9
July 2011
Lighting and the 2010 Building Regulations
This document is designed to inform lighting professionals of the implications and requirements in Part
L of the Building Regulations (for England and
Wales), Part J (Scotland) and Part F (Northern Ireland). The UK Government, central and devolved,
publishes the full Building Regulations which are
legal requirements in all parts of the UK and apply
for new and refurbished buildings. Actual compliance is often measured against the latest approved
documents which came into force on 1st October
2010.These approved documents take many forms
and are seen as minimal acceptable practice levels.
Other methods of proving compliance are acceptable provided they can be proved. The Society of
Light and Lighting believes that whilst the Building
Regulations provide statutory minimum performance
for lighting efficiency they do not harness the maximum possible energy reduction by the use of mandatory lighting controls. By far the best method for
proving compliance for the conservation of fuel and
power would be to use the internationally recognised standard Energy Performance in Buildings
EN15193, which details a measure called Lighting
Energy Numeric Indicator, or LENI. This standard
provides calculation methods to prove compliance
to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, a
legal requirement in Europe, enacted by the building
regulations United Kingdom. The methods described in EN 15193 would satisfy the building regulations, maximise savings from lighting controls, and
include daylight and good overall lighting design.
There are a number of documents required to check
overall compliance but for lighting in each country
are in fact only very few.
For England and Wales;
Approved Document L1A – Conservation of fuel
and power in New Dwellings
Approved Document L1B – Conservation of fuel
and power in Existing Dwellings
Approved Document L2A – Conservation of fuel
and power in New Buildings other than Dwellings
Approved Document L2B – Conservation of fuel
and power in Existing Buildings other than Dwellings.
The lighting requirements can be found in the sections indicated and the requirements are limited to
fixed internal or external lighting but not including
emergency escape lighting or specialist process
and temporary lighting.
The lighting requirements appear in the Compliance documents which have the same legal standing as the Regulations. There are two Compliance
Documents:
Domestic Buildings Services Compliance Guide:
2010 Edition
Non-Domestic Buildings Services Compliance
Guide: 2010 Edition
For Scotland;
Domestic Technical Handbook 2010
Non-domestic Technical Handbook 2010
For Northern Ireland;
Department of Finance and Personnel Technical
Booklet F1: 2006 (domestic)
Department of Finance and Personnel Technical
Booklet F2: 2006 (non-domestic)
As the requirements in Northern Ireland have not
changed in 2010 they are not covered here.
New or Refurbished (Existing) Buildings
In most cases now new build and refurbishments
have to conform to the same requirements for lighting and lighting controls
Daylighting
The Building Regulations relate adequate daylight
levels in domestic premises to limiting solar gain in
section 4.27 of approved document L1A. The
Building Regulations do not specify minimum daylight requirements; however, reducing window area
produces conflicting impacts on predicted CO2
emissions: reduced solar gain but increasing use of
electric lighting. As a general guide, if the area of
glazing is much less than 20% of the total floor
area, some parts of the dwelling may experience
poor levels of daylight, resulting in increased use of
electric lighting.
Within section 4.44 of Approved Document L2A
there is a recommendation for limiting solar gain to
the building fabric and that this is demonstrated for
each space in the building that is either occupied or
mechanically cooled. The solar gain through the
glazing is aggregated over the period from April to
September inclusive and should be no greater than
Lighting and the 2010 Building Regulations (cont.)
what could occur through one of the following reference glazing systems with a defined total solar energy transmittance (g–value) calculated according
to BS EN 410.
a) For every space that is defined in the NCM database as being side lit, the reference case is
an east facing facade with full width glazing to a
height of 1.0m having a framing factor of 10%
and the normal solar energy transmittance (g–
value) of 0.68.
b) for every space that is defined in the NCM database as top lit, and whose average zone
height is not greater than 6 m, the reference
case is a horizontal roof of the same total area
that is 10% glazed as viewed from the inside
out and having rooflights that have a framing
factor of 25% and a normal solar energy transmittance (g-value) of 0.68.
c) for every space that is defined in the NCM database as being top lit and his average zone
height is greater than 6 m, the reference case
is a horizontal roof of the same total area that is
20% glazed as viewed from the inside out and
having rooflights that have a framing factor of
16% and normal solar energy transmittance (gvalue) of 0.46.
