Workplace Lighting Standards

Lighting standards and recommendations vary dramatically across different work environments. These standards offer methods of maximizing lighting effectiveness for the functions and demands of the specific workplace setting through optimized initial design principles as well as guidelines for system upgrades. For example, hospital lighting standards purport to augment patient comfort and foster recovery by creating a uniquely pleasant environment, museum lighting standards take into consideration the fragility of exposed artwork and emphasize damage prevention, while standards for educational facilities aim to accommodate the interchange of instructional media and heighten illumination for realization of visual tasks.

Emergency Lighting Standards seek to provide visual conditions which make safe and timely evacuation possible while simultaneously curtailing panic. Safeguards for emergency management are vital in areas to which either the public or workers have access. Recommendations for specific luminaires such as exit signs and other sources of guidance, as well as the installation, operation, and testing of these, are outlined. These standards also address design principles that account for optimal placement, energy use, and possibility of electrical supply failure during emergencies.

Proper workplace lighting design is essential in generating a comfortable and relaxing work setting, and in effect, serving to augment performance and the quality of worker output. Design stipulations for workplace lighting are conditional upon psychological and physiological responses in humans. Read more about the psychological effect of lighting on people in different settings in InformeDesign’s Newsletter (pdf). These standards endeavor to integrate illumination requirements into the design principles of various luminaires in order to optimize necessary lighting practices. Guidelines specific to crime prevention, adherence to security codes, and the protection of persons, are also included.

Workplace Lighting Energy Performance Standards address the importance of evaluation of energy consumption, allocation, and other such calculations aimed at improving overall performance. These standards describe methods of classifying total building energy performance as well as that of specific types of luminaires, providing a focal point of investigation into the optimization of energy consumption. Furthermore, principles for the inspection, monitoring, and testing of selected lighting practices are included, aiding in the development of efficient lighting and energy performance practices.

Outdoor Workplace Lighting Standards deal with recommended lighting practices for outdoor workplaces as the efficient management of these systems. Properly designed outdoor lighting is crucial to the preservation of safe work practices and the reduction of work-related injury. In addition to increasing security, Outdoor Workplace Lighting Standards elucidate the implementation of photocontrols for the management of outdoor lighting fixtures. Related standards outline guidelines for controlling the obtrusive effects of outdoor lighting, such as the effects on nearby residents, roads in proximity, astronomical observation, and so forth.

Indoor Workplace Lighting Standards facilitate efficiency and prime performance in the work place through multifaceted analysis and guidance regarding proper indoor lighting techniques. By acknowledging and incorporating the psychological needs of the worker, economics and energy considerations, as well as ergonomic design principles, these standards strive to outline optimal methodologies for installation and operation of indoor lighting. Recommendations for the maximization of visual comfort afforded by the conjunction of artificial and day lighting are applied to specific office settings such as circulation spaces, office desks, and screen-based tasks.

Well balanced illumination is essential for the establishment of a safe and productive work environment; optimizing illumination in the industrial workplace requires a number of considerations including type of equipment, environmental considerations, financial needs, goals, and type of work, etc. Generally, factors that affect the effectiveness of illumination are quantity and quality of light, amount of flicker, amount of glare, contrast and shadows. Each factor must be adjusted differently to optimize illumination in emergency, safety, operations, and security situations. Industrial Lighting Standards serve to address these concerns, in addition to the plethora of other concerns associated with the design, placement, installation, and energy requirements of illumination in industrial workplaces.