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Lighting in Buildings—2nd Edition
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Lighting in Buildings—2nd Edition

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Energy, Physics, Environment, and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 5538

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Dorukalp Durmus

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Guest Editor
Department of Architectural Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
Interests: human factors; illumination engineering; adaptive lighting; color science
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Wenye Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Architecture, Design and Planning, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Interests: smart lighting; illumination design; human-centric lighting; indoor environment quality; spectrum optimization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Lambros T. Doulos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Applied Arts and Sustainable Design, Lighting Design Laboratory, Hellenic Open University, 26335 Patra, Greece
Interests: daylight; exterior lighting; lighting control; lighting design; lighting measurements; photosensors; road and tunnel lighting; sustainable lighting
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Lighting in the built environment has evolved since the rapid uptake of solid-state lighting (SSL) devices. Over the last few decades, energy efficiency has played an important role in lighting research, application, and standardization. However, improvements to the efficiency of individual luminaries have reached a plateau. Our growing understanding of the human visual and non-image forming effects of light has highlighted the importance of balancing occupants’ needs and energy efficiency. Sensors and advanced controls now enable intelligent building lighting systems to meet these competing goals.

Several relevant studies have already been published in the first volume of this Special Issue. You can find them at the following link: [https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings/special_issues/ACID9W6123]. In light of recent progress, this Special Issue aims to provide insight into research on new approaches for building lighting systems and their implications for occupants. We invite original research (laboratory, field, and cross-sectional studies), theoretical and experimental studies, case studies, communications, and comprehensive review papers for possible publication. Relevant topics for this Special Issue include the following:

  • Adaptive intelligent lighting systems;
  • Human visual response to lighting;
  • Human non-image forming responses to lighting;
  • Modeling and evaluating energy efficiency and lighting application efficacy;
  • Daylight in buildings;
  • Lighting and color in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications;
  • Novel applications of SSL devices in buildings;
  • Policy, building standards, and recommendations.

Dr. Dorukalp Durmus
Dr. Wenye Hu
Dr. Lambros T. Doulos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • illumination engineering
  • visual comfort
  • performance
  • complexity
  • clarity
  • energy efficiency and lighting application efficacy
  • lighting simulation
  • extended reality (XR)
  • solid-state lighting

