An investigation into the achievable energy savings provided by low energy lighting systems and the corresponding levels of visual comfort

The energy consumption of buildings accounts for a significant amount of the total energy consumed by society. In the UK, domestic operational emissions currently accounts for over a quarter of the UK’s total CO2 emissions (ONS, 2008). Despite increasingly tougher legislation for building fabric performance unregulated appliance and lighting emissions have continued to rise in the UK (Boardman et al, 2005). Low energy lighting systems have the potential to provide significant energy savings in the building sector, yet realistic values for these energy savings are rarely defined. This paper investigates the current low energy lighting systems within use in the industry with special attention to control systems and also the occupant evaluation of light frequency and temperature spectrums in low energy systems. A review of recent academic research and studies that have used both simulation and real models was undertaken in order to quantify typical energy savings relevant to the system type. Visual comfort factors in terms of levels of light frequency and the temperature spectrums were then assessed and determined relative to the corresponding low energy lighting system and the findings of the systems compared.