Lighting Journal November/December 2023

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Professional best practice from the Institution of Lighting Professionals

November/December 2023

TAKING FLIGHT How an illuminated ‘dynamic flight’ balustrade and handrail has created a new Leeds icon

COUNCIL TAXING We find out what worries are most keeping local authority lighting officers awake at night

REMAKING WORK Why post-pandemic working and net zero are profoundly reshaping office lighting

The publication for all lighting professionals


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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 LIGHTING JOURNAL

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 LIGHTING JOURNAL

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Contents

06 COUNCIL TAXING

Between rising energy costs (again), net zero, asset management concerns and, increasingly, the spectre of local authorities even collapsing outright, it is fair to say outright, council lighting teams have a lot to worry about right now. Ahead of a new CPD event next year, the ILP asked officers what is most keeping them awake at night. Michala Medcalf reports

14 A WIN FOR LIGHTING

Effective lobbying by the industry has led to the government delaying EU minimum energy performance standards, writes Allan Howard

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PROMOTING GOOD LIGHTING

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TAKING FLIGHT

The CIE’s 30th Quadrennial Meeting took place in Ljubljana in Slovenia in September. The CIE’s Nigel Parry was there for Lighting Journal

A stunning ‘dynamic flight’ illuminated balustrade and handrail is at the heart of the new David Oluwale Bridge in Leeds, one which celebrates the rich diversity of this vibrant northern city. Fabien Le Dem reports, with additional commentary by David Anstee

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THE ‘DIRTY SECRET’ OF CAT A

How to address the ‘unacceptable’ waste often associated with Cat A fitouts was a key conversation at the Circular Lighting Live lighting and sustainability conference in September – and it is clear there are no easy solutions

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PERFORM GREENER

Next month’s Build2Perform event at London’s Excel Centre will for the first time include a new lighting section, Light2Perform. The focus will be very much on how the industry can accelerate its drive towards greater sustainability

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'WE NEED TO MAKE WAVES, NOT RIPPLES'

Hitting net zero for the construction industry is going to be a lot more challenging than many currently realise, argues Gary Thornton, and there may be a case for the government doing more to incentivise tax reliefs for LED products

38 WORK TO LIVE

How the workplace is used post pandemic, and increasingly urgent environmental and energy-saving imperatives, are profoundly changing how lighting designers need to think about, and specify, office and workplace lighting, writes Sophie Parry

42 FLEXIBLE WORKING

Commercial office spaces need to be highly flexible spaces that can change configuration easily while maximising daylight, efficiency and energy use. As a recent project in a Scottish business park showed, this very much goes for the lighting too. Kevin McCully explains all

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44 REMAKING WORK

The refurbishment of Arup’s Piccadilly Place office in Manchester has highlighted both the practical and sustainability value of remanufacturing versus stripping out and starting from scratch

SOUTHPORT 46 THE CONFERENCE

The APLE annual conference in Southport in 1947 was marked by an intensification of the battle by the profession against the government’s diktat that street lighting could only be run at 50% of its pre-war capacity, writes Simon Cornwell

THINK 50 THEY IT’S ALL OVER

And it is now – but only once you’ve completed the Exterior Lighting Diploma’s (ELD) Completion Module. Three-quarters of ELD students fail to carry through this final task of the diploma, meaning they’re not actually properly qualified. Make sure you’re not one of them, emphasises Guy Harding

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‘THE LONGER YOU LEAVE IT, THE MORE DIFFICULT IT SEEMS TO BECOME’

For lighting designer Chris Smith, completing the ELD has been invaluable to his career progression. However, with the pandemic putting things on hold at just the wrong moment, he emphasises the key is not to delay pressing on with the Completion Module if you can

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58 HEARING NEW VOICES

During 2023 the YLP and Lighting Journal joined forces to showcase and celebrate young lighters, up-and-coming lighting professionals and those who are new in the industry. The YLP’s Katerina Xynogola looks back on what these ‘new voices’ have told us

REQUIRES A 59 ‘LIGHTING BALANCE OF TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE, ARTISTIC SKILL, AND ABILITY TO ADAPT’

Ahmad Yar Daniyal reflects on his route into lighting and what being part of the industry means for him

A MEMBER OF COVER PICTURE 61 ‘BEING THE YLP HAS GIVEN ME EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITIES’

