Illuminated Thinking

Published on Mon 19 Dec 2011

It’s little wonder that many buyers find the issue of lighting design to be so (ahem) opaque. Faced with picking their way through the choices of halogen, tungsten, metal halide, LED, crown reflectors, uplighters, downlighters, gullwings, flurorescents, sensor controls, daylight controls and the rest, including the Sun itself, it’s little wonder that many buyers fall back on meeting a standard requirement when it comes to specifying lighting. 

Yet, while providing 500 lux levels throughout a space with compact fluorescent tubes as the main artificial light source might provide you with a good basic level of light at low cost, taking this approach may be counter-productive. Usually poorly designed lighting schemes go with other lowest common denominator approaches to design.  So if you find pale blue carpet tiles in a building, it’s likely that you’ll also find a poor lighting design. You can bet the fit-out of the interior is based on the lowest common denominator throughout. People don’t really always understand about lighting and you can’t really blame them. It’s a very sophisticated field and it can be difficult for busy Facility Managers to keep up with all the changes in the market. So, often they don’t really understand until you show them. You can persuade them with legislation and official guidance but the thing that makes a big difference is for them to visit sites. The problem with bad lighting schemes is that they can be an invisible source of problems. People can feel unwell without exactly knowing why. So the issue of lighting design should be raised during the brief as a key issue. It’s almost certainly a more important issue than the furniture in many cases.

At Claremont we believe lighting design needs to be taken more seriously. Ken Bundy of Claremont says that lighting can often be left too late in the design process. So when and if budget becomes increasingly tight, this can lead you to focus on accepting the norm. But people are increasingly prepared to understand the business case and see the benefits.

"Cost seems to be the most significant factor in developing a lighting design. This is what lies behind the enduring popularity of the compact fluorescent tube. Cost is obviously an important factor and the fluorescent tube is cheap and reasonably effective for a number of tasks. But the fact remains that you should use different types of light and different light levels to create a feeling of well being and as a way of structuring interior space." says Bundy.

Facilities managers and other professionals are ideally suited to also take into account whole life costs and product life cycles. Cost and maintenance are big factors, but organisations should also look at issues such as whole life costing and performance. For example, you can specify to a certain lux level but - through usage - lamps can reduce in their performance, especially if they are of an inferior quality. You must also take care that specifications are not so complex that you need to stock 35 types of lamp if it can be avoided.

Weighed up against cost and whole life issues is the underlying one of how well lighting works for the people in the building. However, it is the human issues that should underlie decisions about lighting design. The most important thing is to create something more humane than the harsh, cold over-illuminated feel you get in a lot of spaces.

As well as the more obvious examples of having a properly lit space to deal with different tasks, intelligent lighting can have some unexpected benefits. Lighting can be used to deal with specific workplace issues, including some you wouldn’t automatically associate with light, such as acoustics. For example in open plan areas, and especially in call centres, one of the reasons why there can be a lot of background noise is that people are talking too loudly. One of the reasons for this is that direct downward lighting can create shadows across people’s mouths. This can distort the visual clues you get about what someone is saying and cause everybody to speak a little more loudly to compensate.

In addition, the interplay between light and space has a new and developing role to play as workplaces become more flexible. People are much more prepared now to look at more sophisticated lighting schemes. One of the important factors in how people have become more knowledgeable and adventurous is the ways in which we work has changed. The office has become more of a social space, more domestic and that has to be reflected in lighting design. It’s also more subject to change, so it can be important to build flexibility into the lighting design. Freestanding lights, for example, can be useful and provide a solution that is architectural but still mobile.

This need for both a range of lighting effects and for flexibility is just as important in contemporary workplaces. Lighting can define the space in so many ways, creating various light levels and effects for different types of space. It’s what we at Claremont like to call sculpting the space. Light can be used to highlight artworks, to help with wayfinding and signage and so on. So it’s really worthwhile taking the time to look at the lighting of a space for lots of reasons.

What is important is that the basic rule for commercial interiors is essentially the same as it is for homes. If you’re working to a tight budget, you can have the biggest impact on the space by looking at the lighting first. It’s not always a question of spending more to get better results, although that helps. You can use humble light fittings if it’s the right thing to do for a specific space. The field is so sophisticated and the arguments so well developed that you can easily move beyond prescriptive and formulaic solutions. Just as with the issue of sustainability in the way you use lighting, you should only use design where it’s needed.

To receive general guidance on lighting in a number of types of buildings, which is available from the Society of Light and Lighting, a part of CIBSE, please click here.

Light fantastic: seven golden rules

1. Be brief. The most important thing is to make sure that lighting is considered at the outset so it can work hand in hand with other factors in the design and management of the space. These include such key factors as the environment, the role of natural light, building controls, maintenance and asset management. And don’t forget it’s not just humans who need good lighting, but plants as well.

2. Address the critical factors. A good lighting scheme should focus holistically on levels of illuminance, glare, surface reflection and brightness, colour and visual interest.
 
3. It’s not just for computer work. Lighting design and light levels should vary throughout the space to reflect tasks. Light levels and light sources need not be the same for computer work, meeting rooms and cafes. Years ago it was felt that light levels of up to 1000 lux were necessary for an effective working environment. We’re smarter than that now and lighting design needs to take account of factors such as the use of natural light. 

4. Getting the green light. The 2006 Building regs have helped to focus attention on this but it’s always been important. Critical factors include obvious things like the choice of luminaire but FM has a big role to play in terms of maintenance, cleaning and asset management. And, of course, people need to remember to turn them off.

5. Transforming space. Lighting design can be the simplest, cheapest and quickest way to transform the feel of a space and to address issues of well-being. 

6. Be inclusive. The issue of inclusive design has now developed well beyond its original focus on disability and now embraces issues such as gender differences, age and culture. A well designed lighting scheme will take account of this and contribute to people’s experience of a space including their ability to work effectively, find their way about and enjoy their surroundings.

7. The role of FM. Cleaning and maintenance play an important role in maintaining light levels over the life of a light fitting. A good scheme will also minimise the variety of light fittings to aid asset management and maintenance schedules.

* Parts of this article were published in Sustainable Times, Autumn 2011

**Picture by Pixomar