Examination of the impact of lighting layout on energy efficiency in the case of open plan office

Lighting plays a significant role in the electricity consumption of buildings. It is widely acknowledged that the key factors influencing minimal energy consumption to meet the requirements of lighting design criteria are lamp efficacy, luminaire efficiency, and lighting control systems. However, the impact of the relationship between luminaire arrangement, luminaire’s luminous intensity distribution, and furniture arrangement on energy consumption has not been thoroughly examined. The objective of this study is to develop a method that can be utilized to determine luminaire positions while meeting values recommended in the EN 12464-1 for all occupants of an office based on luminaire’s luminous intensity distribution and furniture layout. For this purpose, an open-plan office for 24 individuals, 2 different desk layouts, 3 lighting types, and 19 luminaires with different luminous intensity distributions were considered. In the initial stage of the research, luminaire position options that meet the targeted values for each luminaire and workstation layout (a total of 38 configurations) were determined through trial and error. Subsequently, these options were compared in terms of energy consumption, and the most economical option was identified for each configuration. The total luminous flux required for each configuration was considered in the energy comparison. The configuration where visual comfort requirements were met with the least luminous flux was considered the most economical. It was revealed that the quadruple-desk layout was more economical than the dual-desk layout for all luminaires. In the final stage of the study, the energy usage results for 38 configurations were compared and evaluated.