TECHNICAL

technical info

Planning lighting

New lighting standard and guidelines In 2002 a new European standard on lighting in the indoor workplace appeared BS EN 12464-1. This sets out Lighting Design Criteria for indoor work places including a schedule of lighting requirements and verification procedures. The standard can be ordered from British Standards. At the same time The Society of Light and Lighting (SLL) revised the Code for Lighting, which is now the 16th Edition. It has become the standard reference on lighting design and is consistent with international (CIE) and European standards. In May 2005 the SLL also published Lighting Guide 7: Office Lighting, which replaces the 1993 edition and also incorporates guidance on lighting offices with display screen equipment. Previously this was covered in a separate publication , Lighting Guide 3: The visual environment for display screen use. In 2003 a preliminary European standard prEN 12464-2 appeared on lighting in the outdoor workplace. Lighting outdoor environments is also covered in SLL Lighting Guide 6:1992 For relevant standards on emergency lighting see the section on emergency lighting (p. 372).

EUROPEAN STANDARD NORME EUROPENNE EUROPISCHE NORM

ICS 91.160.10

EN 12464-1
November 2002

English version

Light and lighting - Lighting of work places - Part 1: Indoor work places
Lumire et clairage - Eclairage des lieux de travail - Partie 1: Lieux de travail intrieur Licht und beleuchtung - Beleuchtung von Arbeitstatten Teil 1: Arbeitsstatten in Innerraumen

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 16 October 2002. CEN members are bound to comply wih the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the Management Centre or to ant CEN member. This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the Management Centre has the same status as the official versions. CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

BS-EN 12464-1

Scope BS-EN 12464-1 specifies lighting requirements for indoor workplaces, as regards both visual comfort and visual performance. The standard covers areas such as the working environment, schedules of illuminance, glare, colour aspects, feature lighting and energy considerations. It is the requirement for visual comfort and visual performance which sets the norm and so the standard should not place any limitations on innovative solutions in which it can be documented that these conditions have been adhered to.

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION Comit Europen de Normalisation Europisches Komitee fr Normung Central Secretatiat: rue de Stassart 36, B - 1050 Brussels

CEN

TECHNICAL

technical info

Planning lighting

Lighting criteria Good lighting is a composite concept. Good lighting in the workplace must initially be based on the type of work being performed in the room.

What are the priorities? Luminance conditions The eyes adapt themselves to the luminance and colours within the field of vision. Excessive luminance can lead to glare. Too great a difference between luminances means that the eyes must be constantly readapting. Too little luminance and small differences between luminances result in lighting that is boring and lacks stimulation.

Contrast conditions The ability of our eyes to perceive contrasts is strongly dependent on the intensity of the light and to what extent glare may occur. Direct lighting alone may therefore be a poor choice. Depth of vision For our vision to be able to appreciate our surroundings in three dimensions we are dependent on light and shade. Flat lighting alone may therefore be a poor choice. Colour vision In order that an object can reflect all the nuances of colour it is made up of, it is essential that the light must contain radiation from the same part of the spectrum.

The points above depend on: - Light distribution from the chosen luminaires - Placing of the chosen luminaires - Reflectance from walls, ceiling and floor - Glare from components in the room - Ra index and colour temperature of the light source - Flicker and daylight

Division of the area According to BS-EN 12464-1 a room is divided into 3 areas for the purposes of illumination: the working area, immediate surroundings and outer surroundings. Working areas are those parts of the workplace where work is carried out. The immediate surroundings are defined as a band of at least 0.5 m around the working area. The size of this band is determined by the lighting planner taking into account the nature of the work (stationary or moving) and the lighting

strength in the working area itself. The outer surroundings are areas outside the immediate surroundings.

TECHNICAL

technical info

Planning lighting

Lighting strength (lux values) The European standard tables set the requirements for minimum values for a working area. The required lighting strength can however be reduced if the object to be viewed is large or of abnormally high contrast. In the opposite case the requirement is higher. If the user is visually impaired or the work demands great accuracy then the requirement is also higher. The strength of lighting in the immediate surroundings must be in proportion to that of the working area at a ratio of not less than 2/3. No specific requirements have been set for the outer surroundings, but the ratio between the lux value of the working area and the least illuminated area of a location must not exceed 5 : 1. Glare Glare occurs when parts of the area within the field of vision have a much higher luminance than the surroundings. This is often due to a direct view of the light source, reflections from reflective surfaces or the intrusion of daylight. There are two kinds of glare: sight restrictive glare and unpleasant glare.

therefore needs more stringent requirements

Lighting strength in work area (Etask)

Lighting strength in immediate surround.

750 lux 500 lux 300 lux 200 lux Uniformity Emid/Emed) 0,7

500 lux 300 lux 200 lux Etask Uniformity Emid/Emed) 0,5

Sight restrictive glare occurs when luminance in one area is so high in relation to the surroundings that the adjustments made by the eyes impair acuteness of vision. This type of glare will often produce an after-image, which is noticeable for quite a long time afterwards.

Unpleasant glare occurs when the luminance of objects is higher that the eyes are adjusted to within the overall adjustment level. The degree of discomfort depends on the luminance and size of the object causing glare, the background luminance and the objects position in relation to the field of vision of the viewer. The degree of discomfort glare is set in relation to a glare value that is calculated by the UGR method. BS-EN 12464-1 sets a maximum value for glare in various working situations. Older people are often more sensitive to unpleasant glare, so lighting for older people

Light calculation Today most people use some kind of computer programme to calculate room lighting. Glamox has developed its own light calculation programme with unique user benefits. By using Optiwin one can quickly make calculations in accordance with BS-EN 12464-1. One can import a CAD drawing or set the room geography manually. Reflection values are chosen for floor, ceiling and walls. Then the required calculation plans are selected (working area and immediate surroundings), the desired luminaires

positioned in the room and the calculation made. Spectators can also be placed in the room to calculate various glare values. The result is obtained in the form of Emid, uniformity (Emin/Emid), isolux diagram (lux contours in all calculation plans) and isolum diagram (luminance contours in all calculation plans). Isolux and isolum diagrams can also be calculated for all wall and ceiling surfaces in the room. Read more about Optiwin on p. 407.