Research project combines dynamic daylight and artificial light

Copenhagen, October 22, 2020. A new approach to lighting design and technology is the focus of the Double Dynamic Lighting project conducted by the renowned Aalborg University in Copenhagen, supported and accompanied by several leading lighting companies. The research team led by Prof. Ellen Kathrine Hansen is exploring the combination of dynamic daylight and artificial light in a spatial context and opening up a new dimension for architects and lighting experts in supporting individual needs and different working requirements.

In a unique collaborative project, partners from the fields of lighting technology and solutions, including Tridonic, iGuzzini, Fagerhult and Zumtobel, have been working with Aalborg University for the past three years. “Rethinking Light” was the idea that inspired leading companies in the lighting industry to join forces in supporting new fundamental research into dynamic lighting by Aalborg University in Copenhagen.

The Double Dynamic Lighting (DDL) research project sets the guidelines for comfortable illumination of workplaces by combining direct and diffuse dynamic daylight and artificial light. The new approach of DDL will have a positive impact on perceived atmosphere, visual comfort, and work engagement. The results demonstrate the potential to use new sensor and lighting technologies to meet human needs. The project team produced proposals for lighting scenes based on the natural course of the daylight as well as current sky conditions. By exploring how a responsive lighting technology that reacts to and complements daylight inflow can reconnect man and nature, the findings can help to form a more holistic design approach in the future.

The project is examining the spatial conditions in a dynamic lighting environment and their influence on the well-being of users. Practical design guidelines are being developed, tested and implemented in a series of investigations. This work is being conducted in existing working environments with dynamic light, in lighting laboratories at Aalborg University and in interactive, three-dimensional computer models.

The results of the field study demonstrate that it is possible to define dynamic light settings in response to the dynamics of daylight through a combination of direct and diffuse lighting. DDL was validated to have a positive impact on perceived atmosphere, visual comfort, and work engagement compared to static lighting. In general, it was confirmed that the combination of directional task lighting and diffuse ambient lighting in response to sky types and measured daylight levels in the workspace was preferred to standard static diffuse lighting.

An analysis of responses from interviewees reveals a large difference in perceived visual comfort between dynamic and static lighting periods, indicating that working with light zones and with direct and diffuse lighting components and uneven light distribution enable a high level of visual comfort to be achieved. The industry partners added their practical application knowledge and worked hand in hand with the university.

Prof. Ellen Kathrine Hansen, Head of Lighting Design in the Department of Architecture, Design & Media Technology, has this to say about the study: “The aim of the study is to apply an innovative mix of methods to create a holistic approach to lighting planning which can then function as a seal of quality in the lighting industry. A combination of biological, aesthetic and functional aspects will form the basis for the design process.”

Statements from the participating companies:

Karin Zumtobel-Chammah

Chairwoman Supervisory Board, Zumtobel Group AG

A fundamental element of our DNA is our desire to improve health and well-being by providing the best possible light for both people and the environment and by customising lighting solutions to the different areas of application. And of course, our research and development projects constantly aim to achieve these improvements.

We identified a great overlap between our research topics and the DDL project so we were convinced that the findings of this research on combining daylight and dynamic lighting technology would contribute to better health and well-being, and would help us understand certain topics much better. Working on a major project with different partners always augments the quality and relevance of the results. The set-up of this project was especially interesting, because some of the partners are actually our competitors. But since all of us were purely interested in investigating how the combination of daylight and dynamic lighting can contribute to better health and well-being, we were able to join forces and drive industry knowledge forwards.

Henrik Clausen

Director of Fagerhult Lighting Academy

For us it’s also about knowledge. It is a challenge to enhance our general lighting knowledge. We need to do that in order to take advantage of all the possibilities for health and well-being that lighting can give us.

We need to educate to create better awareness of how daylight and electric light function together. To get a handle on how to combine the dynamics of daylight and the dynamics of electrical light in the same installation. That's the basis of Double Dynamic Lighting. We need to spread this knowledge of how to combine daylight and electric light among lighting professionals in terms of design, planning, application and sales.

We have been working with Aalborg University on the research side of the DDL project because everything we do in product development and in sales is geared to bringing evidence-based lighting solutions to the market. Now we are preparing to bring knowledge to our partners, our staff and students in order to give them all a competitive advantage in the (still static) lighting market.

Peter Roos

Product & Project Solutions Director, iGuzzini

iGuzzini has always considered light as a tool for social innovation that can improve people's lives and well-being at every moment of every day. That is why our vision is ‘Social Innovation through Lighting’ and the reason why we have been conducting research on biodynamic light together with leading universities and institutes worldwide since 1988.

The idea of the DDL research is to find new lighting design guidelines for workspace lighting which will improve the well-being of end users. So in the first instance it will be “all of us” living and working in spaces illuminated by applied DDL design guidelines who will benefit from the DDL research findings. We at iGuzzini believe that the lighting design community together with architects and lighting professionals will embrace the idea of Double Dynamic Lighting to create beautiful spaces we’ll love to live in.

Hugo Rohner

CEO Tridonic

As a technology company of the lighting industry, Tridonic enables new solutions for customers and partners. DDL is a wonderful new challenge for us. We are transferring this fundamental research into solutions for our business partners. The first installation, which was set up at Aalborg University, is a great model for us and we are continually integrating the research in our installation at our headquarters and enabling our partners to have a DDL installation at their locations. In this way, we can learn more and continually develop the technology which is needed to implement DDL. We are sure that DDL will pave the way to lighting solutions which will provide individual answers to human needs and requirements.