A Multi-Criteria Assessment Procedure for Outdoor Lighting at the Design Stage

Piotr Pracki, Krzysztof Skarżyński
2020 Sustainability  
This paper presents an attempt at a unified approach for the assessment of outdoor lighting solutions at the design stage. First of all, the lighting criteria for different types of outdoor lighting installations have been carefully described. Despite the differences in criteria, it is possible to find a common ground for the assessment of lighting solutions at the design stage. This is based on the need for the assessment of lighting solutions to be included in the requirements for the
more » ... environment, light pollution, and energy efficiency. The review and analysis of the standards and reports allows an experimental procedure to be created, the main aim of which is to find the best and most sustainable lighting solution for any outdoor situation. The procedure was tested by the example of an analysis of parking lot lighting solutions. In the case analyzed, 120 solutions were considered. It appeared that, in only 65 cases were the requirements referring to both lighting condition and light pollution met. Finally, based on the lighting energy efficiency assessment, ten solutions were selected as the most suitable. Furthermore, only one solution out of the ten was the most beneficial, taking into account the extra criterion of basic economic cost. The case study confirms that the assessment procedure allows the most beneficial solution to be selected, taking into account the luminous environment, as well as light pollution and energy efficiency criteria. The proposed multi-criteria assessment procedure may be used as a valuable tool by lighting designers to select the most beneficial solution in order to meet the needs of safety, visual efficiency, and comfort, as well as taking into account light pollution and energy efficiency restrictions.
doi:10.3390/su12041330 fatcat:22ixf7zxqnhrdi46sbaqo2opgy