An Examination of a New Interior Lighting Design Methodology Using Mean Room Surface Exitance

This paper disseminates both new and previously-published findings to show how a whole new lighting design system can be easily implemented, whereby interior lighting is designed for appearance rather than visual performance alone. This paper presents the findings of multiple PhD research undertaken in the Dublin Institute of Technology that started in 2011 and continues. This paper is presented for a building services engineering audience and emphasises why there is a need for change, what it is that is proposed, the implications for existing practice, the benefits of the new design methodology, and the challenges remaining before it can be fully adopted in practice. Evidence is provided in this paper that MRSE is a better metric than horizontal illuminance in measuring people’s perceived adequacy of illumination in a room. Proof of concept is evidenced with respect to ensuring software can be easily developed for design using MRSE and in measuring MRSE easily in installations using HDR imaging. Typical values of MRSE in existing installations are presented.