For Matt Robbins, membership of the YLP has opened doors and proved invaluable in helping him to progress his career

The new David Oluwale Bridge in Leeds, showing its ‘dynamic flight’ illuminated balustrade and handrail. Turn to page 22 where Fabien Le Dem talks through the award-winning project and David Anstee reflects on some of the challenges that were overcome. Photography courtesy of DW Windsor

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 LIGHTING JOURNAL

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Editor’s letter

B

Volume 88 No 10 November/ December 2023

President Rebecca Hatch IEng MILP Chief Executive Justin Blades Editor Nic Paton BA (Hons) MA Email: nic.cormorantmedia@outlook.com Lighting Journal’s content is chosen and evaluated by volunteers on our reader panel, peer review group and a small representative group which holds focus meetings responsible for the strategic direction of the publication. If you would like to volunteer to be involved, please contact the editor. We also welcome reader letters to the editor. Graphic & Layout Design George Eason Design on behalf of Matrix Print Consultants Ltd Tel: 07506075098 Email: hello@georgeeason.design Advertising Manager Emma Barrett Email: ebarrett@matrixprint.com Published by Matrix Print Consultants Ltd on behalf of Institution of Lighting Professionals Regent House, Regent Place, Rugby CV21 2PN Telephone: 01788 576492 E-mail: info@theilp.org.uk Website: www.theilp.org.uk Produced by Matrix Print Consultants Ltd Unit C, Northfield Point, Cunliffe Drive, Kettering, Northants NN16 9QJ Tel: 01536 527297 Email: gary@matrixprint.com Website: www.matrixprint.com

ack in the summer, the Local Government Association warned that local authorities faced a £3bn funding gap just to keep services standing still. Last year, too, accountants Grant Thornton predicted councils could be facing a financial ‘black hole’ of as much as £7.3bn by 2025/26 [1]. The amount of savings per head of population councils would need to make at this point would be more than the combined average spend per head on homelessness, sports and leisure facilities, parks and open spaces, libraries, waste collection and disposal, and recycling, Grant Thornton’s grim analysis pointed out. Since 2018, we’ve seen Northamptonshire, Slough, Thurrock and Croydon councils all file section 114 notices, essentially declaring bankruptcy. The most recent addition to these – and perhaps most worrying given its size – was of course Birmingham City Council in September. Kent and Hampshire have also warned they may not be far off being forced to do the same. Against this backdrop, it is perhaps unsurprising that ‘service delivery and financial pressures’ have been cited as key worries keeping local authority lighting professionals awake at night. Yet, as Michala Medcalf highlights from page six, this is just one of an array of serious, and potentially deepening, headaches facing already cut-back and stretched local authority lighting teams. The transition to net zero – despite the politicking and backtracking by the government in recent weeks – remains a key challenge and, within that, how to ramp up access to, and infrastructure to support, EV charging. Asset management, skills gaps and loss of experience and expertise (especially as lighting teams age), light pollution, supply chain volatility and, as we head into another uncertain winter, energy prices are all up there and niggling away. Many of these would be hard enough to manage and resource even if local authorities were feeling financially chipper. Yet with many precariously rocking on their toes on the edge of budgetary precipices – and with lighting not a statutory responsibility to fund – these challenges become even greater still. The fact the ILP will be holding a ‘Daventry mark II’ event on 1 February next year in the Northamptonshire town to wrestle with these issues – arguably emergencies – is great news. This will aim to build on the highly successful energy crisis event in February of this year. So, if you are able to circle the date in your 2024 diary, please do. Normally, the phrase that comes next is ‘we’d love to see you there’. For something like this, I’d argue it really ought to be ‘we need to see you there’. Circular Lighting Live in September was also about an emergency and potentially of course an even more existential one than the survival of local government – the survival of the planet. As we highlight in our report from page 28, while the one-day conference heard many positive examples of where the industry is making great, even pioneering, progress to reduce emissions and waste and improve sustainability, there is still a way to go. This is especially the case in terms of what Recolight’s Nigel Harvey called lighting’s ‘dirty secret’: Cat A fit-outs. The fact that, after a summer of devastating climate change-fuelled floods around the globe, both he and the Lighting Industry Association’s Bob Bohannon found themselves having to raise their voices above the roar of a spectacular cloudburst on to the roof of the Royal College of Physicians’ theatre only emphasised the urgency of the threat we face. And why lighting cannot afford to be complacent. Nic Paton Editor

© ILP 2023 The views or statements expressed in these pages do not necessarily accord with those of The Institution of Lighting Professionals or the Lighting Journal’s editor. Photocopying of Lighting Journal items for private use is permitted, but not for commercial purposes or economic gain. Reprints of material published in these pages is available for a fee, on application to the editor.

