Degree of eye opening: A new discomfort glare indicator

YAMIN GARRETÓN, JULIETA ALEJANDRA; RODRIGUEZ, ROBERTO; RUIZ, ANGÉLICA; CORIA, LORENA; PATTINI, ANDREA; ENDRIZZI, MARTÍN; MARTÍNEZ, CLAUDIA; CANTÓN, M. ALICIA

BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2015 vol. 88 p. 142 - 150

0360-1323

The degree of eye opening (DEO) is proposed as a new indicator of glare in sunny climates in the presence of direct sunlight. A laboratory experiment was carried out (n ¼ 20) in a simulated office space where volunteers performed computer office tasks. Four lighting situations, based on ranges of vertical illuminance at the eye level were evaluated. By means of a visible spectrum eye-tracker DEO was registered in each scenario. The proposed indicator was obtained by mathematical iterations and showed a good correlation with: vertical illuminance at the eye (r ¼ 0.503; a ¼ 0.0001), Daylight Glare Probability (DGP) (r ¼ 0.649; a ¼ 0.0001) and Glare Sensation Vote (GSV) (r ¼ 0.580; a ¼ 0.0001). This new indicator operates in a broad range of lighting conditions, from a low vertical illuminance at the eye scenario with diffuse daylight to a very high vertical illuminance at the eye scenario with uncontrolled direct sunlight. The proposed new indicator satisfies the following criteria: high validity, reliability, diagnostic power and acceptability and it also addresses unresolved aspects of current glare predictive models: GSV, DGP and DGI.