1: better, 2: much better. 10. If you chose (2) like very much in question 1, why do you think so? (1) The color of the lighting is appropriate for an ofce. (2) The colors of objects look natural. (3) The ofce looks bright. (4) My cubicle is bright enough for the tasks I perform. (5) Other 11. If you chose (2) dislike very much in question 1, why do you think so? (1) The color of the lighting is inappropriate for an ofce. (2) The colors of objects look unnatural. (3) The ofce looks gloomy. (4) My cubicle is too dark for the tasks I perform. (5) Other 12. Please make any other comments you wish about your ofce lighting below. The rst detailed questionnaire survey administered in stage 2 of the evaluation obtained 16, 20, and 18 responses from the 1F-South, 2F-North, and 3F-Central ofces, respectively. The second detailed questionnaire survey administered in stage 3 of the evaluation collected 24, 16, and 19 responses from the 1F-South, 2F-North, and 3FCentral ofces, respectively.

Table 3 Mean illuminances (and standard deviations) from ambient lighting and task lighting combined Stage Desk 1 1F-South-West 1F-South-East 2F-North 3F-Center 761 806 767 847 (132) (147) (241) (165) 2 490 592 496 472 (181) (140) (167) (103) 3 506 810 514 464 (135) (197) (247) (79) Screen 1 430 404 357 364 (92) (83) (95) (87) 2 385 374 262 237 (65) (87) (78) (53) 3 356 338 221 246 (54) (84) (71) (66) Eyes 1 214 223 217 223 (55) (41) (53) (54) 2 199 263 180 190 (46) (66) (56) (43) 3 177 239 151 166 (42) (63) (50) (42)

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6.2. Survey results 6.2.1. Overall ndings 6.2.1.1. Short-form questionnaire survey. For statements 1 11 in the short-form questionnaire, the evaluations of lighting conditions were expressed as the probability of respondents agreeing with each statement. For the question 12, evaluations were quantied by calculating a mean rating on a 3-point scale: (1) worse; (2) about the same; (3) better. Fig. 4 shows the probabilities of agreement with each statement based on all the short-form questionnaires collected in the four ofces during each stage of the evaluation. This shows the long-term effects of the lighting modications on the occupant evaluations. The rst thing to note is that in the rst stage, when all the ofces were as is, the probability of agreement with the statement, overall, the lighting is comfortable is about 0.70 in all ofces. This result suggests that the lighting at the demonstration site can be considered as typical of ofce lighting in the USa survey of 13 large ofces in the North-East, using the same statement in a similar survey,

suggested that about 69% of ofce workers would agree that the lighting of their ofces was comfortable [9]. The next thing to note is that the overall pattern of probabilities in Fig. 4 indicates that the response to the lighting in all the ofces, in all three stages of the demonstration, was positive in the sense that there is a high level of agreement with positive statements and a low level of agreement with negative statements. Of course, the above are gross observations made simply from looking at Fig. 4. To examine the differences quantitatively, statistical comparisons among the three stages were conducted for all four ofces. To determine whether or not any statistically signicant changes occurred over the three stages of the study, x2-tests were applied to questions 111 and one-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) were applied to question 12. Table 4 shows the results of these statistical analyses in terms of the probability that any difference could have occurred by chance ( p-values). Following on from this, a series of paired comparisons were conducted for the three possible stage combinations: stage 1 versus stage 2; stage 2 versus stage 3; stage 3 versus stage 1. For each pair, x2-tests

Fig. 4. Probability of agreement with each statement in the short-form questionnaire for the four ofces during each stage of the study.

Y. Akashi, P.R. Boyce / Energy and Buildings 38 (2006) 588599 Table 4 Statistical signicance ( p-values) for differences in probability of agreement over the three stages Questions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 I like this ofce Lighting is comfortable See works clearly Ofce appears bright Ofce appears gloomy Too bright luminaire Too bright cubicle Too dim cubicle Task light in bad place Too warm color for ofce Too cool color for ofce Ofce lighting is better 1F-South-West 0.022 0.001** 0.068 0.136 0.011* 0.063 0.011* 0.006** 0.011* 0.011* 0.217 0.005**
*

593

1F-South-East 0.219 0.370 0.497 0.498 0.700 0.231 0.415 0.116 0.451 0.990 0.964 0.641

2F-North 0.182 0.147 0.391 0.284 0.337 0.913 0.447 0.003** 0.099 0.883 0.055 0.655