Whilst the implications of these recommendations
are ambiguous, it would seem to suggest that daylight be restricted in order to control solar gain.
Lighting
Fixed internal
lighting
Fixed external lighting
Lighting designers should work closely with thermal
engineers to ensure that the benefits of daylight
are maximised for the users within the space and
not sacrificed simply for energy efficiency.
Commissioning
The building regulations require that a notice be
given that commissioning has been carried out according to a procedure approved by the Secretary
of State. This notice should include a declaration
confirming that a commissioning plan has been
followed so that every system has been inspected
and commissioned in an appropriate sequence and
to a reasonable standard, and the results of tests
confirm that the performance is reasonably in accordance with the actual building design. Such
declarations should be signed by a person suitably
trained, qualified and having relevant experience
such as a member of the Lighting Industry Commissioning Scheme.
Lighting in new and existing Domestic buildings
Fixed internal and external lighting should meet the
minimum standards for efficacy and controls in table 40 of the domestic building compliance guide.
Table 40: recommended minimum standards for fixed
internal and external lighting
New and replacement systems
a) In the areas affected by the building work,
provide low energy light fittings (fixed lights
or lighting units) that number not less than
three per four of all the light fittings in the
main dwelling spaces of those areas
(excluding infrequently accessed spaces
used for storage, such as cupboards and
wardrobes).
b) Low energy light fittings should have lamps
with the luminous efficacy greater than 45
lamp lumens per circuit watt and total output greater than 400 lamp lumens.
c) Light fitting whose supplied power is less
than five circuit watts are excluded from the
overall count of the total number of light
fittings.
Where fixed external lighting is installed, provide
light fittings with the following characteristics:
a) either:
i. the lamp capacity not greater than 100 lamp
watts per light fitting; and
ii. all lamps automatically controlled so as to switch
off after the area lit by the fitting becomes unoccupied; and
iii. all lamps automatically controlled so as to
switch off when daylight is sufficient
b) Or
i. lamp efficacy greater than 45 lumen per circuit
watt; and
ii. all lamps automatically controlled so as to switch
off when daylight is sufficient; and
iii. light fittings controllable manually by occupants.
Supplementary information
Light fittings may be either:
- dedicated fittings which will have separate
control gear and will take only low energy
lamps (e.g. pin-based fluorescent or compact fluorescent lamps); or
- standard fittings supplied with low energy
lamps with integrated control gear (e.g.
bayonet or Edison screw base compact
fluorescent lamps).
Light fittings with GLS tungsten filament lamps or
tungsten halogen lamps would not meet the standard.
The energy saving trust publication GI 020, “Low
energy domestic lighting", gives guidance on identifying suitable locations for fixed energy efficient
lighting.
Lighting and the 2010 Building Regulations (cont.)
Whilst the above targets do not in themselves remove technologies such as tungsten filament
lamps, provided such lamps could be made to exceed the requirements, the building regulations do
stipulate that lamps such as tungsten halogen or
tungsten halogen reflector lamps, would not be
considered as complying with the above targets.
In addition, in the Scottish 2010 Domestic Technical Handbook (DTH) lighting to common areas of
domestic buildings should follow the guidance for
dwellings with the following exception:
- all fixed light fittings and lamps provided to corridors, stairs and other circulation areas
should be low energy type, controls to such
lighting to enable safe use of the areas in
question are identified in DTH Section 4.6.
- the dwelling should have an electric lighting
system providing at least one lighting point to
every circulation space, kitchen, bathroom,
toilet and other space having floor area of 2m²
or more.
- any lighting point serving a stair should have
the controlling switch at, or in immediate vicinity of, the stair landing on each story.
- DTH Sections 4.6.2 recommends
that common areas should have
artificial lighting capable of providing a uniform lighting level, at
floor level, of not less than 100 lx
on stair flights and landings and
50 lx elsewhere within circulation
areas. Lighting should not present sources of glare and should
avoid creation of areas of strong
shadow that may cause confusion or miss-step. A means of
automatic control should be provided to ensure that lighting is
operable during the hours of
darkness.
