System of Circadian Lighting Based on Determination of Human Thermal Comfort Level

Abstract

Comfortable level is an important element that has considerable implications on circadian energy and the perception of lit environments. Light has been also defined in terms of the circadian system, but not only for human vision. Light source and systems development should consider the needs of both the visual and non-visual systems. Many complaints about indoor conditions are related to unsatisfactory thermal environments. Most research on Thermal Comfort (TC) considered physical parameters for settings and users yet marginalized the influence of user’s psychological aspects in the process of thermal sensation. This research examines the effect of mood states on human evaluation of the thermal environment in virtual settings. There are ten university participators from Technical university of Dresden have taken part in experiments. The experiment followed the "Lab 2.0" using climate controlled chamber and TC evaluation using psychological responses. Linear model was used to analyse the data. The results revealed a relationship between TC, mood state and quality of the indoor environment. Humans’ judgment on TC is a variable mental reaction. The research presents differences between the evaluation people to their thermal environments. This study expands research on the indoor environment quality and develops TC evaluation strategies.