The effect of illuminance on the performance of domestic kitchen work by two age groups

Abstract

Two groups, each of eight subjects, performed four representative kitchen tasks under four different illuminances. There is a large difference in the ages of the two groups, one group being all less than 20 years old, the other being all more than 60 years of age. Measurements were made of the time taken to do the tasks, the behaviour adopted by the subjects when doing the tasks, and the subjects' opinions of their satisfaction with the lighting, the difficulty of the tasks, and the effort required to perform them. Examination of the data collected showed that the older age group generally took longer to perform the tasks and, for some tasks, modified their behaviour to a greater extent than did the younger age group. Both age groups showed a significant improvement in ratings of satisfaction with the lighting for increased illuminances but changes in ratings of task difficulty and effort made with illuminance only occurred with some tasks. Overall, it was found that any differences that did occur in the performance and assessment of the tasks by the two age groups occurred at the lower illuminances. It is concluded that an illuminance of 100 Ix or more in a domestic kitchen would serve most people and most tasks reasonably well.