In respect of domestic lighting, fixed light fittings
include only the main light sources in the room and
not display feature lighting such as picture lights,
kitchen wall cupboard lights, or over mirror. A light
fitting may contain one or more lamps and a group
of lamps operated by the same switch could be
counted as one fitting, e.g. a pair of wall lights; low
energy light fittings should include the provision of
lamps/bulbs.
Lighting in new and existing Non-Domestic
buildings
A)
General and Display lighting in new and
existing non-domestic buildings should
meet the minimum standards for efficacy
(averaged over the whole area of the applicable of space in the building) in Table 44
of the non-domestic compliance guide below. Process and emergency lighting are
not subject to these targets.
Table 44: Recommended minimum lighting efficacy
Lighting
Minimum lighting efficacy, %
General lighting
in office, industrial and storage
areas
The average initial efficacy
should be not less than 55
luminaire lumens per circuitwatt.
In calculating the average
luminaire lumens per circuitwatt, the circuit-watts for
each luminaire may first be
multiplied by the control factors in Table 45.
Note: The value entered in
the NCM tools for calculating
the C02 emission rate for new
buildings (BER) should be
the value before the control
factor is applied, since NCM
tools already take account of
additional controls by reducing the BER.
The average initial efficacy
should be not less than 55
lamp lumens per circuit-watt.
The average initial efficacy
should be not less than 22
lamp lumens per circuit-watt.
General lighting
in other types of
space
Display lighting
in new and existing buildings
Table 45: Luminaire control factors limiting new
Light output control
Control factor
A. the luminaire is in a daylit
space and its light output is
controlled by photoelectric
switching or dimming control,
with or without override.
B. the luminaire is in a space that
is likely to be unoccupied for
a significant number of operating hours, and where a
sensor switches off the lighting in the absence of occupants but switching on is
done manually except where
this would be unsafe.
C. circumstances a. and b. combined.
D. none of the above.
0.9
and existing buildings
0.9
0.85
1.0
Lighting and the 2010 Building Regulations (cont.)
Where designers are using the SBEM software
tools to calculate the BER for a building they
should note that the control factor is accounted for
within the software, and should not be applied to
luminaire efficacy in this case.
B) Metering of lighting for new and existing buildings
(to record the lighting energy consumption)
should meet the minimum standards in Table 46.
Table 46: recommended minimum standards for
metering of general and display lighting in new and
existing buildings
Standard
Metering
for general
more display lighting
A) kWh meters on dedicated lighting circuits in the electrical distribution; or
B) local power meter coupled to or
integrated in the lighting controls of a lighting or building
management system; or
C) lighting management system that
can calculate the consumed
energy and make this information available to a building management system or in an exportable file format. (This could
involve logging the hours run
and the dimming level, and relating this to the installed load.)
C) Lighting controls in new and existing buildings
should meet the minimum standards in Table 47
of the non-domestic compliance guide, or follow
the guidance in BRE Digest 498 Selecting lighting controls. Display lighting, where provided,
should be controlled on dedicated circuits that
can be switched off at times when people will not
be inspecting exhibits or merchandise or being
entertained.
Table 47: Recommended controls for general and
display lighting in new and existing buildings
*note description of Local manual switching given
Space classification
(see key terms)
Control type
Owned
Manual switch by the door
Shared
Flexible manual switching,
e.g. local pull cords or wireless transmitter
Local manual switching*
Temporarily owned
Occasionally visited
Unowned
Local manual switching*
Managed
Time switching; or
centralised manual
in “key terms”.
Time switching
Lighting and the 2010 Building Regulations (cont.)
Lamp/Gear and Luminaire performance to meet
the targets in new and existing Non-Domestic
buildings
The table below offers generic lamp information
Type of Space
Nominal
Lamp Watts
Lamp
Type
and shows what Light Output Ratio a luminaire
would need to achieve with and without the various
controls options to comply with the current nondomestic targets.
