Detection and acceptance of demand-responsive lighting in offices with and without daylight

This research investigated the tolerance of office workers for decreased illumination levels. The purpose was to assess the dimming that could be tolerated to reduce electricity demand during periods of grid stress without major inconvenience to workers. Participants (N=33) in an office laboratory were exposed to an initial baseline electric lighting level of 400 lx on their desktops. The electric lighting was dimmed smoothly over 10 seconds. During the dim, and for 30 seconds afterwards, the participants performed a computer-based proofreading task. The participants indicated if they had noticed the change, and whether the lighting conditions were acceptable. This was repeated over multiple trials, with dimming from 0 to 80%, and with or without daylight.Dans le cadre de cette recherche, on a \ue9tudi\ue9 la tol\ue9rance des employ\ue9s de bureau \ue0 une r\ue9duction des niveaux d'\ue9clairement. L'\ue9tude avait pour but d'\ue9valuer la diminution d'intensit\ue9 qui pouvait \ueatre tol\ue9r\ue9e afin de r\ue9duire la demande d'\ue9lectricit\ue9 pendant les p\ue9riodes de saturation du r\ue9seau sans causer de pr\ue9judices importants aux employ\ue9s. Les participants (N=33) ont \ue9t\ue9 r\ue9unis dans un laboratoire simulant un environnement de bureau et expos\ue9s \ue0 un niveau d'\ue9clairement de r\ue9f\ue9rence initial de 400 lx au niveau des surfaces de travail. L'intensit\ue9 de l'\ue9clairage \ue9lectrique a \ue9t\ue9 diminu\ue9e progressivement pendant 10 secondes. Pendant cette diminution et les 30 secondes qui ont suivi, les participants accomplissaient une t\ue2che de correction d'\ue9preuve \ue0 l'ordinateur. Les participants ont indiqu\ue9 s'ils avaient remarqu\ue9 le changement et si les conditions d'\ue9clairage \ue9taient acceptables. On a r\ue9p\ue9t\ue9 cette exp\ue9rience \ue0 plusieurs reprises, en utilisant une diminution de 0 \ue0 80 %, et avec et sans lumi\ue8re naturelle.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye