Optimal design of outdoor lighting systems by genetic algorithms

The use of genetic algorithms for the optimal design of lighting systems is illustrated and discussed. The lighting of an outdoor tennis court and of a football field are considered as case-studies. The main aims of the paper are: 1) the evaluation of the performance of the genetic algorithm strategies in comparison with more traditional optimization procedures e.g., Montecarlo and gradient methods, through the study of a relatively simple lighting installation, an outdoor tennis court, whose optimal design solution is calculated in a relatively short time by the analysis of all the possible design alternatives; and 2) the evaluation of the performance of the genetic algorithm strategies applied to the design of a larger and more complex lighting system i.e., that for an outdoor football field, for which a comparison between the results obtained through the optimization procedure and those relevant to an existing lighting installation is examined and discussed. Considerations on both the computational times required and the calculation accuracy obtained are also reported.