3F-Center 0.594 0.576 0.602 0.080 0.001*** 0.067 0.439 0.752 0.670 0.074 0.251 0.195

x2-Tests were applied to questions 111 and one-factor ANOVAs to question 12. * p < 0.05. ** p < 0.01. *** p < 0.001.

were applied to questions 111 and a t-test was applied to question 12. Table 5 shows the results of these paired comparisons. It is important to note that these paired comparisons should only be considered for statements for which there is an overall statistically signicant difference in Table 4. Further, given the large number of statistical tests done and the consequent increased possibility of a type 1 error (false positives) it is better when examining these tables to place greater value on higher levels of statistical signicance (i.e., p < 0.001 and <0.01 rather than p < 0.05). Examination of Table 4 reveals no statistically signicant changes in the probability of agreement for any statement over the three stages of the study for the 1F-South-East ofce. This is as it should be because the lighting in this ofce was unchanged over the three stages. For the 3F-Central ofce, there is only one statistically signicant difference in probability of agreement over the three stages, this being for the statement, the ofce looks gloomy. Examination of Fig. 4 and Table 5 shows that this statistically

signicant effect is due to a greater probability of agreement with the statement occurring in stages 2 and 3 than in stage 1, a difference that is coincident with a reduction in ambient illuminance by about one-third. For the 2F-North ofce, there is also just one statistically signicant difference in probability of agreement over the three stages, this being for the statement, the lighting in my cubicle is too dim for the tasks I perform. Examination of Fig. 4 and Table 5 shows that this statistically signicant effect is due to a smaller probability of agreement with the statement occurring in stages 2 and 3 than in stage 1, a difference that is coincident with the change from 3500 to 6500 K lamps and a reduction in ambient illuminance by about one-third. This supports the view that higher CCT lamps can be used to offset a reduction in illuminance. For the 1F-South-West ofce, there are many statistically signicant differences in probability of agreement over the three stages. The two statements for which statistical signicance is more conservative ( p < 0.01 rather than

Table 5 Statistical signicance ( p-values) for differences in probability of agreement for stages 1 and 2, stages 2 and 3, and stages 3 and 1 1F-South-West S1S2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 0.007 0.000** 0.022* 0.100 0.034* 0.049 0.350 0.001** 0.195 0.350 0.094 0.033*
**

1F-South-East S3S1 0.996 0.050* 0.370 0.154 0.005** 0.398 0.002** 0.213 0.022* 0.002** 0.283 0.338 S1S2 0.203 0.195 0.238 0.478 0.418 0.213 0.438 0.069 0.357 0.930 0.933 0.657 S2S3 0.870 0.242 0.524 0.756 0.800 0.835 0.185 0.889 0.199 0.887 0.887 NA S3S1 0.165 0.725 0.797 0.301 0.696 0.130 0.328 0.141 0.466 0.922 0.789 NA

2F-North S1S2 0.094 0.050 0.750 0.563 0.185 0.698 0.400 0.004** 0.047 0.678 0.081 0.462 S2S3 0.160 0.440 0.178 0.283 0.270 0.730 0.191 0.963 0.696 0.946 0.040* 0.713 S3S1 0.806 0.500 0.232 0.114 0.835 0.951 0.510 0.040* 0.254 0.687 0.265 0.428

3F-Center S1S2 0.895 0.699 0.547 0.025* 0.001** 0.025* 0.354 0.460 0.397 0.344 0.889 0.354 S2S3 0.341 0.499 0.659 0.223 0.629 0.016* 0.200 0.823 0.554 0.030* 0.200 0.382 S3S1 0.365 0.293 0.331 0.579 0.001** 0.810 0.585 0.713 0.970 0.122 0.122 0.067

S2S3 0.086 0.503 0.485 0.831 0.391 0.111 0.085 0.346 0.004** 0.085 0.863 0.072

NA: ANOVA cannot be applied due to a lack of data. The x2-tests were applied to questions 111 and a t-test to question 12 * p < 0.05. ** p < 0.01.