For Office, Industrial & Storage Spaces
Typical
lamp
Lumens
Typical
Total
Circuit
Watts
Required
LOR with No
controls to
achieve 55LL/
cW
Required LOR
with Daylight
OR Presence
controls to
achieve 55LL/
cW
Required LOR
with Presence
AND Daylight
controls to
achieve 55LL/
cW
900
1800
1200
1250
2400
2500
1800
3600
2050
2200
4400
2900
5800
2850
3500
7000
3200
6400
4800
9600
1200
2400
3600
4800
1350
2700
4050
5400
1900
3800
1750
3500
5250
7000
2600
5200
3300
6600
3350
6700
10050
3100
6200
4300
8600
4450
8900
5200
10400
6550
13100
6450
12900
15
28
19.5
18.5
37.5
36
26.5
51
28.7
34.5
68
33.8
72.8
39.7
44.1
89.6
46
89
61.1
121.1
16
31
47.1
62.3
18.2
36
52.4
70.1
22.5
45.5
25.7
48.8
76
99
30.5
61
38.5
76.5
35
69.8
106.5
40.4
83.4
52.5
107
57.5
114.5
54
106.8
65.6
136.8
85.8
166.6
91.7
85.6
89.4
81.4
85.9
79.2
81.0
77.9
77.0
86.3
85.0
64.1
69.0
76.6
69.3
70.4
79.1
76.5
70.0
69.4
73.3
71.0
72.0
71.4
74.1
73.3
71.2
71.4
65.1
65.9
80.8
76.7
79.6
77.8
64.5
64.5
64.2
63.8
57.5
57.3
58.3
71.7
74.0
67.2
68.4
71.1
70.8
57.1
56.5
55.1
57.4
73.2
71.0
82.5
77.0
80.4
73.3
77.3
71.3
72.9
70.1
69.3
77.6
76.5
57.7
62.1
69.0
62.4
63.4
71.2
68.8
63.0
62.4
66.0
63.9
64.8
64.2
66.7
66.0
64.0
64.3
58.6
59.3
72.7
69.0
71.7
70.0
58.1
58.1
57.8
57.4
51.7
51.6
52.5
64.5
66.6
60.4
61.6
64.0
63.7
51.4
50.8
49.6
51.7
65.8
63.9
77.9
72.7
76.0
69.2
73.0
67.3
68.8
66.2
65.5
73.3
72.3
54.5
58.7
65.1
58.9
59.8
67.2
65.0
59.5
59.0
62.3
60.4
61.2
60.7
63.0
62.3
60.5
60.7
55.4
56.0
68.7
65.2
67.7
66.1
54.8
54.8
54.5
54.2
48.8
48.7
49.5
60.9
62.9
57.1
58.2
60.4
60.1
48.5
48.0
46.8
48.8
62.2
60.4
For Other
Spaces
Typical
Lamp Lumens /
Circuit Watt
1 x 13
2 x 13
1 x 18
1 x 18
2 x 18
2 x 18
1 x 26
2 x 26
1 x 28
1 x 32
2 x 32
1 x 36
2 x 36
1 x 38
1 x 40
2 x 40
1 x 42
2 x 42
1 x 55
2 x 55
1 x 14
2 x 14
3 x 14
4 x 14
1 x 18
2 x 18
3 x 18
4 x 18
1 x 21
2 x 21
1 x 24
2 x 24
3 x 24
4 x 24
1 x 28
2 x 28
1 x 35
2 x 35
1 x 36
2 x 36
3 x 36
1 x 39
2 x 39
1 x 49
2 x 49
1 x 54
2 x 54
1 x 58
2 x 58
1 x 70
2 x 70
1 x 80
2 x 80
TC-D
TC-D
TC-D/T
TCL
TC-D/T
TCL
TC-D/T
TC-D/T
2D
TC-T
TC-T
TC-L
TC-L
2D
TC-L
TC-L
TC-T
TC-T
TC-L
TC-L
T5 (HE)
T5 (HE)
T5 (HE)
T5 (HE)
T8
T8
T8
T8
T5 (HE)
T5 (HE)
T5 (HO)
T5 (HO)
T5 (HO)
T5 (HO)
T5 (HE)
T5 (HE)
T5 (HE)
T5 (HE)
T8
T8
T8
T5 (HO)
T5 (HO)
T5 (HO)
T5 (HO)
T5 (HO)
T5 (HO)
T8
T8
T8
T8
T5 (HO)
T5 (HO)
60
64
62
68
64
69
68
71
71
64
65
86
80
72
79
78
70
72
79
79
75
77
76
77
74
75
77
77
84
84
68
72
69
71
85
85
86
86
96
96
94
77
74
82
80
77
78
96
97
100
96
75
77
LED
Display
Lighting
Please check the luminaire manufacturers published data for the LED measured in the luminaire
For the vast majority of display light sources the manufacturer publishes Intensity values rather than lumen out puts,
please refer to the lamp supplier for efficacy figures
Lighting and the 2010 Building Regulations (cont.)
