Multi-objective Optimization of Natural Lighting Design in Reading Area of Higher Education Libraries

The lighting conditions of university libraries directly influence reading comfort, learning efficiency, and energy consumption. However, the current lighting design still faces problems such as uneven illumination distribution, severe glare, low utilization of natural light and high energy consumption. Especially in the reading area, due to insufficient lighting control, the light in some areas is too bright or too dark, which affects visual comfort and increases energy consumption. To this end, this study proposes a novel multi-objective optimization framework that effectively balances illumination uniformity, visual comfort, and energy efficiency using NSGA-II, outperforming conventional single-objective methods. The experimental results indicate that after optimization, illumination uniformity improved significantly from less than 0.1 to a stable range of 0.6–0.75, the average monthly energy consumption reduced by approximately 20%, and the natural lighting area expanded by approximately 25% (500m²). Unlike previous research that focuses solely on either energy efficiency or visual comfort, this study integrates multiple critical lighting parameters into a unified optimization framework, achieving a better balance between energy efficiency, lighting uniformity, and visual comfort.