Bio-Clock-Aware Office Lighting Control

Abstract

In modern society, humans spend over 90% or their time indoors. However, despite the growing scientific understanding of the impact of light on biological mechanisms, benefits of this understanding are not harvested in practical systems. Existing light in the built environment, offices in particular, is designed predominantly to meet visual performance requirements. Increasing attention is being given to the biological effects of light, especially how it could be used to promote occupants’ health and well-being through the circadian functions that regulate sleep, mood, and alertness. While Human Centric Lighting is being offered based on generic insights on population average experiences, in this paper, we suggest a personalized bio-adaptive office lighting system, controlled to emit a lighting recipe tailored to the individual employee. We introduce a novel optimization algorithm that finds the best office lighting profile to achieve circadian alignment to the 24-hour cycle. The system aims to support employee’s circadian rhythm and ensure that they receive the right light at the right time of the day. In particular, we use existing, commonly accepted chronobiologic models to find the most effective light exposure pattern.