In many cases, lighting designers are tasked with creating plans for surface finishes that are inconsistent with the materials and finishes the interior designer has selected for a building's final design. This can create challenges in coordinating the visual aesthetic of the space and ensuring that the lighting design is complementary to the overall design vision. Effective communication and collaboration between the lighting and interior designers can help address these challenges and achieve a cohesive design.
The goal of the lighting designer is to optimize the lighting design of a given space while minimizing energy consumption. In Case 01, I applied a 70/50/20 rule for ceiling, wall, and floor reflectance and achieved an average illuminance of 383lx with a uniformity of 0.58.
In Case 02, I used materials with reflectance factors of 70 for both ceiling and wall and 50 for floor (as proposed by the ID) and obtained an average illuminance of 501lx with a uniformity of 0.66. However, this level of illuminance exceeded the required standards for the space.
Consequently, in Case 03, I rearranged the luminaires, reducing their number from three to two and achieved an average illuminance of 340lx with a uniformity of 0.68. This resulted in a significant decrease in energy consumption, from 10.5kWh/a in Case 01 to 7.02kWh/a in Case 03.
(That is a reduction of 33% in energy consumption between Case 01 and Case 03)
Thus, by applying lighting design principles and using actual specified materials with appropriate reflectance factors, it is possible to achieve appropriate illuminance levels while reducing energy consumption.
The use of the Material Catalogue in Dialux was beneficial in this scenario as it provided accurate information on the reflection factors and reflective coating details of standard materials. This feature was particularly useful in saving time as it eliminated the need to search for accurate information on the specified materials from the ID. By relying on this resource, I was able to streamline the design process.
