Occupants ' responses and use of different type of lighting controls: Design and validation of an instrument for measuring human perception of lighting control devices

This paper is a part of a research project studying human interaction with lighting control devices in public indoor environments. Factors such as the perception of the environment or objects may guide human behavior, therefore the perception of lighting related objects may have an impact on the behavior toward energy saving. This paper reports the development of a questionnaire for measuring human perception of different design features of lighting control devices. An empirical study with 111 students were conducted to investigate if participants’ responses to the devices corresponded to an original set-up of 7 criteria for designing lighting control devices, focusing on the use and energy saving in public indoor spaces. The participants assessed the devices according to a 30-item questionnaire. Six Indices were identified by means of exploratory factor analysis i.e., Readability, Visibility, Physical safety, User acceptance, Hygienic use, and Energy awareness and motivation, and 16 items corresponding to these indices were finalized. Cronbach’s α of the indices were satisfactory for all indices except Hygienic use. The questionnaire will be further developed. It will be used in order to obtain a description of what features that support optimal use and thereby facilitate energy saving.