Abstract
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 luminous 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.
Highlights
The main objective of an outdoor electric lighting application at night is the need for human safety [1]
Light pollution is directly connected to the energy wastage of an outdoor lighting installation, which results in the need for the energy efficiency issue to be immediately redefined [28]
The need to apply a multi-criteria procedure, based on the assessment of the luminous environment, light pollution, and energy efficiency seems to be a suitable approach to take for any outdoor lighting installation
Summary
The main objective of an outdoor electric lighting application at night is the need for human safety [1]. In the case of outdoor lighting, light pollution is a very important issue as well [20,21] This phenomenon is connected with many of the adverse effects against the environment, such as the reduced possibility of observing celestial bodies, the unprofitable impact on nocturnal living organisms and humans, or even the spread of selected diseases [22,23,24,25,26,27]. The need to apply a multi-criteria procedure, based on the assessment of the luminous environment, light pollution, and energy efficiency seems to be a suitable approach to take for any outdoor lighting installation. Some interesting papers can already be found in the literature, which prove that the use of multi-criteria assessment procedures provide great benefits, for engineering solutions, and for the entire environment [37,38]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
