Excerpt

Status of: 12.04.2019

Complete edition: https://www.trilux.com/en/beleuchtungspraxis/ LIGHTING PRACTICE
Table of contents
Imprint ................................................................................................................ 3
1.1 Essential requirements for good lighting ................................................... 4
1.1.1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 4
1.1.2 Visual needs ............................................................................................. 4
1.1.2.1 Visual performance ................................................................................ 6
1.1.2.2 Visual comfort ....................................................................................... 6
1.1.2.3 Visual ambiance ..................................................................................... 7
1.1.3 Need for orientation .................................................................................. 8
1.1.4 Non visual needs ..................................................................................... 11
Imprint
©TRILUX GmbH & Co. KG

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All rights reserved.

All data has been compiled with due care.

Errors excepted.
We are always thankful for any hints concerning possible errors.

DIN and EN standards as well as harmonisation documents and standards from other CEN
countries are available at Beuth-Verlag GmbH, Burggrafenstraße 6, D-10787 Berlin.
1.1 Essential requirements for good lighting

1.1 ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GOOD LIGHTING

1.1.1 Introduction

In order to answer the question of what makes good lighting, it is necessary to identify and
understand human needs affected by lighting. These needs can be explained to a large extent
by looking at human evolution which has been shaped by daylight for millions of years.

Since the shift towards industrialised societies, most of humankind has been living in built up
areas. As a result, technology and science have focused mainly on researching basic vital
human needs within buildings.

The most obvious one is the need for good visual conditions in order to be able to recognise
shapes, colours and movements. In detail, these are the visual needs.

In addition, there is a need for orientation, in order to be able to recognise and assess
one’s location and surroundings.

Lastly, there are also non-visual needs which are ascribed to the effects of lighting, but
primarily do not influence visual perception. This realisation is becoming increasingly
concrete in the more recent past.

1.1.2 Visual needs

The physiological processes of vision, the physical description of the phenomenon of light
and the measurement thereof as well as the development of high-performance artificial light
sources in particular, have defined the age of electrical lighting for more than 100 years. In
the 1960s, it was even believed that artificial lighting of work places was superior to lighting
with daylight, e.g. since it could be kept at a constant level 24 hours a day. Windowless
schools and open plan offices with mandatory permanent artificial lighting and air
conditioning embodied the megalomania of civil engineering. A slogan from that era, "Light
turns the night into day", expressed the seeming independence from daylight, and that of
fully conditioned work environments from the natural human way of life.

Outdoors, changes in illuminance in excess of 100.000 lx on bright summer days and 0,3 lx by
moonlight are perceived to be just as natural as a rather dull-appearing, uniform lighting
with clouded or rainy skies and intense shadows as well as bright/dark zones in case of
intense sunlight. Rapid and frequent changes in illumination levels and light colour due to
passing clouds and the change from the warm light colour of the sunrise to the blue light of
mid-day skies to red sunsets are familiar and accepted light situations. Within these limits,
among other things, the requirements for lighting can be determined which are necessary to
fulfil the needs for

visual performance,

visual comfort and

visual ambience.

With modern lighting concepts, the fulfilments of these three visual needs are realised with
differing emphasis. They can therefore also be depicted in a system with triangular
coordinates. Chapter 1.4.9 "Lighting of sales spaces" offers an example for this: In
supermarkets, visual performance is predominant. Visual comfort usually comes second in
the lighting concept. In shops for premium goods, visual comfort and visual ambience are
focused on when selecting the lighting concept, since they convey an atmosphere of calm,
trust and quality. Similar observations apply, for example, for rooms in the healthcare sector
(see also chapter 1.4.6, "Illumination of rooms in the healthcare sector") which are mainly
occupied by patients and their relatives. In these rooms, a balanced harmony of space and
lighting also helps dispel fears and stimulate courage and hope.
 Visual performance
100 Illumination level

1.1 ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GOOD LIGHTING

and glare limitation

0 0

Visual comfort Visual ambience

Harmonious Light colour,
brightness distribution light accents
and good and shadow detail
colour rendering
100 0 100

Figure 1.1: In this concept, visual performance, visual comfort or visual ambience determine
the criteria for lighting

1.1.2.1 Visual performance

Visual performance enables working people to perform visual tasks even under difficult
conditions and over longer periods of time. Visual tasks are perceived by

the extent of the occurring contrasts in luminance and colour

the size of essential structural elements (details)

the speed at which the visual tasks have to be perceived

the desired reliability of recognition

the duration of the visual work.

