Understanding lighting users' preferences through a real experience approach using mixed methods

At present, most lighting systems operate following standards that do not adjust to the preferences and needs of the users, far less to the multiple changing tasks that they can develop. For a system to properly adapt to the needs and preferences of the users it would first be necessary to know: what do these users prefer and need? To answer this question, this paper proposes an experiment using qualitative data supported with quantitative data. This experiment is made up of 17 experiences in which on each occasion a different participant is working for 1 hour with 3 different lighting settings (neutral, cool, and warm) that change automatically. During this hour, in addition to their normal work with a computer or tablet, the participants must carry out various activities on paper. These participants can modify both the flux and the Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) of the lighting throughout the experience. At the end of each experience, users also participate individually in a semi-structured interview. The results of the analysis show that users are not comfortable with the standard settings and that they prefer to decide on the lighting settings themselves, either by creating profiles or modifying them manually. This work mostly concludes that for a lighting system to be able to adapt to the preferences and needs of the users, these systems must be flexible, allowing the users themselves to make the changes and adapt the lighting to their needs.