ABSTRACT
Over one third of a building’s energy consumption is designated for temperature regulation. Therefore, allowing more variations in the indoor temperature provides an energy-saving potential. Additionally, these variations are expected to have beneficial health effects of the building occupants. To compensate for potential discomfort due to these temperature variations, LED lighting may be used as light could influence thermal responses via (sub-)cortical brain regions.
Two laboratory studies were performed to examine the influence of different light conditions on both visual and thermal appraisals. Temperature was manipulated between these studies: one was performed in a thermoneutral environment (21°C), the other in a mild cold environment (17°C). In contrast, light was manipulated within the studies. On separate days, participants were exposed to different light conditions in terms of both colour temperature and intensity. Participants evaluated their visual and thermal experiences repeatedly throughout each experimental session. Although direct effects of light manipulations on thermal comfort did not reach significance, visual and thermal comfort were correlated and indirect cross-modal effects were observed. These findings could be applied in office environments to save energy by controlling the temperature less strictly and compensating potential thermal discomfort with visually comfortable light settings.
