New SLL guide to office lighting considers hybrid working and circular economy
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The Society of Light and Lighting (SLL) has launched the latest Lighting Guide 07 (LG7): Offices. There
have been considerable developments since the previous edition, published in 2015.
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The new guide considers hybrid working, addressing uncertainty around how office space will be
used in the future. With increased hybrid working and the use of portable devices, people are
spending less time at their desks and in the office. This revision of Lighting Guide 7 now includes
home office lighting advice.
“The future for the traditional office is looking increasingly uncertain. Change had already begun in
the years before the Covid-19 pandemic, with people moving to laptops instead of desktop
computers and, latterly, to tablets allowing increasing levels of flexibility in where they chose to
carry out their work tasks. Whilst it may not be suitable for everyone, many are choosing to redefine
their working environment to include their homes for some of the time.
The look, feel, and layout of office environments will always change to reflect how our lives change.
The Covid-19 pandemic, however, is likely to be the catalyst for change on a scale hitherto unseen,
making it a great time to be a lighting designer.” Simon Robinson, WSP – author of LG7: Offices.
For the first time, this guidance includes a chapter focused on the impact of embodied and
operational energy. This chapter discusses the general considerations that may apply to the amount
of energy used by an office lighting installation, as well as the energy and carbon used in the
manufacture and distribution of luminaires and the raw materials used to produce them. While
proportions will vary between individual businesses, lighting represents a significant part of energy
use, and this must be considered when designing an office lighting installation.
The guidance encourages the re-use of equipment where possible. Where luminaires are not
suitable for reuse as complete units, it may be possible to have new control gear fitted into existing
luminaire bodies, thereby avoiding the embodied energy used to manufacture new components.
The SLL have produced TM66: Creating a circular economy in the lighting industry, which provides
more detailed information on reusing existing equipment.
The illumination levels recommended by this guide reflect those in the British Standard for Light and
Lighting – Lighting for Workplaces. It offers guidance that considers both the needs of individuals as
well as the need to reduce energy use where reasonable. In the UK, office lighting levels should be
provided at a level that is safe, comfortable and allows an individual to carry out their tasks
efficiently. The approach may differ for each project based on several factors.
The approach reflected in the new LG7 is centred around a base level of illumination, which is then
either increased or decreased following an assessment of the individual occupants and use of a
space through the application of context modifiers. This can be seen as a significant change to how
office lighting levels are determined if considered across the whole office space, rather than as a
prompt to consider individual occupants or tasks.
The SLL is a division of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE). Members of
CIBSE and the SLL receive unlimited online access to guides via the CIBSE Knowledge Portal.
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Find out more about the SLL and access your copy of LG7: Offices.
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