What is it?
Light is an essential physical factor of the indoor environment and largely determines how spaces are perceived and the conditions of visual comfort.
Assessing lighting quality is not limited to the amount of light available: its distribution, uniformity, colour temperature, colour rendering, stability over time and the use of daylight all play a part.
The SBM-2024 includes lighting among the physical factors that help to characterise the environmental quality of a building.
Where can it be found?
Lighting in a building comes from two sources: daylight and artificial light. The first depends on the orientation of the property, the size of the openings, the presence of obstructions and the characteristics of the glazing.
The second depends on the type of light fittings, the technologies used, the distribution of light points and the intended use of each room.
Each space has different needs: a bedroom, an office, a classroom or a medical consulting room require different lighting conditions depending on the activity carried out there.
How does it affect the space?
Lighting directly shapes how a space can be used: conditions that suit a classroom do not suit a bedroom, and what decides whether they are appropriate is the activity carried out in each room.
Imbalances between daylight and artificial light form part of that assessment, together with the uniformity of the lighting and the visual comfort of the space.
How is it assessed?
What the inspection looks at
The technical inspection examines the characteristics of the building, the orientation of the rooms and the lighting systems installed.
What is recorded for each measurement
Equipment, quantity, unit, location, date, measurement conditions and duration, together with the relevant limitations and the interpretation criterion applied.
How this factor is measured
Measurements are taken with specialist professional instruments to record parameters such as illuminance, colour temperature, colour rendering index and flicker, as well as other relevant indicators depending on the scope of the assessment.
Results are interpreted taking into account both daylight and artificial lighting and the functional needs of each space.
In assessments intended as expert evidence, calibrated instruments are used to ensure the reliability and traceability of the measurements.
Criteria
Interpretation follows the SBM-2024 and, where appropriate, takes into account the technical standards applicable to indoor lighting.
The assessment takes into account the function of each room, the uniformity of the lighting, visual comfort and the overall behaviour of the indoor environment.
This guide does not publish values or thresholds. Technical criteria, legal limits and recommendations are different things and are not presented as equivalent.
Improvement measures
Work always begins by understanding and, where possible, reducing the source, before acting on the path or on the space. Measures are prioritised by expected effect, feasibility and proportionality, and no products are recommended by default.
The action taken depends on the characteristics of the building and the results obtained. Options that may be considered include:
- Making better use of daylight.
- Improving the distribution of light fittings.
- Choosing light sources suited to the intended use.
- Replacing equipment with low efficiency or high flicker.
Each recommendation is adapted to the needs of the space and the intended use of the different rooms.
How Cemprotecta helps
This factor is not assessed on its own. It is measured as part of an assessment that treats the space as a system, because the right conditions depend on what each room is used for and on how daylight and artificial light are combined.
What an assessment gives you is knowing what is there, where it is and what can be done about it, with an ordered sequence of measures rather than a list of problems.
- Inspection of the space and of accessible installations.
- Measurement in the rooms where people spend most time.
- Combined interpretation with the other factors assessed.
- A report with measures ranked by their expected effect on the conditions of the space.
Request an assessment
If this factor concerns you in your home or workplace, tell us about your case. The prior inspection will determine whether it is worth measuring and what else should be assessed alongside it.