IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i14p7264-d589961.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Natural Lighting in Historic Houses during Times of Pandemic. The Case of Housing in the Mediterranean Climate

Author

Listed:
  • Carmen Muñoz-González

    (Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura, University of Málaga, 29071 Málaga, Spain)

  • Jonathan Ruiz-Jaramillo

    (Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura, University of Málaga, 29071 Málaga, Spain)

  • Teresa Cuerdo-Vilches

    (Instituto de Ciencias de la Construcción Eduardo Torroja, (IETcc), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 28033 Madrid, Spain)

  • Maria Dolores Joyanes-Díaz

    (Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura, University of Málaga, 29071 Málaga, Spain)

  • Laura Montiel Vega

    (Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura, University of Málaga, 29071 Málaga, Spain)

  • Victor Cano-Martos

    (Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura, University of Málaga, 29071 Málaga, Spain)

  • Miguel Ángel Navas-Martín

    (Escuela Nacional de Sanidad, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), 28029 Madrid, Spain)

Abstract

The pandemic generated by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has led to a forced increase in the number of hours spent at home. In many cases, the lockdown situations, both in social and work terms, have meant that homes have suddenly also become workplaces. Based on all the indicators, this new relational scenario in the labor market displays a clear upward trend and is far from being a temporary situation. It is known that sunlight affects people’s circadian rhythm and that its reduction and even absence during this period of isolation has had a psychological impact on the population. This makes it necessary to reconsider the regulations applied in homes, in order to guarantee their habitability, given their recent widespread use as offices, as well as domestic spaces. In historic centers, the comprehensive renovations being carried out include improvements in energy efficiency and thermal comfort, which play a fundamental role. However, the energy consumption linked to artificial lighting and the quality of this lighting itself have remained in the background, as improvement strategies consist mainly in the replacement of incandescent or fluorescent lamps with LED lamps. Prior to the pandemic, the electric consumption of lighting systems accounted for 10–15% of the total, a figure which increased to 40–50% during the lockdown period. Aiming to improve people’s well-being while reducing energy expenditure on lighting, this article presents a quantitative approach to improving the levels of natural lighting in residential heritage buildings located in historic centers. According to data obtained from previous surveys of a sector of the population, homes built prior to 1950 were characterized by good natural lighting conditions and a very low incidence of health issues among occupants compared to contemporary homes. The objective was to quantify the circadian stimulus and lighting levels and to identify the areas or work areas in homes in order to optimize consumption related to lighting and to generate healthy and comfortable spaces. Results show that historic homes have enough naturally lit areas to perform office work during business hours. However, in the most unfavorable seasons, winter and autumn, it is necessary to use artificial lighting at the start and end of the working day.

