TY - JOUR
T1 - Shading control strategy to avoid visual discomfort by using a low-cost camera: a field study of two cases
AU - Goovaerts, Charlotte
AU - Descamps, Filip
AU - Jacobs, Valéry Ann
PY - 2017/11/15
Y1 - 2017/11/15
N2 - Daylighting in offices creates a comfortable and healthy working environment for its users. However, maximizing the amount of daylight can cause visual hindrance. To improve the visual and thermal comfort for the users, designers implement shading systems, which control the transmitted solar and visual radiation. To ensure a comfortable indoor environment, designers need to choose an appropriate control strategy. Different control strategies exist, but the acceptance and satisfaction of the user regarding these strategies remains quite low. Therefore, we developed a control strategy that is based on the comfort requirements of the users. The control strategy aims at avoiding visual discomfort for the user, while optimizing for daylight availability and improving user satisfaction by providing the possibility to override the automated control of the shading system. This is the first study where a shading device is controlled by a controller system with a low-resolution camera. The controller system captures High Dynamic Range images and evaluates a visual comfort parameter, namely the ‘Daylight Glare Probability’. The system controls the actuator of the shading device based on the assessed level of comfort. This paper demonstrates two experimental case studies where the controller system and the control strategy are implemented. The controller system is able to keep the visual hindrance below a predefined limit, while sufficient daylight can still enter the office room.
AB - Daylighting in offices creates a comfortable and healthy working environment for its users. However, maximizing the amount of daylight can cause visual hindrance. To improve the visual and thermal comfort for the users, designers implement shading systems, which control the transmitted solar and visual radiation. To ensure a comfortable indoor environment, designers need to choose an appropriate control strategy. Different control strategies exist, but the acceptance and satisfaction of the user regarding these strategies remains quite low. Therefore, we developed a control strategy that is based on the comfort requirements of the users. The control strategy aims at avoiding visual discomfort for the user, while optimizing for daylight availability and improving user satisfaction by providing the possibility to override the automated control of the shading system. This is the first study where a shading device is controlled by a controller system with a low-resolution camera. The controller system captures High Dynamic Range images and evaluates a visual comfort parameter, namely the ‘Daylight Glare Probability’. The system controls the actuator of the shading device based on the assessed level of comfort. This paper demonstrates two experimental case studies where the controller system and the control strategy are implemented. The controller system is able to keep the visual hindrance below a predefined limit, while sufficient daylight can still enter the office room.
KW - Control strategy
KW - Daylight glare probability
KW - High dynamic range
KW - Low-resolution camera
KW - Manual override
KW - Visual discomfort
UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132317303827
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85028056091&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.buildenv.2017.08.030
DO - 10.1016/j.buildenv.2017.08.030
M3 - Article
VL - 125
SP - 26
EP - 38
JO - Building and Environment
JF - Building and Environment
SN - 0360-1323
ER -