Key terms
space becomes unoccupied.
Office area means a space that involves predominantly desk-based tasks, e.g. Open Plan or individual
offices, classrooms, seminar or conference rooms.
Absence detection means a type of control which
switches the lighting off, or dims it down, after the
space becomes unoccupied, but where switching on
is done manually.
Daylit space means any space:
A) within six metres of a window wall, provided
that the glazing area is at least 20% of the
internal area of the window wall; or
B) Below roof lights provided that the glazing area
is at least 10% of the floor area.
The normal light transmittance of the glazing should
be at least 70%; if the light transmittance is below
70%, glazing area should be increased proportionately for space to be defined as daylit.
Space classification for control purposes: (these
definitions are given in more detail in BRE information
paper IP6/96 People and lighting controls and BRE
digest 498 Selecting lighting controls.
Owned space means a space such a small room for
one or two people who control the lighting, e.g. cellular office or consulting room.
Shared space means a multi-occupied area, e.g.
Open Plan office or factory production area.
Temporarily owned space means a space where
people are expected to operate the lighting controls
while they are there, e.g. hotel room or meeting room.
Occasionally visited space means a space where
people generally stay for a relatively short period of
time when they visit the space, e.g. a storeroom or
toilet.
Un-owned space means a space where individual
users require lighting but are not expected to operate
the lighting controls, e.g. a corridor or atrium.
Managed space means a space where lighting is
under the control of a responsible person, e.g. a hotel
lounge, restaurant or shop.
Local manual switching means, in local or flexible
manual switching, the distance on plan from any local
switch to the luminaire it controls should generally be
not more than six metres, or twice the height of the
light fitting above the floor if this is greater. Where the
space is a daylit space served by side windows, the
perimeter row of lighting should in general be separately switched.
Photoelectric control means a type of control which
switches or dims lighting in response to the amount of
incoming daylight.
Presence detection means a type of control which
switches the lighting on when someone enters a
space, and switches that off, or dims it down, after the
Lamp lumens means the sum of the average initial
(100 hour) lumen output of all the lamps in the luminaire.
Circuit-watt means the power consumed in lighting
circuits by lamps and, where applicable, their associated control gear (including transformers and drivers)
and power factor correction equipment.
Lamp lumens per circuit-watt means the total lamp
lumens summed for all luminaires in the relevant areas of the building, divided by the total circuit-watts
for all the luminaires.
LOR means the light output ratio of the luminaire,
which means the ratio of the total light output of the
luminaire under stated practical conditions to that of
the lamp or lamps contained in the luminaire under
reference conditions.
Luminaire lumens per circuit-watt means the (lamp
lumens x LOR) summed for all luminaires in the relevant areas of the building, divided by the total circuitwatts for all the luminaires.
Light fitting means a fixed light or lighting unit that
can comprise one or more lamps and lampholders,
control gear and an appropriate housing. The control
gear may be integrated in the lamp or located elsewhere in one year fixed flight.
Fixed external lighting means lighting fixed to an
external surface of the dwelling supplied from the occupier’s electric system. It excludes lighting in common areas of blocks of flats in other communal access ways.
Fixed building services means any part of, or any
controls associated with fixed internal or external
lighting systems but does not include emergency escape lighting or specialist process lighting
Specialist process lighting means lighting intended
to illuminate specialist tasks within a space, rather
than the space itself. It could include theatre spotlights, projection equipment, production lighting in TV
and photographic studios, medical lighting in operating theatres and doctors’ and dentists’ surgeries, illuminated signs, coloured or stroboscopic lighting, and
art objects with integral lighting such as sculptures,
decorative fountains and chandeliers.
© Society of Light & Lighting 2011.
222 Balham High Road
Balham SW12 9BS