An innovative lighting system for residential application that optimizes visual comfort and conserves energy for different user needs

• A sustainable house has been projected and built inside Solar Decathlon competition.
• Light system has been designed in order to minimize energy consumption.
• Presence and daylighting sensors have been integrated in building automation.
• Inhabitants behavior has been considered in energy consumption prediction.
• Flexibility of luminaries layout has been considered to minimize energy consumption.

The primary goal of the project is to design a lighting system that provides the highest visual comfort and conserves energy for different uses and furniture layouts, which considers that the design of the house will be used by many different users. Indoor system designs vary in layout, goals and optics with two levels of intervention: when initially furnished and during daily use. Lighting is managed by a building automation system, which is equipped with motion and daylight sensors and human interfaces with user scenarios. An outdoor design that requires only a standalone system and is powered by photovoltaic and eolic devices has been developed. All systems incorporate LED technology and have been custom-developed for Med in Italy, which resulted in new patents. Lighting system projects have been involved in several competitions, e.g., Med in Italy placed in the Solar Decathlon in Architecture, Electrical Energy Balance, House Functioning, and Sustainability and took third place in the final ranking. Further research developments are in progress and will be seen in next Solar Decathlon Europe in Paris in 2014. This paper describes the project, installation and analyses of the energy savings that the Medinitaly system can achieve compared with traditional solutions. Simulation data are compared with measured data from the period of the Solar Decathlon competition.