LIGHTING SPECIAL SCHOOLS
Baseline primary school section
A secondary measure extracted from
There are new techniques for many lighting designers and architects to become familiar with, and those who do so have an opportunity to be innovative and stand out from the rest
CBDM is daylight autonomy (DA). The purpose of this measure is to ensure that we create spaces that are predominantly lit by daylight and, as a result, the electric lighting will be off. The criterion is that the learning environment should receive its target illuminance – say 300 lux average – for 50% of the occupied hours. The electric lighting design follows the strategy and guidance set out in LG5 and the research completed by Fagerhult, Lund University and University College London in the paper: Influence of Ambient Light on the Performance, Mood, Endocrine Systems and other Factors of School Children 2009. The importance of ambient light has been adopted and, as such, all of the baseline design schools have exposed soffits with sufficiently high ceilings to allow suspended luminaires. Using suspended luminaires delivers direct and indirect light to the space to create a bright and visually comfortable learning environment. Cylindrical illuminance has been adopted as it is seen as a way to eliminate poor quality schemes, where a room that truly requires three rows of luminaires is reduced to two rows. The double-row designers often maintain they have achieved the working plane light levels. However, they fail to comment on how the teacher’s face will be poorly illuminated. Ensuring the space operates efficiently
DAYLIGHT DESIGN GUIDE
A guide to lighting design in schools is available from the Society of Light and Lighting, entitled LG5: Lighting for Education. The publication is available through CIBSE’s Knowledge Portal at
www.cibseknowledgeportal.co.uk
and for the benefit of occupants, the lighting control system must be simple and intuitive, yet also maximise the energy savings. In many Building Schools for the Future (BSF) schools, the outer row of luminaires were linked to a daylight sensor but often, through ‘value engineering’, the remaining rows would be on or off via a manual switch. The FOS and baseline design cost plan require that each row
12 CIBSE Journal December 2012
of luminaires have their own combined Passive InfraRed Sensors (PIR) and/or photocell operating dimmable luminaires. An often forgotten element of any
design discipline is the operating and maintenance post completion. One proposal with the PSBP is to link payments to the energy performance of the building. What that means for the lighting design is that the school will be provided with a LENI (lighting energy numeric indicator) rating by the lighting designer, and the electrical load and occupation data will be recorded and assessed against the original estimation. Clearly, there can be many reasons why
the original estimation and actual data do not align and there will be a 12-month period to investigate any discrepancy and adjust the target. This is a significant change to previous building programmes as, over the years, a significant amount of energy and building usage data will become available for future designs. In conclusion, the PSBP and FOS have
raised the bar in relation to lighting design for the learning environment. However, it is important to note that it has done so by taking on board the latest research and thinking in how these spaces should be lit and analysed. There are new techniques for many lighting designers and architects to become familiar with, and those who do so have an opportunity to be innovative and stand out from the rest. The baseline school designs can be found
on the Education Funding Agency website. These should be taken as a starting point, and not as the only solution. CJ
l ANDREW BISSELL is lighting design director at Cundall Light4. For more information on baseline designs for schools, visit
www.education.gov. uk/schools/adminandfinance/schoolscapital/ buildingsanddesign/baseline
www.cibsejournal.com
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