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p < 0.05) are, overall, the lighting is comfortable and the lighting in my cubicle is too dim for the tasks I perform. The difference in the mean ratings of, how does the lighting of your ofce compare with the lighting of other ofces you have worked in was also statistically signicant at the p < 0.01 level. Examination of Fig. 4 and Table 5 shows that for the statement, overall, the lighting is comfortable, the statistically signicant effect is due to a smaller probability of agreement with the statement occurring in stages 2 and 3 than in stage 1, a difference that is coincident with the change from 3500 to 6500 K lamps, and 5000 K lamps without a change in ambient illuminance. For the statement, the lighting in my cubicle is too dim for the tasks I perform the statistically signicant effect is due to a greater probability of agreement with the statement occurring in stage 2 than in stage 1, a difference that is coincident with the use of 6500 K lamps rather than 3500 K, both at the same ambient illuminance. As for the mean rating in response to the question, how does the lighting of your ofce compare with the lighting of other ofces you have worked in, examination of Fig. 4 and Table 5 shows that when this ofce is lit with 3500 K lamps (stage 1) and 5000 K lamps (stage 3) the lighting is considered slightly better than usual, but when it is lit by 6500 K lamps, the lighting is considered somewhat worse than usual. These ndings suggest that the use of 6500 K lamps can cause difculties when the illuminance is unchanged. All the above analysis has been based on data from the shortform questionnaire, summed over each complete stage. It is also interesting to consider how opinions changed during each stage of the study. Fig. 5 shows the probability of agreement with the

statements in the short-form questionnaire and the mean rating for the nal question, every time the questionnaire was administered. Fig. 5 shows considerable variation in responses to many statements but the most obvious and consistent feature is that for two statements and the nal question there are clear short-term changes during stage 2 in all four ofces. Specically, for the statements, I like the lighting in this ofce and overall, the lighting is comfortable and for the question, how does the lighting of your ofce compare with the lighting of other ofces you have worked in, there is a strongly negative response at the start of stage 2, for all ofces, regardless of the nature of changes made to the lighting, if any. Further, there is a tendency for the responses to these statements and question to become more positive over time until by the end of stage 2, there is little difference from what they were in stage 1. These observations suggest two conclusions. The rst is that changes to the lighting in one part of building can inuence opinions in another part where no changes have occurred. The second is it can take occupants some time to adapt to lighting changes. 6.2.1.2. Detailed questionnaire survey. Table 6 shows the mean ratings on questions 19 of the detailed questionnaire, for the two occasions, it was administered which were towards the ends of stages 2 and 3. The mean ratings in Table 6 do not indicate any strong opinions, i.e., all mean responses on a 5point scale (from 2 to +2) are around neutral, ranging from 0.75 to +0.86. This suggests that at these times, the lighting in all the ofces was fairly acceptable. The greatest number of negative ratings appears in the 1F-South-West ofce in the

Table 6 Mean ratings given on the detailed questionnaire administered in stages 2 and 3 in all four ofces Question 1F-South-West Stage 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 How do you like the lighting in this ofce? p-Value How comfortable is the lighting in this ofce? p-Value How well can you see to do your work? p-Value How bright does the ofce look? p-Value Are the light xtures in the ceiling? p-Value How bright is the lighting in your cubicle? p-Value Is the under-shelf lighting located appropriately? p-Value Is the color of the lighting in the ofce: cool to warm? p-Value How does the lighting in your ofce compare with others? p-Value 0.38 0.277 0.13 0.553 0.13 0.087 0.29 0.13 0.662 0.25 0.38 0.857 0.13 0.07 0.588 0.50 0.17 0.14 0.275 0.25 0.50 0.67 0.14 0.038* 0.14 0.33 0.50 0.64 0.17 0.21 0.33 Stage 3 0.38 1F-South-East Stage 2 0.17 Stage 3 2F-North Stage 2 0.29 0.840 0.43 0.850 0.86 0.800 0.07 0.268 0.00 0.326 0.00 0.131 0.07 0.239 0.64 0.15 0.857 0.08 0.144 0.17 0.08 0.33 0.329 0.00 0.58 0.915 0.15 0.451 0.15 0.08 0.33 0.245 0.75 0.33 0.08 0.928 0.15 0.33 0.08 0.475 0.15 0.75 0.67 0.764 0.46 0.27 0.25 0.842 0.77 Stage 3 0.08 3F-Central Stage 2 0.25 0.654 0.31 Stage 3 0.23

0.30 0.827 0.20 0.623 0.60 0.619 0.40 0.841 0.30 0.651 0.22 0.578 0.30 0.344 0.10 0.023* 0.60 0.452

0.75 0.14 0.008**

Also shown are the statistical signicances ( p-values) for the mean ratings given in the two stages, for each ofce. * p < 0.05. ** p < 0.01.