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 3767 KiB  
Article
Multi-Objective Optimization of Natural Lighting Design in Reading Areas of Higher Education Libraries
by Xiao Cui and Chi-Won Ahn
Buildings 2025, 15(9), 1560; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15091560 - 5 May 2025
Viewed by 340
Abstract
Effective natural lighting in university library reading areas significantly influences users’ visual comfort, task performance, and energy efficiency. However, existing library lighting designs often exhibit problems such as uneven illumination, excessive glare, and underutilization of natural daylight. To address these challenges, this study [...] Read more.
Effective natural lighting in university library reading areas significantly influences users’ visual comfort, task performance, and energy efficiency. However, existing library lighting designs often exhibit problems such as uneven illumination, excessive glare, and underutilization of natural daylight. To address these challenges, this study proposes a multi-objective optimization framework for library lighting design based on the NSGA-II algorithm. The framework targets the following three key objectives: improving illuminance uniformity, enhancing visual comfort, and reducing lighting energy consumption. The optimization process incorporates four critical visual comfort parameters—desktop illuminance, correlated color temperature, background reflectance, and screen luminance—whose weights were determined using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) with input from domain experts. A parametric building information model (BIM) was developed in Revit, and lighting simulations were conducted in DIALux Evo to evaluate different design alternatives. Experimental validation was carried out in an actual library setting, with illuminance data collected from five representative measurement points. The results showed that after optimization, lighting uniformity improved from less than 0.1 to 0.6–0.75, glare values (UGR) remained below 22, and daylight area coverage increased by 25%. Moreover, lighting energy consumption was reduced by approximately 20%. Statistical analysis confirmed the significance of the improvements (p < 0.001). This study provides a systematic and reproducible method for optimizing natural lighting in educational spaces and offers practical guidance for energy-efficient and user-centered library design. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lighting in Buildings—2nd Edition)
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15 pages, 3241 KiB  
Article
Environmental Impacts of Light Sources in Buildings: Analysis of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) in European Union
by Endrit Hoxha, Seyed Morteza Hosseini, Bernardette Soust-Verdaguer and Jan de Boer
Buildings 2025, 15(8), 1279; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15081279 - 14 Apr 2025
Viewed by 450
Abstract
Benchmark studies of the environmental impacts of buildings often overlook the contribution of lighting systems. This omission presents a significant knowledge gap, especially given the growing focus on energy-efficient technologies and sustainable building designs. To address this gap, the life cycle assessment method [...] Read more.
Benchmark studies of the environmental impacts of buildings often overlook the contribution of lighting systems. This omission presents a significant knowledge gap, especially given the growing focus on energy-efficient technologies and sustainable building designs. To address this gap, the life cycle assessment method was used to calculate the environmental impacts of lighting systems, focusing on the Global Warming Potential (GWP) indicator. An in-depth review of databases and programs across the 27 European Union member states was also conducted. The study analyzed both the absolute and relative contributions of lighting systems to the overall environmental impacts of buildings, with a specific focus on the situation in Denmark. A total of 101 Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) covering 753 LED lighting products were identified. Material-related impacts accounted for 1–12% of the total GWP, while energy used during operations contributed 6–24%. These results emphasize the importance of both embodied and operational impacts. Improving the luminous efficacy of lighting systems emerges as a more effective and feasible strategy to reduce a building’s GWP than lowering overall energy use or grid carbon intensity. In countries with high-carbon electricity, reducing the operational impacts is critical. Elsewhere, selecting lighting systems with low embodied impacts is also essential. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lighting in Buildings—2nd Edition)
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12 pages, 1930 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Color Contrast on the Visual Clarity of Images of Complex Indoor Environments
by Yuwei Wang and Dorukalp Durmus
Buildings 2025, 15(7), 1157; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15071157 - 2 Apr 2025
Viewed by 796
Abstract
Color contrast creates visual interest, increases attention, and enhances legibility in the indoor environment. Past studies have suggested that color contrast enhances visual clarity due to the color opponency mechanism of the visual system, especially when two opposing colored samples are seen side [...] Read more.
Color contrast creates visual interest, increases attention, and enhances legibility in the indoor environment. Past studies have suggested that color contrast enhances visual clarity due to the color opponency mechanism of the visual system, especially when two opposing colored samples are seen side by side, such as red–green or yellow–blue. However, these studies were limited to solid single-colored samples, which falls short on representing the built environment with its complex distributions of colors and objects. This study explores the validity of the “color contrast–visual clarity” hypothesis for complex images of indoor built environments. Twenty images of indoor environments were selected from an image database to represent a wide range of colorfulness and spatial complexity (ranging from simple to complex). Forty new images were generated by increasing the colorfulness of either the red and green or blue and yellow sections of the original 20 images using an image editing software. Forty participants assessed the visual preference, clarity, colorfulness, and complexity of the 60 images. No statistically significant difference was found between red–green or yellow–blue enhanced images and original images. However, an observable trend indicated a linear relationship between visual clarity and colorfulness. In addition, participants preferred saturated images over original images. While the findings suggest potential trends, the lack of significant effects warrants cautious interpretation, and further research is needed to explore the impact of color contrast in more controlled settings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lighting in Buildings—2nd Edition)
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19 pages, 6612 KiB  
Article
Efficient Daylighting: The Importance of Glazing Transmittance and Room Surface Reflectance
by Isabel Escobar, Elvira Orduna-Hospital, Justiniano Aporta and Ana Sanchez-Cano
Buildings 2024, 14(10), 3108; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14103108 - 27 Sep 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1216
Abstract
This study quantitatively analyzes the influence of the spectral characteristics, reflectance or transmittance, of different materials on the lighting of an interior space with natural and artificial light. For this purpose, a three-dimensional simulated classroom is used, where each of the components is [...] Read more.
This study quantitatively analyzes the influence of the spectral characteristics, reflectance or transmittance, of different materials on the lighting of an interior space with natural and artificial light. For this purpose, a three-dimensional simulated classroom is used, where each of the components is assigned specific materials with an associated reflectance or transmittance. Additionally, two types of lighting are available: 6500 K daylight and light from six continuous spectrum LED luminaires. The lighting is evaluated on two planes: the work plane and the corneal plane (80 cm and 120 cm from the floor, respectively). Three versions of the same classroom were analyzed by varying the walls (white, blue, and red), each with a different neutral-colored floor. Furthermore, calculations were performed in each situation considering two different types of glazing in the windows, with 20% and 88% transmittance. The photopic and melanopic lighting analysis was carried out with the ALFA calculation program to verify the necessary requirements for adequate lighting. The results show that the white classroom is the best lit, followed by the blue and finally the red, due to the reflectance characteristics of the walls and floor although slight differences among them are found. It was found that in some cases, additional auxiliary luminaires would be required for proper lighting depending on the transmittance of the glazing. This study highlights the critical role of material selection in optimizing both photopic and melanopic lighting, with practical implications for energy efficiency and occupant well-being in educational spaces. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lighting in Buildings—2nd Edition)
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25 pages, 27011 KiB  
Article
Light as a Form of Visual Language Supporting Daily Schedules in Educational Spaces: A Design Framework
by Stavroula Angelaki and Georgios A. Triantafyllidis
Buildings 2024, 14(5), 1385; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14051385 - 12 May 2024
Viewed by 1881
Abstract
This study explores how lighting can be employed as a visual language to enhance communication between the space and its users and develop a design framework for educational spaces. A primary school is used as a case study to apply the proposed design [...] Read more.
This study explores how lighting can be employed as a visual language to enhance communication between the space and its users and develop a design framework for educational spaces. A primary school is used as a case study to apply the proposed design framework. The study focuses on lighting interventions in existing educational spaces to support daily schedules and transitions between activities. In this context, electric light is used as an indicator, highlighting the daily schedule and activities in the space. A theoretical approach is used as a foundation for establishing the design framework that leads to lighting proposals based on the specific spatial characteristics of each study. The outcome is a design solution based on the dominant spatial elements that define the space’s identity and function. The study focuses on educational spaces and lighting for peripheral vision while considering pupils’ visual and spatial development. The proposal has the role of an additional light layer that signals transitions in terms of activities or spatial mobility. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lighting in Buildings—2nd Edition)
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