[1] ‘LGA analysis – Councils face almost £3 billion funding gap over next two years’, LGA, July 2023, https://www.local.gov.uk/about/news/lga-analysiscouncils-face-almost-ps3-billion-funding-gap-over-next-two-years; ‘One in six councils at risk of running out of money next year’, Grant Thornton, October 2022, https://www.grantthornton.co.uk/news-centre/one-in-six-councils-at-risk-of-running-out-of-money-next-year/

SUBSCRIPTIONS ILP members receive Lighting Journal every month as part of their membership. You can join the ILP online, through www.theilp.org.uk. Alternatively, to subscribe or order copies please email Diane Sterne at diane@theilp.org.uk. The ILP also provides a Lighting Journal subscription service to many libraries, universities, research establishments, non-governmental organisations, and local and national governments.

THE ARCHITECTURE OF LIGHT www.theilp.org.uk

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COUNCIL TAXING Between rising energy costs (again), net zero, asset management concerns and, increasingly, the spectre of local authorities even collapsing outright, it is fair to say council lighting teams have a lot to worry about right now. Ahead of a new CPD event next year, the ILP polled councils to see what is most keeping officers awake at night

and other regional groups who assisted in communicating to officers, asking for their participation. In total, 47 authority replies were received. Broken down by region, these came out as:

By Michala Medcalf • • • •

Three from the Republic of Ireland Seven London boroughs Six from Scotland One from Wales

What I find salient, and a mark of the overall engagement, is that we were successful too in attracting responses from a number of agencies, with responses from: • National Highways • North & Mid Wales Trunk Road Agent • Transport for London (TfL)

I

LP members may recall that, back in February, the Institution held a very successful meeting in Daventry, Northamptonshire, to consider how the industry should be responding to the energy crisis, fuelled that winter by the war in Ukraine and post-pandemic supply pressures. The good news is the ILP is looking to repeat this event next year (and see the panel at the end of this article, on page 12, for more detail on this), but this time addressing a much wider range of local authority lighting professional concerns. To inform the priorities for this meeting, we’ve once again gone out and put the question to local authorities: ‘what is it you’re most concerned about?’. The response we’ve received has been unprecedented, which is positive, even if the answers, in terms of the scale of the challenges identified, may also be worrying. This article intends, very simply, to outline what these concerns predominantly are – what are the top things keeping local authority lighting officers awake at night. Importantly, I don’t intend to suggest

here any magic-bullet or panacea answers. That debate is, in part, what the ‘Daventry II’ meeting is going to be all about. This article therefore is simply an attempt to provide some insight and clarity into what is most worrying local authority lighting colleagues and to frame the concerns of those who work within our lighting industry. First, however, let me provide some context. As of April 2021, there were 333 local authorities in England, of which 24 are county councils, 181 are district councils, and 128 are single-tier authorities. Of the latter, 33 are London boroughs and 36 are metropolitan boroughs. Wales has 22 unitary authorities (also known as county councils or county borough councils), and Scotland has 32 unitary authorities. Both Wales and Scotland also contain ‘community councils’, roughly equivalent to parish and town councils in England. As of 2014, Northern Ireland has 11 district councils, but does not have (and has never had) an equivalent to parish and town councils.

THE RESPONSES I need here to thank the ILP, the Midlands Highway Alliance (MHA Plus), ADEPT (the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport)

If we remove the agencies, and include the Republic of Ireland, the response rate collected, across the UK and Ireland, was a very much respectable 11.5%. So, what is most bothering people?

