Intelligent lighting controller for domestic and office environments

Abstract

The use of natural light instead of artificial light to conduct activities has been shown to havepositive physical and psychological effects in humans. Thus the growing trend of incorporating natural light in office spaces and households has created a need for control between the sources of natural and artificial light. Providing autonomous adequate natural light when it is present and compensating when the light level does not meet the required level, is the primary task of such controllers. Furthermore, saving energy by operating intelligently according to user presence and demand is the other aspect such controllers strive to achieve. The aim of the project is to develop a system which addresses aspects of controlling both natural and artificial light inside a room efficiently and at the same time being cost effective in installation. The project aims to develop a system which is adapted to conditions found in Sri Lanka and to research on the preference of light levels in defined groups of people (consisting of Sri Lankans). After which a mathematical model is developed to achieve the aforementioned criteria of balancing light sources to a user.