The effect of thermochromic windows on visual performance and sustained attention

Abstract Thermochromic windows have been widely studied as a technology that can potentially offer increases in energy conservation and provide a desirable luminous environment inside buildings. However, there has been little attention placed on how the tinted states of thermochromic glazing influence occupant behaviour and visual perception. An experiment under controlled conditions was designed to test the influence of different thermochromic tint states on human response. By using a controllable artificial window, five typical luminous conditions were set up, including clear (no tint) and two different levels of blue and bronze tint states, respectively, which produced different room colour temperatures. Thirty-one subjects were recruited who completed three visual tasks, including a visual acuity and a colour naming tasks using the coloured Landolt ring chart and a sustained attention test using the d2 test. Subjective assessments were also collected using questionnaires. Statistical analyses showed the across the thermochromic window conditions, no significant differences in performance were found for the visual acuity and d2 tests. However, there was a significant effect for the colour naming task from the Landolt ring test. Under blue tint conditions, subjects reported higher alertness and produced fewer errors. More natural and acceptable lighting conditions were found under the bronze-tinted conditions. Therefore, when developing innovative thermochromic windows applied in buildings, it is also important to cater for the visual requirements of the occupants in the space, not only energy efficiency goals.

[1]  Steve Fotios,et al.  Lighting for subsidiary streets: investigation of lamps of different SPD. Part 1—Visual Performance , 2007 .

[2]  Veronica Soebarto,et al.  Thermochromic smart window technologies for building application: A review , 2019 .

[3]  R. E. Harrington.  Effect of color temperature on apparent brightness. , 1954, Journal of the Optical Society of America.

[4]  Christopher R. Bennett,et al.  Developing an Innovative Method for Visual Perception Evaluation in a Physical-Based Virtual Environment , 2019, Building and Environment.

[5]  Hanui Yu,et al.  The effect of illuminance and correlated colour temperature on perceived comfort according to reading behaviour in a capsule hotel , 2019, Building and Environment.

[6]  Shuyi Li.  VO2-based Thermochromic and Nanothermochromic Materials for Energy-Efficient Windows : Computational and Experimental Studies , 2013 .

[7]  Robin Wilson,et al.  Development of experimental methods for quantifying the human response to chromatic glazing , 2019, Building and Environment.

[8]  L. Smith,et al.  Effects of blue-enriched light on the daily course of mood, sleepiness and light perception: A field experiment , 2012 .

[9]  Françoise Viénot,et al.  Kruithof's rule revisited using LED illumination , 2009 .

[10]  Ivan P. Parkin,et al.  Hybrid Aerosol Assisted and Atmospheric Pressure CVD of Gold‐Doped Vanadium Dioxide , 2008 .

[11]  Hong Ye,et al.  Theoretical discussions of perfect window, ideal near infrared solar spectrum regulating window and current thermochromic window , 2012 .

[12]  K. Smolders,et al.  Investigating daytime effects of correlated colour temperature on experiences, performance, and arousal , 2017 .

[13]  Guy R. Newsham,et al.  Lighting quality and energy-efficiency effects on task performance , 1998 .

[14]  M. Bates,et al.  The d2 Test of Attention: Construct validity and extensions in scoring techniques , 2004, Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.

[15]  Ferdinando Salata,et al.  Influence of lighting colour temperature on indoor thermal perception: A strategy to save energy from the HVAC installations , 2019, Energy and Buildings.

[16]  J. Scartezzini,et al.  Effects of realistic office daylighting and electric lighting conditions on visual comfort, alertness and mood , 2015 .

[17]  B. Shamsul,et al.  Effects of Light’s Colour Temperatures on Visual Comfort Level, Task Performances, and Alertness among Students , 2013 .

[18]  Steve Fotios,et al.  Perception of electric light sources of different colour properties , 1997 .

[19]  Semiha Yilmazer,et al.  The effects of achromatic and chromatic color schemes on participants' task performance in and appraisals of an office environment , 2012 .

[20]  G. Chen,et al.  Thermo-solvatochromism of chloro-nickel complexes in 1-hydroxyalkyl-3-methyl-imidazolium cation based ionic liquids , 2008 .

[21]  Sabine Hoffmann,et al.  Examination of the technical potential of near-infrared switching thermochromic windows for commercial building applications , 2014 .

[22]  Ivan P. Parkin,et al.  Energy modelling studies of thermochromic glazing , 2010 .

[23]  Richard Schechner,et al.  On Environmental Design. , 1971 .

[24]  S. Holm.  A Simple Sequentially Rejective Multiple Test Procedure , 1979 .