ENERGY As you would imagine, energy has not gone away as a concern. In fact, it still features at the top of most local authority concernsconcerns (and see the graphic on page 10). We know that energy prices have fallen, and are likely to be falling again this autumn. The unit price for domestic energy has fallen by 9%. The regulator OFGEM seems to cover the cost for this winter extensively, especially around the price cap, but I cannot find any clear indication of likely costs for businesses. Unsurprisingly, and it wouldn’t come as a shock to many, some local authorities have reduced their consumption by two-thirds and are still being asked for more reductions. This challenges both the perception of the service and customer expectations. A worrying point was highlighted by the councils we contacted: constant light output (CLO). As one respondent put it: ‘At the time sounded great, but I’m concerned that this is a ticking timebomb of energy liability. We


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Local authority street lighting pay more upfront when the lantern uses less energy as the LEDs are newer, this was at 12-16p/kWh; as these LEDs depreciate and consume more energy, the energy will be at 37p/kWh today, let alone in 5-10 years’ time. Will the energy companies pressure Elexon to revise codes for CLO lanterns?’ As an organisation and for our members, I feel the ILP could do with some manufacturer/regulator clarification on this. Local authorities find themselves speculating and making a number of assumptions, which is and isn’t helpful, in order to understand budget pressures for the remainder of the year and, importantly, forecasting for the next financial year. There is some interest from participants to see ‘comparison on rates’ across authorities, something I believe some regional groups already do. But maybe we should have a wider understanding of prices and possibly more favourable procurement methods?

CLIMATE CHANGE AND NET ZERO The politics of the last few weeks, especially from the government, has left our national net zero mandate looking what can best be described as a little shaky. Despite the recommendations of the Climate Change Committee (CCC), the prime minister has emphasised he is intent on pressing ahead with watering down key green measures despite intense criticism, because he still believes the UK will hit its net zero target in 2050. Time will tell. The acknowledgement that, in both domestic and in business, we will face significant costs as part of the country’s transition to net zero will come as no surprise. But we need government to communicate a clear mandate and remove barriers by making funding accessible, so we can act on delivering achievable local strategies. In recent years, we have seen a succession of global emergencies, with the Covid19 pandemic being the most significant. But arguably there is no greater emergency that faces mankind than the one we are walking into right now: climate change. And this concern is very much reflected in the responses from local authorities.

ECOLOGY, DARK SKIES AND LIGHT POLLUTION There is a perception and general misunderstanding that street lighting is the ‘bad guy’ and predominately responsible for our light pollution. Recent discussions and studies highlight that majority of light pollution is created from private and commercial sources [1]. So, how do we make this understood in the wider community and communicate the issue?

EV CHARGING Our survey identified many different views and opinions on EV charging. First, there is a suspicion and concern that this is ‘often led by folk without any industry or street lighting/electrical backgrounds’. There is general concern around supplies being taken from street lighting infrastructure, and the need to learn what some of these issues are raising. Nevertheless, EV charging is expected to feature highly in future priorities because of available funding, such as LEVI (Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) – and it will most likely be considered a high priority for most authorities’ ‘local transport plan’ strategies. However, this does not come without its problems. Running a cable across the footway for users without off-street parking may be problematic. In urban, inner-city environments local authorities would discourage this because of the danger such a cable could present to other users of the footway, even if a cable protector is used (and see Highways Act 1980, c.66, part IX, Section 162 for more on this). Also, there is increasing pressure to utilise street lighting infrastructure as a means of a ‘point supply’ for the charging points. There have been a number of issues already raised by lighting professionals in adopting this practice. Concerns include earthing and reliability, because of age and condition, of existing DNO cable infrastructure, which serves to supply our street lighting infrastructure. In general, there is a feeling there is no central guidance or support for EV roll out. In the absence of guidance, and by means of support, one respondent suggested, we ‘need to look at a central piece of work involving innovation and progression for councils, current officers have no capacity to take a step back and look at new tech etc’. Could this be something possibly our own Technical Manager, Vice President Technical and, not least, the Technical Committee can take away to consider?

MARKET VOLATILITY – SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES AND COSTS IMPACT ON PROJECTS The common concerns articulated here have been availability, lead times and an overall increase in costs making estimates and bidding difficult. There have been significant rises in the price of columns and luminaires and so on. Reasons given include increases in the price of steel, which at one stage were increasing weekly but seem to have stabilised, the price of steel fell by 31% between spring 2022 and January 2023 [2]. However, with ongoing general high

inflation, high energy costs, interest rates rising, and uncertain global conditions, the outlook for UK metal demand is set to remain challenging. The effect on costs for luminaires and columns looks set to remain the same.