High visual performance means reliable contrast vision, high visual acuity and speed of
perception as well as rapid and reliable recognition, and safety in the occupational sense.

With increasing difficulty of the visual task, requirements for the quality of lighting.

Example: Lighting of traffic zones and work places – e.g. in tool manufacturing or precision
mechanical mounting, at observation desks, in airport towers, in power supply plant control
centres or supermarkets – is mainly planned and evaluated with regard to the respective
required visual performance. The basis for planning are essentially the quantitative quality
criteria for lighting (see chapter 1.4.3.7 "Illumination level" and chapter 1.4.3.9 "Limitation of
direct and reflected glare") which are defined by pertinent standards and recommendations.

1.1.2.2 Visual comfort

Visual comfort is the result of shapes, colours, contrast and other factors depending on room
design and lighting in the visual task periphery. It indirectly influences the perception of the
visual task.

High visual comfort means that the surroundings have a suitable appearance from the
perspective of the workstation. Poor visual comfort is characterised by the surroundings
appearing unsuitable to the observer, which leads to irritation.

Visual comfort is closely connected to the need for orientation (see following paragraph). It
conveys a feeling of well-being for working people and thus indirectly contributes to
increased productivity.

Quantitative quality criteria for lighting, particularly the level of illumination, are
complemented by qualitative criteria: Limitation of direct and reflected glare, balanced ratio
of light and shadows (shadow detail), good light colour as well as colour rendering and above
all a balanced distribution of brightness and darkness, luminance distribution in the entire
field of vision, even and especially when it is not part of the immediate field of vision.
Conference rooms, offices and leisure facilities for sports and recreation require visual
comfort conditions for motivation in addition to good visual conditions. In premium sales
boutiques, representative meeting rooms and entrance areas, visual comfort is a key
planning objective.

1.1.2.3 Visual ambiance

 1.1 ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GOOD LIGHTING
The visual ambience – e.g. of a corporate entrance space, a banking hall, a music or theatre
venue, hotel or restaurant – determines its emotional value, its "passive" attention and
appreciation. Lighting with architectural effects often supports the visual ambience a lot
better than opulent decorations or overwhelming brightness. The visual ambience is
determined by the right light colour as well as good colour rendering properties as well as
suitable emphasis in terms of direction of light, shadow detail and light accents.

Good lighting must often meet all three target specifications in a proportionate way, with the
emphasis depending on the application scenario, however always adhering to minimum
requirements for all quality criteria. Timely cooperation between architects, lighting experts
and operators can establish these proportions and define the overall lighting concept.

Once the physiology of vision and the level of luminance required for good visual
performance as well as the most important psychological effects of light, such as glare, were
explored, projectable and calculable requirements for lighting were derived from the findings
which were then established as guidelines and standards. These requirements have
consistently been adapted to the current state of art and the economic necessity, in parallel
to the development of lamp and luminaire technology. Today, we have lighting equipment at
our disposal which allows realisation of ideal visual conditions.

1.1.3 Need for orientation

Research has shown that lighting installations equipped according to all standardised quality
criteria do not always yield top marks in terms of acceptance.As user surveys have shown,
standard-compliant lighting installations are not always a guarantee for good lighting.

This poses the question of actual quality of lighting with regard to the criterion of room and
lighting acceptance. Important aspects in this respect are orientation within the room as well
as individually perceived interaction – communication in terms of perception psychology –
with the room.

Perception psychology teaches us that photometric parameters of physically and

physiologically oriented lighting technology – without regard to human emotion towards the
room, its purpose and equipment – can only offer an incomplete characterisation of well-
being. A lighting design focused solely on the visual task reduces the required evaluation
scale to physical and physiological parameters, and only to a minor extent to psychological
ones.

The experience of Lighting designers in not only planning and calculating the lighting, but
also to design it within the context of the room, extends the criteria of "good lighting".
William Lam, an American lighting designer and author of two ground-breaking books on
light design ("Perception and lighting as formgivers for architecture" [193] and "Sunlighting
as formgiver for architecture" [194]), distinguished the following criteria in the 1970s:

Functional criteria (activity needs) and

aesthetic criteria (architectural needs) delineate the aforementioned visual needs.