[25]  Wei Wu,et al.  Building environment information and human perceptual feedback collected through a combined virtual reality (VR) and electroencephalogram (EEG) method , 2020, Energy and Buildings.

[26]  Yupeng Wu,et al.  Evaluating the impact of viewing location on view perception using a virtual environment , 2020, Building and Environment.

[27]  M. Friedman.  The Use of Ranks to Avoid the Assumption of Normality Implicit in the Analysis of Variance , 1937 .

[28]  R. A. Mangkuto,et al.  The effects of illuminance, colour temperature, and colour rendering of various existing light-emitting diode lamps on subjective preference and performance in Indonesia , 2018, Journal of Building Engineering.

[29]  W. Davis,et al.  How correlated colour temperature manipulates human thermal perception and comfort , 2020, Building and Environment.

[30]  R. G. Mistrick,et al.  Visual Performance and Visual Clarity under Electric Light Sources: Part II—Visual Clarity , 1998 .

[31]  Seden Odabaşıoğlu,et al.  Effects of Coloured Lighting on the Perception of Interior Spaces , 2015, Perceptual and motor skills.

[32]  Robin Wilson,et al.  An exploration of the combined effects of NIR and VIS spectrally selective thermochromic materials on building performance , 2019, Energy and Buildings.

[33]  Hong Ye,et al.  Smart or not? A theoretical discussion on the smart regulation capacity of vanadium dioxide glazing , 2014 .

[34]  Ivan P. Parkin,et al.  Atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition of thermochromic tungsten doped vanadium dioxide thin films for use in architectural glazing , 2009 .

[35]  M. Sliwinski,et al.  Field study of office worker responses to fluorescent lighting of different CCT and lumen output , 2014 .

[36]  Anca D. Galasiu,et al.  Occupant preferences and satisfaction with the luminous environment and control systems in daylit offices: a literature review , 2006 .

[37]  Steve Fotios,et al.  A Revised Kruithof Graph Based on Empirical Data , 2017 .

[38]  P. Tregenza,et al.  Temporal effects on glare response from daylight , 2017 .

[39]  Zongtao Zhang,et al.  Nanoceramic VO2 thermochromic smart glass: A review on progress in solution processing , 2012 .

[40]  Robert Gifford,et al.  Effects of warm white, cool white and full-spectrum fluorescent lighting on simple cognitive performance, mood and ratings of others , 1989 .

[41]  Mpj Mariëlle Aarts,et al.  Visual performance of red luminescent solar concentrating windows in an office environment , 2016 .

[42]  Kemal Yildirim,et al.  Effects of indoor color on mood and cognitive performance , 2007 .

[43]  PJC Sleegers,et al.  Lighting affects students’ concentration positively: Findings from three Dutch studies , 2013 .

[44]  Rong-Hwa Huang,et al.  Effects of correlated color temperature on focused and sustained attention under white LED desk lighting , 2015 .

[45]  J. Ball,et al.  Statistics review 6: Nonparametric methods , 2002, Critical care.

[46]  E. Tetri,et al.  Effects of Correlated Colour Temperature and Timing of Light Exposure on Daytime Alertness in Lecture Environments , 2010 .

[47]  Jeong Tai Kim,et al.  View types and luminance effects on discomfort glare assessment from windows , 2012 .

[48]  Dihua Wang,et al.  Solar‐thermochromism of Pseudocrystalline Nanodroplets of Ionic Liquid–NiII Complexes Immobilized inside Translucent Microporous PVDF Films , 2009 .

[49]  C. Ferguson.  An effect size primer: A guide for clinicians and researchers. , 2009 .

[50]  H. Holling,et al.  Retest effects in cognitive ability tests: A meta-analysis , 2018 .

[51]  M. Friedman.  A Comparison of Alternative Tests of Significance for the Problem of $m$ Rankings , 1940 .

[52]  Robin Wilson,et al.  Evaluation of the thermal and optical performance of thermochromic windows for office buildings in China , 2018, Energy and Buildings.

[53]  Banu Manav,et al.  An experimental study on the appraisal of the visual environment at offices in relation to colour temperature and illuminance , 2007 .

[54]  Ivan P. Parkin,et al.  Nano-composite thermochromic thin films and their application in energy-efficient glazing , 2010 .

[55]  Stefano Schiavon,et al.  A Bayesian method of evaluating discomfort due to glare: The effect of order bias from a large glare source , 2018, Building and Environment.

[56]  Sihai Chen,et al.  Tungsten-doped vanadium dioxide thin films on borosilicate glass for smart window application , 2013 .