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595

Fig. 5. The probabilities of agreement and the mean ratings for the short-form questionnaire for the four ofces, every time it was administered. The boundaries between stages 1 and 2 and between stages 2 and 3 are identied by dashed vertical lines.

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Fig. 5. (Continued ).

second stage in which a lamp with a CCT of 6500 K was used without a reduction in illuminance. To identify how similar (or different) the evaluations of the lighting between the two stages are, t-tests were applied to all responses. Table 6 also shows the results ( p-values) of these t-tests. Examination of Table 6 reveals that there are no statistically signicant differences between the mean ratings for the 2F-North and 3F-Central ofces, suggesting that the addition of the sparkle elements to the ambient luminaires in these two ofces had little impact. Where there are statistically signicant differences is in the two 1F-South ofces, specically in response to the questions, how bright does the ofce look? and how does the lighting in your ofce compare with other ofces you have worked in? in the 1F-South-West ofce and is the color of the lighting in the ofce: warm to cool? in the 1F-Souh-East ofce. The direction of the statistically signicant effects in 1F-SouthWest is such that the 5000 K lighting used in stage 3 is considered slightly brighter and slightly better than the 6500 K lighting used in stage 2. The direction of the statistically signicant result in 1F-South-East is that stage 3 is considered slightly warmer than stage 2. In the 1F-South-East ofce, there is no difference in the lighting for these two stages. The most reasonable explanation for this odd result is that the lighting of the adjacent 1F-South-West ofce is inuencing the perceptions of the occupants of the 1F-South-East ofce. 6.2.2. Visual performance To measure visual performance, the short-form questionnaire had four high contrast sentences printed on the reverse in

different point sizes, ranging from 12- to 4-point, in the same font. The evaluations were quantied by providing a score from 1 to 5 depending on the minimum point size that could be read by each participant: (1) larger than 12-point; (2) 12-point; (3) 8-point; (4) 6-point; (5) 4-point. Mean scores over all responses from each short-form survey administration were obtained. Fig. 6 shows the mean of the print sizes that could just be read. From Fig. 6, it can be seen that the overall mean level of visual performance is somewhere between reading 6- and 4-point print. This is consistent with previous work [9] that showed that in a large sample of ofces in the North-East, 95% of occupants could read 6-point print.

Fig. 6. Results of visual performance tests. The vertical axis represents the mean of the smallest print size that can just be read: (1) larger than 12-point; (2) 12-point; (3) 8-point; (4) 6-point; (5) 4-point.

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It is also apparent from Fig. 6 that the lighting modications have little effect on visual performance apart from in the 3FCentral ofce. In this ofce, the reduced illuminance in stage 2 initially produced a statistically signicant ( p < 0.05) change of approximately one unit on the scale. However, over time, the visual performance gradually increased so much so that there was no statistically signicant difference in visual performance between stages 1 and 3. Contrarily, the change to stage 2 did not show any statistically signicant change in visual performance in the 2F-North ofce, despite the reduced illuminance. These trends do not follow the changes in actual illuminance (Table 2), which suggests that they have more to do with motivation than visual capabilities.
Fig. 7. Energy consumption by task lights per day (Wh/day).

7. Observation of behavior for energy consumption comparisons Given that the underlying purpose of this study is to examine the practicality of energy saving by reducing the ambient illuminance in ofces, it is important to determine if the reduced ambient illuminances used in stages 2 and 3 in the 2FNorth and 3F-Central ofces produce an increase in the amount and duration of use of the task lighting. This was done by observation of behavior. 7.1. Method Cubicle observations were undertaken to identify how long occupants stayed in the ofce and how much lighting energy they used. In each observation, a researcher selected a day around the middle of each month and walked around the four ofces, once every hour, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eight hourly observations were noted for every cubicle on the day. The researcher counted the number of under-shelf task luminaires switched on and the number of cubicles that were occupied at each visit. Previous data collection had already been undertaken to determine the total number of task luminaires in each of the cubicles, and the wattage of each task lamp type. 7.2. Observation results As different cubicles have different combinations of lamp wattages, the energy consumption by task luminaires was calculated for each ofce per day (8 h). Fig. 7 shows this energy consumption per day of task lighting, for all four ofces, over all the stages of the study. Table 7 shows the mean energy

