Assessing the Accuracy of Multispectral Simulation Tools for Predicting Non-Visual Lighting Metrics in Sports Hall Building

Sports hall buildings are widely utilized as fitness facilities where the occupants can engage in physical activities to promote their health and well-being. Lighting system within the sports hall buildings must therefore meet several requirements, including those for the emerging non-visual lighting metrics, in support of the health and well-being requirement. Inaccurate prediction of non-visual lighting metrics in such spaces can lead to suboptimal lighting design, potentially affecting the performance and overall experience. Existing validation studies in the literature mostly focused on office buildings, which have fundamentally different characteristics compared to sports facilities. This research thus focuses on the assessment of accuracy of multispectral lighting simulation workflows for the scenarios of electric lighting in sports halls. Field measurements of vertical illuminance and spectral irradiance were conducted at five badminton courts in a sports hall, which were compared with simulations using Lark. Calibration was conducted by adjusting the lower-bound wavelength values and applying calibration factors to each spectral channel in Lark. After calibration, the percentage error of vertical illuminance was reduced to an acceptable level of -0.4% to +1.5%. Overall, this study highlights the importance of incorporating accurate simulation input and calibrated multispectral tools in sports hall lighting design.