Towards user centered building design: Identifying end-user lighting preferences via immersive virtual environments

• Participants' lighting preferences were collected in a virtual office.
• People had a strong preference for simulated daylight over electric light.
• People performed better when simulated daylighting was available.
• A framework is presented to integrate user data with building performance simulations.
• A case study is presented where lighting preferences are integrated to the design of the space.

In this paper, a systematic approach is presented to (1) collect end-user lighting-related behavior by using immersive virtual environments (IVEs) as an experimental tool, (2) integrate the collected data with building performance simulation (BPS) tools in order to translate behavioral information into quantitative measures (i.e., preferred lux level), and (3) incorporate user preference data for evaluating design alternatives with the objective of meeting end-user lighting preferences while reducing the building lighting-related energy consumption. To evaluate the applicability of this approach, 89 participants' lighting preferences, performance (reading speed and comprehension), personality traits, and environmental views were collected in IVEs. BPS tools were used to translate participants' lighting preferences into quantitative lux distributions, which were then used to evaluate alternative designs and make user-centered design decisions. The results of the experimental study show that participants preferred to have maximum simulated daylighting compared to electric lighting. Additionally, participants with some or maximum levels of simulated daylighting performed significantly better on the assigned reading and comprehension tasks than those that did not have any simulated daylighting available. Lastly, by collecting participant personality traits, it was observed that extroverts are significantly more likely to prefer maximum lighting (maximum electric lighting and simulated daylighting) compared to other people. To demonstrate how the collected data and results could be used during the design phase of buildings, as one example, a design case study is presented, in which the design of the same office space (as the experiment) is improved to meet participants' lighting preferences and increase the available simulated daylighting.