The impact of facade lighting on environmental sustainability: Investigation methods M. Tomasovits a , S. Zerefos a , A. Tsangrassoulis a,b , Balafoutis Th a , R. Vital c , E.N.D. Madias a,d , L.T. Doulos a,* a School of Applied Arts and Sustainable Design, Hellenic Open University, Parodos Aristotelous 18, 26335, Patras, Greece b Department of Architecture, University of Thessaly, Pedion Areos, 38334, Volos, Greece c Department of Interior, Building & Environment Design, Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art, Ramat Gan, 5252626, Israel d Lighting Laboratory, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 9, Iroon Politechniou Str., Zografou Campus, Athens, GR- 15780, Greece A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Lighting Building façade Energy conservation Energy efficiency Architectural lighting Sustainable building Sustainable lighting light pollution ABSTRACT While light pollution has negative effects on the environment and people, including economic and social con- sequences, scientists are investigating relevant techniques to mitigate its effects. Façade lighting plays an important role in urban lighting, and according to recent studies, contributes considerably to the increase of energy consumption and light pollution, mostly due to bad practices during the early design phase. This needs to be addressed by applying appropriate architectural lighting design techniques. Although there is active research on issues related to street lighting, the research related to facade lighting and the associated light pollution is limited. The present paper conducts a systematic review using critical analysis of the available international scientific literature in an effort to evaluate the relationship between light pollution and façade lighting. This relationship is multifaceted and complicated, involving environmental and social variables and affects the architectural and cultural heritage of cities. Using a SWOT analysis, the advantages, disadvantages, risks and opportunities of implemented façade lighting practices and techniques are presented, concluding with the pre- sentation of design principles in respect to architectural lighting and light pollution. Nomenclature ALAN Artificial Light At Night ANSI American National Standards Institute ASHRAE American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers CCT Correlated Color Temperature CEN European Committee for Standardization CIBSE Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers CIE Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage CRI Color Rendering Index DMX controller Digital Multiplex controller DSLR camera Digital Single Lens Reflex camera IDA International Dark Sky Association IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IES Illuminating Engineering Society IOP Institute of Physics LED Light Emitting Diode (continued on next column) (continued ) LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LPD Light Power Density LPI Light Pollution Index PhD Doctor of Philosophy SDGs Sustainable Development Goals SPD Spectral Power Distribution SWOT analysis Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats analysis 1. Introduction Façade lighting consists part of the wider urban lighting whose tar- gets are the increase of urban landscape attractiveness during the night, facilitation of night activities, as well as strengthening of economy [1–4]. Outdoor night lighting, in the form of road-lighting, had initially * Corresponding author. E-mail address: doulos@eap.gr (L.T. Doulos). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2024.115246 Received 22 October 2023; Received in revised form 22 July 2024; Accepted 17 December 2024 Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 210 (2025) 115246 Available online 23 December 2024 1364-0321/© 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.