Assessments of Mean Reflectance Surface Exitance and Contrast in a Museum: Comparison Between Simulation, Calculation and Field Measurements

Abstract

Abstract Museums are artistic centers that attract people as tourist destinations, allowing them to appreciate art, and learn about history, culture, society, and science. The visual presentation of museum spaces is crucial in enhancing the appeal to visitors. It is closely tied to visual appearance and ambient illumination of the space, which can be represented by Mean Room Surface Exitance (MRSE). The objectives of this research are to determine the lighting specifications in exhibition spaces by considering lighting metrics, including MRSE and contrast, and to compare the MRSE values obtained from the calculation, simulation, and measurements from field experiments. The findings of this research indicate that the type of luminaire that can be used is a spotlight with a TAIR (Target-to-Ambient Illuminance Ratio (TAIR) of 3:1 or higher, particularly if the object needs to appear brighter than its surroundings. The error between the experimental and simulated results with the DIALux evo simulation tool was relatively low at 1.4%. However, the error between the experimental results and the calculated results was relatively high, at 25.25%, which is caused by the TAIR factor. The lowest contrast error was obtained for the displayed statue, with a 4% error in the calculation method and 0% error in the simulation method. The highest contrast error was obtained for the wall, with a 66% error in the simulation method due to differences in the room size of the simulation model and the actual space.