A Multi-Criteria Assessment Procedure for Outdoor Lighting at the Design Stage

Abstract

This paper presents an attempt at a unified approach for the assessment of outdoor lighting solutions at the design stage. First of all, the lighting criteria for different types of outdoor lighting installations have been carefully described. Despite the differences in criteria, it is possible to find a common ground for the assessment of lighting solutions at the design stage. This is based on the need for the assessment of lighting solutions to be included in the requirements for the luminous environment, light pollution, and energy efficiency. The review and analysis of the standards and reports allows an experimental procedure to be created, the main aim of which is to find the best and most sustainable lighting solution for any outdoor situation. The procedure was tested by the example of an analysis of parking lot lighting solutions. In the case analyzed, 120 solutions were considered. It appeared that, in only 65 cases were the requirements referring to both lighting condition and light pollution met. Finally, based on the lighting energy efficiency assessment, ten solutions were selected as the most suitable. Furthermore, only one solution out of the ten was the most beneficial, taking into account the extra criterion of basic economic cost. The case study confirms that the assessment procedure allows the most beneficial solution to be selected, taking into account the luminous environment, as well as light pollution and energy efficiency criteria. The proposed multi-criteria assessment procedure may be used as a valuable tool by lighting designers to select the most beneficial solution in order to meet the needs of safety, visual efficiency, and comfort, as well as taking into account light pollution and energy efficiency restrictions.

Simulation and Analysis of Floodlighting Based on 3D Computer Graphics

“…These parameters are subject to standardization restrictions. It is also possible to check the energy efficiency of the design by calculating the utilisation factor [20,21].…”

Development of an Indicator System for Local Governments to Plan and Evaluate Sustainable Outdoor Lighting

“…A study that suggested a decision supporting systems' assessment for street lighting restricted the assessment to light pollution and energy performance indicators [16]. Another study that presented a multicriteria assessment with the aim of finding the most beneficial and sustainable lighting solution used indicators representing the luminous environment, light pollution, and energy efficiency to evaluate four groups of outdoor lighting types [17]. A third study, which aimed to propose a method for assessing public tenders of LED lighting based on multiple decision-making criteria, restricted the environmental impact assessment evaluation to life cycle analysis (LCA) [18].…”

Revision of Threshold Luminance Levels in Tunnels Aiming to Minimize Energy Consumption at No Cost: Methodology and Case Studies

“…In Europe (EU28) there are more than 1.6 million km of illuminated streets that annually consume approximately 35 TWh) at a cost of $4 billion euro for the public authorities [2]. During the last decade there has been ongoing research activity focused on energy management using various types of renewable energy sources [3][4][5], on recycling [6], on safety [7][8][9][10], and a concentrated effort has been made for making street lighting systems sustainable [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] and environmentally friendly [20][21][22]. In addition, during the last few years, the issue of avoiding light pollution [23][24][25][26][27][28] has gained importance in technical reports [29] and expert discussions [30].…”