Suggested Citation

  • Carmen Muñoz-González & Jonathan Ruiz-Jaramillo & Teresa Cuerdo-Vilches & Maria Dolores Joyanes-Díaz & Laura Montiel Vega & Victor Cano-Martos & Miguel Ángel Navas-Martín, 2021. "Natural Lighting in Historic Houses during Times of Pandemic. The Case of Housing in the Mediterranean Climate," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-17, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:14:p:7264-:d:589961
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/14/7264/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/14/7264/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jiang, Peng & Fan, Yee Van & Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír, 2021. "Impacts of COVID-19 on energy demand and consumption: Challenges, lessons and emerging opportunities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kokoro Natomi & Haruka Kato & Daisuke Matsushita, 2022. "Work-Related Stress of Work from Home with Housemates Based on Residential Types," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-14, March.
    2. Eva Hernandez-Garcia & Evangelia Chrysikou & Anastasia Z. Kalea, 2021. "The Interplay between Housing Environmental Attributes and Design Exposures and Psychoneuroimmunology Profile—An Exploratory Review and Analysis Paper in the Cancer Survivors’ Mental Health Morbidity ," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-32, October.
    3. Miguel Ángel Navas-Martín & José Antonio López-Bueno & Ignacio Oteiza & Teresa Cuerdo-Vilches, 2021. "Routines, Time Dedication and Habit Changes in Spanish Homes during the COVID-19 Lockdown. A Large Cross-Sectional Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-16, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Małgorzata Sztorc, 2022. "The Implementation of the European Green Deal Strategy as a Challenge for Energy Management in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-21, April.
    2. Zhong, Meirui & Zhang, Rui & Ren, Xiaohang, 2023. "The time-varying effects of liquidity and market efficiency of the European Union carbon market: Evidence from the TVP-SVAR-SV approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    3. M. A. Hannan & M. S. Abd Rahman & Ali Q. Al-Shetwi & R. A. Begum & Pin Jern Ker & M. Mansor & M. S. Mia & M. J. Hossain & Z. Y. Dong & T. M. I. Mahlia, 2022. "Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Severity on Environment, Economy and Society towards Affecting Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-23, November.
    4. Ana Salomé García-Muñiz & María Rosalía Vicente, 2021. "The Effects of Informational Feedback on the Energy Consumption of Online Services: Some Evidence for the European Union," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-14, May.
    5. Michal Brzezinski, 2021. "The impact of past pandemics on CO$_2$ emissions and transition to renewable energy," Papers 2104.14199, arXiv.org.
    6. Tomasz Rokicki & Radosław Jadczak & Adam Kucharski & Piotr Bórawski & Aneta Bełdycka-Bórawska & András Szeberényi & Aleksandra Perkowska, 2022. "Changes in Energy Consumption and Energy Intensity in EU Countries as a Result of the COVID-19 Pandemic by Sector and Area Economy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-26, August.
    7. Wang, Kai-Hua & Su, Chi-Wei & Lobonţ, Oana-Ramona & Umar, Muhammad, 2021. "Whether crude oil dependence and CO2 emissions influence military expenditure in net oil importing countries?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    8. Lauma Balode & Kristiāna Dolge & Dagnija Blumberga, 2021. "The Contradictions between District and Individual Heating towards Green Deal Targets," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-26, March.
    9. Chaofeng Tang & Kentaka Aruga, 2021. "Effects of the 2008 Financial Crisis and COVID-19 Pandemic on the Dynamic Relationship between the Chinese and International Fossil Fuel Markets," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-11, May.
    10. Schulte-Fischedick, Marta & Shan, Yuli & Hubacek, Klaus, 2021. "Implications of COVID-19 lockdowns on surface passenger mobility and related CO2 emission changes in Europe," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 300(C).
    11. Tomasz Wołowiec & Iuliia Myroshnychenko & Ihor Vakulenko & Sylwester Bogacki & Anna Maria Wiśniewska & Svitlana Kolosok & Vitaliy Yunger, 2022. "International Impact of COVID-19 on Energy Economics and Environmental Pollution: A Scoping Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-26, November.
    12. Jesús Marquina & María José Colinet & María del P. Pablo-Romero, 2021. "Measures to Promote Olive Grove Biomass in Spain and Andalusia: An Opportunity for Economic Recovery against COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-33, October.
    13. Adam Rose & Terrie Walmsley & Dan Wei, 2021. "Spatial transmission of the economic impacts of COVID-19 through international trade," Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 169-196, August.
    14. Ayi Ahadiat & Fajrin Satria Dwi Kesumah & Rialdi Azhar & Febryan Kusuma Wisnu, 2023. "Strategic Decision-Making on Mining Sector Company Stock Prices and Economic Variable (State Space Model Application)," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 13(3), pages 177-184, May.
    15. Mohammed, Sayeed & Desha, Cheryl & Goonetilleke, Ashantha, 2022. "Investigating low-carbon pathways for hydrocarbon-dependent rentier states: Economic transition in Qatar," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    16. Iryna Sotnyk & Tetiana Kurbatova & Oleksandr Kubatko & Olha Prokopenko & Gunnar Prause & Yevhen Kovalenko & Galyna Trypolska & Uliana Pysmenna, 2021. "Energy Security Assessment of Emerging Economies under Global and Local Challenges," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-20, September.
    17. Casper Boongaling Agaton, 2022. "Will a Geopolitical Conflict Accelerate Energy Transition in Oil-Importing Countries? A Case Study of the Philippines from a Real Options Perspective," Resources, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-17, June.
    18. Viktorija Bobinaite & Inga Konstantinaviciute & Arvydas Galinis & Ausra Pazeraite & Vaclovas Miskinis & Mindaugas Cesnavicius, 2023. "Energy Sufficiency in the Passenger Transport of Lithuania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-21, March.
    19. Cerqueira, Pedro André & Pereira da Silva, Patrícia, 2023. "Assessment of the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on electricity consumption – Evidence from Portugal and Spain," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    20. Wang, Qiang & Li, Shuyu & Zhang, Min & Li, Rongrong, 2022. "Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on oil consumption in the United States: A new estimation approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PC).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:14:p:7264-:d:589961. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.