consumption per day for task lighting, for the three stages of the study. Examination of Fig. 7 and Table 7 clearly demonstrate that the task lighting was more widely used in the 3F-Center ofce than in any of the other ofces, during all three stages. It is also apparent from Fig. 7 that the reduction in ambient illuminance that occurs at stage 2 in the 2F-North and 3FCentral ofces leads to an initial increase in use of the undershelf task lighting but that over time, this usage returns to the level in found in stage 1. Table 7 also includes the energy consumption per day of the ambient lighting and the total (task-ambient) lighting system for the four ofces. It is evident from Table 7 that the energy consumption per day of the task lighting is only a small percentage of the total energy consumption per day, a total that is dominated by the contribution of the ambient lighting. Also, the ratios of total energy consumption per day in the second or third stage relative to the rst stage (S2/S1 or S3/S1 in Table 7) prove that more than a 30% reduction in total energy consumption per day was achieved in the 2F-North and 3FCentral ofces in stages 2 and 3. 7.3. Task light luminaires Observations of the ofces in stage 1 revealed that many occupants of the ofces did not use the existing under-shelf task luminaires. It was expected that even when the ambient illuminance was reduced by one-third, no additional task light luminaires would be requested by the occupants of the ofces. However, just in case, a type of free-standing task luminaire was selected to be made available if one was requested. After the lighting modications needed to introduce stages 2 and 3 lighting to the 2F-North and 3F-Central ofces were made, and

Table 7 Energy consumption per day (Wh/day) by task and ambient lighting, separately and combined, for all four ofces, over all three stages Stage 1 (Wh/day) Task 1F-South-West 1F-South-East 2F-North 3F-Center 3193 2242 1636 4957 Ambient 33024 39168 76032 79104 Total (S1) 36217 41410 77668 84061 Stage 2 (Wh/day) Task 3065 2088 2203 5632 Ambient 33024 39168 50688 52736 Total (S2) 36089 41256 52891 58368 S2/S1 (%) 99.6 99.6 68.1 69.4 Stage 3 (Wh/day) Task 2975 1865 1966 4635 Ambient 33024 39168 50688 52736 Total (S3) 35999 41033 52654 57371 S3/S1 (%) 99.4 99.1 67.8 68.2

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hence after the reduction in ambient illuminance by one-third, only one occupant, in the 3F-Central ofce, requested such a luminaire. The illuminance on this individuals desk, even with the available task lighting, was only 150 lx, so this request was certainly justied. The signicance of this happening was to remind us that although the mean illuminance under a lighting installation may be satisfactory, illuminance uniformity is not perfect so there may be some locations, particularly at the edge of the installation, where the illuminances are much lower than the average. Reducing the illuminance in such locations requires care. 8. Discussion The results presented above demonstrate that it is possible to reduce the ambient illuminance provided by typical ofce lighting by about one-third without producing dramatic longterm changes in occupant satisfaction with the lighting. The mean ratings on the detailed questionnaire shown in Table 6 for the three ofces are all around the neutral point on a 5-point scale, despite the fact that the ambient illuminance on the desk in the 1F-South ofce is around 500 lx, while those in the 2FNorth and 3F-Central ofces are about 360 lx. Such a reduction in illuminance is associated with a similar reduction in energy consumption, unless the decrease in ambient illuminance is offset by an increased use of task lighting. Observation of the pattern of use of the under-shelf task luminaires in the ofces did reveal a short-term increase in use, but this had little impact on the overall energy consumption of the complete installation. Further, only one person in one ofce requested additional task lighting. Therefore, removing one lamp from most of the threelamp ambient lighting luminaires resulted in a commensurate energy saving. While saving energy, and hence money, is of some interest to business, it will be if little interest if the reduction in energy consumption is associated with a decrease in visual performance. The results from the visual performance test in the short-form questionnaire show that reducing the ambient illuminance from about 500 to 360 lx has no long-term effect on visual performance. Although reducing the ambient illuminance from about 500 to 360 lx produces no adverse reactions long-term, the results clearly demonstrate that such an action can produce adverse reactions short-term. A similar tendency appears in risk homeostasis theory as applied to road safety [10] in which, after an introduction of a road safety measure, accident rate may be signicantly reduced but, after an adaptation period, the accident rate returns to the initial level. This tendency suggests that in the long run, a wide range of illuminance reductions will be acceptable as long as the nal illuminance meets the minimum illuminance recommendations [11]. The lack of a long-term effect can be ascribed to the facts that the human visual system can perform equally well over a wide range of lighting conditions [12,13], and that people tend to adapt to new lighting conditions and slowly accept them as the norm. The dramatic short-term effects can be ascribed to the dislike of change in their working environment.

