Evaluation of the Effects of Tunnel Lighting Environment on Energy Consumption and Drivers’ Reaction Time

Abstract

The 24-hour artificial lighting of the tunnels consumes a large amount of electricity, which means increased environmental damage and carbon footprint for China, which is dominated by thermal power. In order to alleviate the above problems, the effects of the tunnel lighting environment on energy consumption and drivers’ reaction time were evaluated by the finite element method and laboratory test to optimize the lighting environments. In this study, based on the Wanxichong extra-long tunnel in Yunnan Province, a 3D tunnel model using DIALux software is established first. Then, the effects of climate conditions, layout method of the lamps, and layout height and reflection of the sidewall material on the average luminance and uniformity on the pavement, the efficiency ratio per unit length, and the actual energy efficiency value were investigated. Finally, the indoor lighting environment simulation experiments were conducted to examine the effect of the type of sidewall materials, contrast, background luminance, and eccentricity on drivers’ reaction time. Simulation results show that, under the same climate condition and layout method of lamps, the average luminance and luminance uniformity on the road surface are positively correlated with the reflectivity of the sidewall material. On the clear days, the efficiency ratio per unit length corresponding to the 2 m high sidewall material is the largest, while the efficiency ratio per unit length on cloudy days and mixed days corresponding to the 2.5 m high sidewall material is the largest. In addition, the staggered layout of the lamps at the entrance of the tunnel consumes less power, which is more conducive to energy saving. Experimental results show that, with the increase of background luminance, the reaction time of drivers decreases. Meanwhile, applying energy-storage reflective coating on the sidewalls of the tunnel has a better visual performance than using light yellow ceramic tiles and cement mortar on the sidewalls. This conclusion would provide a lower energy consumption lighting design method and higher drive comfortable for highway tunnels.