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Interview
Lighting Design: “The Right Light at the Right Time”

Mathias Wambsganß is Professor of Lighting Design and Building Technology at the Rosenheim University of Applied Sciences, sits on the board of the German Lighting Technology Association (LiTG) and is a founding partner of 3lpi, a lighting design studio in Munich. For the past 15 years, he has been involved in energy monitoring under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Economy, where he carves up buildings into “energy slices.” In this interview, Wambsganß talks about the use of carelessly selected lighting systems, missed savings potentials, and the absolute necessity of placing humans at the center of any design.

Lighting today is supposed to be as efficient as possible. At the same time, users want convenience. Can these requirements coexist?

Yes they can because highly efficient lighting means are now available. There is no longer the need to optimize a lighting system based solely on its energy consumption. In addition, energy consumption and its associated costs should always be considered relative to other costs. Personnel costs, for example, are a much larger line item in the corporate budget. Lighting an office costs, in the worst case scenario of low availability of natural light and long operating times, 8–10 euros per square meter per year. As a comparison, employers pay 5,000 euros and more per employee over the same time period measured according to the same space. Considered this way, we must absolutely stop measuring lighting solutions based primarily on their energy characteristics, and start placing a greater emphasis on lighting quality. Because ultimately, lighting exerts an enormous influence on the well-being of employees and their performance.