The results obtained in this study also suggest that the likelihood of a negative short-term response can be reduced by making the change in a way that will minimize the reduction in room brightness caused by the reduction in ambient illuminance, and that will make the change less conspicuous. What is required to achieve these aims is to take action to increase the perception of brightness, and to make the changes in a series of steps rather than all at once. Two means to increase brightness perception were tested in this study, the use of high CCT lamps, and the use of sparkle elements in the luminaires. The results for the 2F-North and 3FCentral ofces suggest that the use of high CCT light sources, specically 6500 K lamps, can be effective in avoiding the perception of gloom, but the results for 1F-South-West ofce show that this advantage can be offset by the cold appearance of the light where the illuminance is high enough to be considered bright enough already. This observation in turn suggests that it would be better to steer a middle course by using a light source with a CCT of 5000 K to increase brightness perception at an ambient illuminance of about 360 lx as this has less risk of being considered unpleasant in light color. It also implies that it is important to avoid using higher CCT lamps at high illuminances. Of course these suggestions may only apply to North America where it is usual to use uorescent lamps with a CCT in the range 35004100 K for ofce lighting. It must be doubted if the same conclusion would apply in Japan, where light sources with a higher CCT range, from 5000 to 6500 K, are normally used for ofces. As for the use of sparkle elements, the failure to show any statistically signicant long-term changes for statements related to brightness or gloom when the elements are introduced into 2F-North and 3F-Central in stage 3 implies that these elements are ineffective as brightness enhancers. It is always possible that other forms of sparkle element would have been more effective. As for measures that can be used to make the reduction in ambient illuminance less conspicuous, recent studies have demonstrated that an illuminance reduction by 1520% from an initial illuminance is unnoticeable provided it is made smoothly and slowly [1416]. This can easily be done if the installation is equipped with dimming ballasts, but if the simple expedient of removing lamps is to be used, then some care is required. A three-step procedure is suggested. First, all the lamps in the installation should be changed to the CCT required to enhance brightness, preferably 5000 K rather than 6500 K. Second, one lamp in every third three-lamp ambient lighting luminaire should be removed across the whole installation, excepting from luminaires at the edges of the installation. This will produce a nominal 10% reduction in illuminance across most of the working space but leave the edges little changed. This is important because the illuminances are always lowest at the edges of a regular array lighting installation, particularly in the corners. However, the reduction in illuminance is nominal because the rst step calls for the installation of new lamps throughout, and these are likely to have a higher light output than the lamps they replace. Consequently, there may be very little difference in ambient illuminance even though some of the

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lamps have been removed. Third, after 3 months have elapsed, the third lamp in every second luminaire that has three lamps, except those round the edges of the installation, is removed. This process can be repeated until the required ambient illuminance is achieved. 9. Conclusions The results of this study lead to the following conclusions:  It is possible to reduce the ambient illuminance produced by a typical ofce lighting installation by about one-third without producing a long-term change in occupant satisfaction with the lighting.  Such a reduction in ambient illuminance will lead to a shortterm increase in task lighting but this will have little effect on the energy consumption.  Such a reduction in ambient illuminance can produce negative short-term reactions. These reactions will tend to fade as time passes. The likelihood of negative short-term reactions occurring will be reduced if action is taken to increase the perception of brightness as the illuminance is reduced and if the reduction is made in small steps.  Higher CCT lamps (5000 and 6500 K) can be used to enhance the perception of brightness, but care is required. This is because the cold appearance of these lamps can be considered unpleasant when the illuminance is high enough to provide an adequate perception of brightness. The 5000 K lamp will usually be a safer choice than the 6500 K lamp.  More research is needed before sparkle elements can be used to enhance the perception of brightness with any condence. Acknowledgements This paper was prepared from work undertaken with the nancial support from Connecticut Light and Power Company. The authors would like to acknowledge Sharon Goslee, the Property Manager, for her help in administering the short-form questionnaire, and staff of the State of Connecticut Department of Public Safety for their participation. Martin Overington,

Michael Myer, David Cyr, and Anjan Sarkar are also acknowledged for their work on this project.

References
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