IEA SHC Task 70: Integrated lighting with low carbon impact and high comfort

Project leader: David Geisler-Moroder

Project leader overall project (Operating Agent): Jan de Boer, Fraunhofer IBP Stuttgart

Project partner:

  • Bartenbach GmbH
  • HELLA Sonnen- und Wetterschutztechnik GmbH
Logo Bartenbach
Logo HELLA

 

Client: Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK)

Logo FFG
Logo Bundesministerium Klimaschutz, Umwelt, Energie, Mobilität, Innovation und Technologie
Logo IEA Forschungskooperation

 

Programme: Research cooperation with the International Energy Agency (IEA)

Duration: 01.01.2023 to 30.09.2026

Project website:

Summary

With the aim of decarbonising and making buildings sustainable in the sense of the circular economy, the focus on integrated lighting systems, which has been purely energy-based up to now, must be expanded to include the entire life cycle, with special consideration of visual and non-visual user requirements. The task will develop strategic, technical and economic information for the relevant stakeholders and offer networking activities.

Motivation

Lighting is responsible for 5% of global CO2 emissions and the associated impact on global warming. With 15% of global electricity consumption, lighting is in strong competition with existing and new consumers (e-mobility, heat pumps, etc.). Taxes on CO2 emissions, rising electricity prices and bottlenecks in the power supply are side effects of this. Daylight not only has a direct impact on the need for artificial light, but also has a direct, positive or negative impact on the heating and cooling loads in modern buildings through its influence on solar gains. In addition, grey energy, which is playing an increasingly important role in relative terms, must also be taken into account for artificial lighting and daylight systems. There is therefore an urgent need to expand the assessment of lighting solutions to include a holistic view of the effects on the CO2 balance over the entire life cycle (the lighting value chain), including in the context of regional energy market aspects, interactions with other trades, etc.

Contents and objectives

The IEA SHC Task 70 deals with systems for the general lighting of indoor spaces and the effects of buildings (especially their facades) on the built/urban environment, with a focus on non-residential buildings. Specifically, the project deals with the integration of

  1. daylight utilisation through improved façade technologies and architectural solutions with
  2. concepts for artificial lighting solutions, taking into account technology and planning approaches in the context of advancing digitalisation, as well as
  3. lighting control systems and strategies focussing on the interface between daylight and artificial light.

All this is considered under the major goal of decarbonisation and sustainability of buildings in the context of the circular economy and with special consideration of the visual and non-visual user requirements in the building. The task is therefore aimed at planners and consultants in the building sector (lighting / energy / building services), the relevant industry (façades, artificial lighting, lighting and building control, software companies), owners/investors and authorities. Strategic, technical and economic information is made available to them and networking activities are offered. The aim is to take a step towards overcoming hurdles in the identification and subsequent implementation of CO2-neutral lighting concepts and systems, thereby broadening the previous purely energy-based focus to include a view of the entire life cycle.

Austria will be represented in Task 70 by the University of Innsbruck, Energy Efficient Building Unit, Bartenbach GmbH and HELLA Sonnen- und Wetterschutztechnik GmbH and will participate in all four subtasks. The focus of Austrian participation is on Subtask C "Digitalised lighting solutions (technologies, planning tools and processes)", which is also being led.

IEA Task/Annex Proposal

Expected results

The main results of the task will be publicly available in summary reports on the programme website:

  • Low Carbon Lighting: Scenarios, Strategies and Roadmaps
  • Visual and Non-Visual User Requirements
  • Digitalised Lighting Solutions for low carbon build environments - Status quo and outlook
  • Low carbon daylighting and lighting solutions: practical applications

In addition, Subtask C will produce a white paper on the current state of the art in lighting design software and methods for analysing visual and non-visual effects. Parallel to the face-to-face project meetings, industry workshops will be organised to ensure the transfer of know-how between the task experts and the relevant stakeholders. A webinar focussing on "Low Tech, High Impact Lighting solution for sunbelt regions" is planned as part of the Solar Academy. In addition, a special issue in a relevant specialised journal will ensure dissemination in the academic community.

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