Yellow is green: An opportunity for energy savings through colour in architectural spaces
This article examines the amount of energy consumes in building activities, and how this energy consumed can be reduced. In addition to it, artificial lighting has been considered a major source of energy consumption. This article was published in April 2014 and the lighting and color have been focused for the study due to their potential to reduce energy consumption. The writers had also presented a case study of assessment of people’s perception of different spaces with different lighting and color by letting them in. Technical measurements have also been considered throughout the process to compare the values and some assumptions have been made accordingly.
The discussion started with the statement of considering building industry as the major consumer of energy as well as the main source of greenhouse emissions in the atmosphere. The energy meant is the resources consumed in building throughout its process from its construction to its assembling stage and the energy which will be consumed during its life. During the life cycle of a building, the main energy consumption activities mentioned are heating, cooling, lighting, ventilation, appliances and others and the need of some strategies regarding these activities to save energy has also been suggested. According to the authors, the lighting and architecture need to be more focused to reduce energy consumption. All the designers are well aware of the fact that the amalgamation of daylighting concept in architecture is the best way to cut the energy consumptions in buildings. In order to achieve that, aspects like window, glazing, interior finishes, skylights, light shelves, light wells, and light pipes should be taken care of. However, the window and glazing designs are usually being focused, but according to the authors the other factors are also equally important, and the color is one of those important characteristics to be taken care of to shape the surface of a space.
Therefore, they argue although scientifically color is a physical property which depends upon the material’s reflecting property and incident light, but from designer’s point of view, it can be interpreted in terms of physiological factors and psychological factors. They portrayed the environment to be made up of colored surfaces and objects which are being perceived differently depending on their luminance. To support their writings, they had given references of some experiments which were conducted in the past by some experts. Most of them had compared color samples in relation to brightness and contrasts with lighter or darker backgrounds and the results extracted were more in scientific or mathematical calculations i.e. by comparing different light sources. However, a little research has been conducted from an architectural perspective, which has theoretically examined the effect of brightness and surface color in architectural spaces in terms of light perception. Furthermore, in order to understand the psychological and physiological response towards color, the perceptual reactions had also been studied and it had been concluded that colors even have the power to alter the mood of the users. He debates even if brightness and psychological and physiological judgments are important, but individual preferences should also be taken into considerations i.e. the user’s personal behavior in front of the lights, other than those of physical parameters. On the contrary, it had been said even if the amalgamation of natural light reduces the consumption of energy, it may lead to heat gain due to the concentration of solar heat in the space. In addition to it, some architectural solutions had also been suggested to treat this problem. But, if the radiation is not desired in the space, the color performances with light can also be taken into consideration to achieve better visual comfort in a space. According to the authors, likewise, the light perception gets affected by the color surfaces, and the use of colors helps in reducing the energy consumption, and in the same way, the higher sensation in lighting using fewer artificial fixtures might also help in energy savings. Taking this aspect into consideration, that how can different spaces respond by using different lighting and colors, an experiment has been conducted by them to practically analyze the effects.
To further support this theory, three spaces of similar dimensions had been created which were built in a measured way so as to have enough flexibility to move in and lighting conditions could also be regulated. These spaces were lumped together and painted with three different colors i.e. yellow, blue and grey, respectively. The main emphasis was given to the color yellow because according to previous experiments conducted in the International Association of Color Consultants seminars in the United States and Europe, yellow is the color to which people react the most. The other two colors were considered for the experiment because yellow and grey have the same reflective index and similarly blue has the same brightness level when lighted by the same lamps. Later on, some of the technical measurements with varying lighting conditions and colors within each space had been calculated. On the other hand, the group of people was asked to move in these spaces three times with three different setups and share their emotional perceptions towards the space. The main emphasis of the authors was to experiment the color yellow while taking different setups created by varying the light reaching the spaces and keeping the color temperature, lamps, and power given to the lamps constant. Thus, the experiments had considered both scientific and practical responses.
Furthermore, in the article, the effects of the color yellow in comparison with other colors with different lighting setups and its response in terms of energy consumption within the spaces had been analyzed. Although the experiment conducted has taken both scientific and practical approaches, and also explores the different atmospheres but it would have been better if the approach taken would have been portrayed in a more systematical manner. The whole method is creating a confusion of when the theoretical and the practical sessions were conducted and how they are relating to each other.
For the critical analysis, the following text has been considered from the page- 105- 108.
References:
López-Besora, J., Isalgué, A., Coch, H., Crespo, I. & Alonso, C. 2014, “Yellow is green: An opportunity for energy savings through colour in architectural spaces”, Energy & Buildings, 78, pp. 105-112.
SHEFALI 