The built environment has a great responsibility for energy consumption and carbon emissions worldwide. Thus, energy conservation in building plays a vital role in sustainable economic growth. Researchers from many disciplines have devoted to the field of design for energy-efficient buildings. However, human factors, as the way people interact or use the designed environment, are also fundamental. In particular, colour-temperature perceptual associations might be used to influence people’s thermal experiences. In this study, we presented two national groups of participants with four rooms in Virtual Reality (VR) to test the effect of coloured ambient light on the perceived thermal comfort, context of use and ambient atmosphere. The results showed that room-lighting could affect the thermal comfort perceived and its advantage for energy conservation. Detailed analyses and future developments are also discussed.

Authors: Siyuan Huang, Giulia Wally Scurati, Roberta Etzi, Francesco Ferrise, Serena Graziosi, Lavinia Chiara Tagliabue, Alberto Gallace, Monica Bordegoni