Emotional criteria (biological needs), describe the psychological, mostly subconscious and
emotional effects of lighting. The clarity of the room, e.g. room shapes clearly structured
by light, the intelligibility of the room without misleading shadows, a clear arrangement of
the room situation e.g. through clear orientation via paths, exits and furniture add up to
form the individual evaluation regarding well-being in the room.
While functional criteria only take full effect during times of peak visual concentration, the

1.1 ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GOOD LIGHTING

visual attention is mostly geared to observation and perception of the surroundings. Changes
are instantly perceived, reactions follow immediately. The exchange of information with the
environment, meaning the communication with the room, the people and events, is
substantially determined by the lighting. Confusing, not easily recognisable changes in the
surrounding area which are not clearly structured may cause discomfort. Example: Light-
flooded airports can lead to disorientation. Over-communication is also perceived as
irritating. A certain privacy, which can be supported by islands of light, encourages a positive
evaluation of room and lighting.

We perceive rooms only through light. Space and light are intrinsically tied to each other.
Conventional lighting technology describes light with regard to the visual task, mostly
ignoring the room. Good lighting installations hence are not merely limited to the fulfilment
of physiological visual tasks, but they also create an environment where the user feels
comfortable, while performing the tasks the room was conceived for: festive, intimate, cosy,
valuable, factual.

Another lighting design concept in the same vein is based on human needs, expectation and
wishes. The following considerations are vital to that effect:

the lighting must facilitate spatial and temporal orientation in the room. Culture, societal
conditions and education of the user are significant influencing factors when it comes to
expectation and evaluation. These are determined by functionality, aesthetics, ergonomics
and lighting of the room and its equipment (e.g. furniture). Contact with daylight supports
orientation, e.g. regarding the outside world and the weather.

Rooms must facilitate unhindered communication with other people, the room and the
outside world, which necessitates contact with daylight. It must also be possible to
disconnect from overwhelming visual communication effects, e.g. in order to focus on
difficult tasks or thought processes. Privacy instead of collectivism in the work place can
become a significant motivating factor for many.

Room and lighting must be designed in a way that facilitates a good overview of the outside
world, the room, entrances and exits as well as the activities of others. Information and
education create familiarity. Representation, preservation of self-esteem and motivation
are significantly supported by suitably designed rooms.

Rooms must offer variety, emotion and maybe even surprise instead of monotony through
their lighting.
 Emotion
Orientation

Expectations of users
towards light and room

Communication
Information

Figure 1.2: Expectations of users regarding high acceptance of room and light

1.1.4 Non visual needs

Beyond visual needs, there are non-visual needs which influence human well-being and
health to a great extent. This comprises aspects which can be visible – meaning detectable
visually – but only contribute to the visual task and other visual needs to a limited extent.

Particularly relevant factors among others are:

the light’s spectral composition,

the light’s melanopic effectiveness,

the light’s variation according to the time of day (illuminance, spectral composition and
melanopic effectiveness).

The aforementioned criteria and their effects are described in detail in chapter 1.3.3.1
"Human Centric Lighting". Among other things, they influence the "inner clock" of human
beings and thus provide them with an additional opportunity for orientation – in this instance,
a temporal one instead of a spatial one.

At this point, it should be noted that the availability of appropriate light sources and control
components are a prerequisite for fulfilling the described needs. A further condition is the
scientific determination and a comprehensible expression of the needs themselves for
planning purposes.
 The latter has advanced significantly with the publication of the standard DIN SPEC
5031-100:2015-08 [20] "Optical radiation physics and illuminating engineering – Part 100:
Melanopic effects of ocular light on human beings - Quantities, symbols and action spectra"

1.1 ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GOOD LIGHTING

as well as DIN SPEC 67600:2013-04 [21] "Biologically effective illumination – Design
guidelines".

The development of modern LED luminaires and innovative light management systems
including advanced sensors and suitable interfaces has moved the concept of Human Centric
Lighting into the realm of the technically feasible and economically justifiable. Thus, the way
is paved for Human Centric Lighting to progress to the stage of "generally acknowledged
state of the art" in lighting (see also chapter 1.2.1.3 "European standard 12464-1") and to
also consider it in the guidelines for occupational safety in the future.

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