Does confusion around LG7 risk leaving lighting design in the dark?

Industry standards are an important factor in ensuring quality lighting design for the commercial sector, but specifying fixtures simply because they meet requirements means more advanced solutions may be overlooked.
 
LEDs are an extremely attractive addition to any portfolio, but in some cases lack of understanding around product availability or experience of LED performance characteristics and capabilities is holding specifiers back.
 
Much of this confusion arises from the requirements laid out in ‘Lighting Guide 7: Office Lighting’. LG7 is an important resource that covers all aspects of the design and operation of office lighting schemes for lighting specifiers, contractors, designers and equipment providers. It is not, however, without its limitations.
 
LG7 was published in 2005; 7 years is an extremely long time in the LED sector, which has seen an impressively steep technology curve in recent years. The design of LED lighting has caught up with, and in some instances surpassed, traditional technology, particularly in terms of more architectural and aesthetically sympathetic solutions.
 
There seems to be a common misconception that LEDs may not be compatible with LG7 standards, even though in many cases they outperform the technology they replace. Increased luminaire efficacy (lumens per watt); improved power factor ratios of LED drivers; increased colour rendering index; and clever adoption of diffuser technology and design, now allow the specifier to consider LEDs as a very suitable alternative to conventional lighting.
 
The commonly cited issue of glare also makes a clear case for updated standards. Since 2005, flat screens have become almost ubiquitous in office environments. These screens are much more matt, therefore minimizing glare themselves. Moreover, LED panels now also include diffusers so that their glare rating not only conforms but is below the level recommended in LG7.
 
On paper, LG7 itself is actually not the problem. It provides a set of guidelines that ensure the designer takes the total room environment in to account, including factors such as choice of surface and furniture colouration. When taking all of the guidelines into consideration, there is no issue at all with specifying LEDs but it is certainly more complex from the specifiers’ perspective.
 
It’s clear to me that removing some of the confusion and misconceptions that have built up around LED installations and LG7 would have a highly positive impact on the future of lighting design. The widespread adoption of LED technology in office environments also has the potential to make a significant contribution towards energy and maintenance efficiency in the commercial sector.
 
As issues around the cost, security and impact of energy come into increasingly sharper focus, bringing our lighting standards in line with the latest advances in technology could be an important step to making sure we’re not all left in the dark.


 
Simon Leggett, Managing Director, Light Planet

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