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- Davoodi, Anahita, 1979-
(author)
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Supporting evidence-based design using lighting simulations : A framework for lighting simulation of visual comfort in building design
- 2023
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This research aims to integrate lighting simulation into the evidence-based design process for achieving improved lighting outcomes in built environments with a particular emphasis on visual comfort analysis in office settings. The objectives of the study include 1) understanding the current usage of lighting simulation tools, learning designers’ experiences' and needs, 2) providing a conceptual framework to integrate the use of lighting simulation in the evidence-based design (EBD) process, 3) testing the usage of the conceptual framework (named EBD-SIM) through two field studies.First, the lighting simulation tools were reviewed from multiple perspectives reflecting their current state in terms of main characteristics and applications. The usage of lighting simulation tools was investigated by conducting an online survey among lighting designers in 2014. The results showed that lighting simulation programs were widely used in Sweden, with DIALux being the most popular. The most calculated metrics were interior illuminance, glare indexes, and daylight factors. Ease of use and simulation speed were the most important factors in selecting these tools (Paper I). The changes and developments in the usage of lighting simulation tools over five years were investigated by conducting the second survey in 2019. The comparison between the two surveys revealed that DIALux remained the most popular tool though its usage slightly dropped,and the usage of Radiance-based programs was improved. In both surveys, illuminancewas the most frequently calculated metric for both daylight and electric light.In the second part of this thesis, the integration of simulation tools in the Evidence-Based Design (EBD) process was explored, leading to the development of an integrated conceptual framework, named EBD-SIM (Paper II). The application of the EBD-SIM framework with a focus on the post-occupancy evaluation (POE) step was tested with two field studies in an existing office building in Sweden (Paper III & Paper IV). Occupant visual comfort was investigated using holistic objective-subjective evaluation with different sample sizes (N=15, N=45), different times of the year (October and June), and two groups of occupants (within-subject and between-subject study). Both studies confirmed that point-in-time illuminance had the highest correlation with perceived visual comfort by occupants. The study in June showed that annual daylight performance metrics also had some degree of correlation with occupant satisfaction. It also revealed that, at least for the variables related to daylight, a POE study needs to be conducted at different times of the year to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the user perception of the lit environment. Using simulation tools also in the POE step of EBD has several advantages. The calculated performance metrics give an overview of the lit environment's objective characteristics, making it possible to document them and provide more explicit evidence for further investigation. In addition, the simulated model can be used further to generate other performance metrics should it become necessary based on further evidence.
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| 2. |
- Jalilzadehazhari, Elaheh, 1985-
(author)
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Windows and blinds selection for enhancing subjective well-being
- 2017
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Earlier studies in the context of windows and blinds selection have mostly tried to increase the awareness regarding various effects of windows and blinds selection on subjective well-being, including their effect on visual comfort, thermal comfort, energy consumption and life cycle cost. However, the main problem is the potential conflicts between visual comfort, thermal comfort, energy consumption and life cycle cost. Increased awareness about the contradictory effect of windows and blinds selection on subjective well-being on one hand and lack of a feasible method in managing the conflicts on the other hand may bind individuals, as decision-makers, in a situation where they follow the immediate economic benefits rather than the long-term visual and thermal benefits. To solve the mentioned problem, this study analysed first the degree of the conflicts between average daylight illuminance and total energy consumption in Sweden. This decision was made due to large variation in solar elevation angle and solar intensity between summer and winter in Sweden, which has significant effects on daylight illuminance and total energy consumption. Analysing the conflicts was accomplished by developing two multivariate linear regression models for calculating average daylight illuminance and total energy consumption. Comparison and analysis of the multivariate linear regression models showed the existence of a high degree of conflicts, which makes window and blind selection a rather complex multidimensional problem. Specifying the degree of the conflicts formed a hypothesis as: “A multi criteria decision-making method increases the controllability and manages the conflicts in selecting windows and blinds”. The developed hypothesis was later tested by employing analytical hierarchy process, as widely used multi criteria decisionmaking method. The analytical hierarchy process prioritizes decision-maker’ preferences and introduces a desired trade-off solution. The results of employing analytical hierarchy process showed the capability of it in managing the conflicts among visual comfort, thermal comfort, energy consumption and life cycle cost. Finally, the application of the analytical hierarchy process was expanded by integrating it with nondominated sorting genetic algorithm-II, as an optimization algorithm. Through this integration, optimization algorithm combines windows’ and blinds’ design variables and analyses a large number of solutions, while analytical hierarchy process ranks the solutions based on decision-makers’ preferences and introduces a desired trade-off solution. The integration between analytical hierarchy process and the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm-II was presented later as a conceptual framework. The developed conceptual framework can be used for selecting windows and blinds II in both residential and commercial buildings. In selecting windows and blinds, the conceptual framework is a novel solution to the lack of a feasible method for increasing the controllability for decision-makers and obtaining a desired trade-off solution.
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