PROCUREMENT, INCLUDING SCOTTISH PROCUREMENT DELAYS (SCOTLAND EXCEL) There is some concern that regional procurement groups may not be performing as well as others when achieving best possible rates for their clients. Procurement is often seen as a bit of a minefield with protracted processes. Delays in getting Scotland Excel ( the procurement body used in Scotland) lighting materials contracts out is causing a great deal of pressure, as officers are having to put mini tenders out for all materials. This, in turn, is causing further ramifications around the time and cost involved in doing so, rather than buying from a pre-approved framework.

PEOPLE Here, there are a range of competing and overlapping concerns, including: • Resources, recruitment, retention, training and competency, including succession planning • Skills gaps/shortages, including design skills gaps making quality of external design more challenging • Contractor resources • Workloads • Private versus public sector pay • Competency around lighting in planning departments • Lack of STEM engagement in schools • Technical seminars (including the importance of face-to-face learning) When presented together, it is easier to get a real understanding of the monumental challenges we face here. A further issue is our ageing workforce, with no apparent plan to replace those leaving or retiring with younger staff. Moreover, when jobs are advertised, they attract very little interest. There appear to be two clear factors for the latter. The first is local authorities are unable to compete with private sector salaries and the second is the inability to clearly demonstrate an academic pathway into the industry. This perhaps comes back to lack of STEM (science, engineering, technology and mathematics) engagement in schools and lighting not being prioritised. Will/can the apprenticeship scheme help us long term? And are we doing enough to promote this?

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Local authority street lighting There are a lot of lighting professionals in the industry with no formal Engineering Council recognition. This is not based on ability, far from it; it is the perceived blockers that prevent greater registration for many. Time, too, can often be a factor. One comment, for example, went so far as to ask for: ‘A methodology for when people earn their qualifications, upgrade membership with a relevant institution and gain experience are awarded and recognised for this. Is there a more streamlined way of doing this?’ It is accepted that the reality we currently work in has fewer resources to deal with ever-increasing workloads and demands. In fact, many of us just can’t keep up with demand, and I do worry about burnout and mental health. But if we cannot recruit, we cannot delegate tasks and responsibilities to ease pressure. There is a perception that the erosion of staff has resulted in an erosion of respect and professional opinion within councils, in as much as we are no longer perceived to be the experts in our field of work. Further, service decisions are too often being made by unqualified people who do not have an understanding of the larger statutory requirements. For example, the CDM (Construction, Design and Management Regulations) 2015 and Equalities Act 2010. Do they fully understand the ramifications of their decisions in the context of these important regulations and how this may affect them personally, and the organisation? Have they been thoroughly briefed? Have all risks been identified? Or is it simply a case of, because of the climate we work in, local authorities just having to adopt greater risk appetite? There is one particular concern within this I would like to highlight, as I feel it myself. The survival, integrity and, indeed, gravitas of our industry depends on the future recruitment and development of lighting engineers, those who will manage lighting, and those who will lead lighting. There is a notable difference between a manager and a leader. Leaders will take us on that journey of the future, will have vision and an insatiable drive for change, rather than simply be ‘reactive’ managers. Several authorities raised specific concern around the declining quality of external designs. As one of our respondents put it: ‘Often very poor and can often cost more in our time in approvals, back and forth comms, than the fee for providing a S278 or S38 design. Design by comments is the term I use for this.’ One obvious means of addressing this, as another highlighted, is: ‘The “client” needs to be carrying out due diligence in

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Birmingham City Council is the latest local authority to run into financial crisis. Officers are worried what this will mean for lighting

terms of checking that the lighting designer/ organisation appointed has the rights skills, knowledge and appropriate qualifications and is a member of a relevant institution.’ Again though, it comes back to resource availability. Our planning departments come under the spotlight, too. At the planning stage lighting designs are submitted to ensure things such as ecological or environmental mitigations are being accounted for. But the planner looking at the designs has no technical knowledge of lighting designs. How do they carry out checks to ensure the lighting is compliant and the designer is competent?

ASSET MANAGEMENT Here, key concerns and worries cited by our authorities included: • Attachments to columns including structural capabilities, as per PAS 191 multifunctional columns • Asset management and condition of stock, especially ageing stock and lack of funding/ financial pressures • The need to be mapping our cable network, which is also ageing • Ditto the need for electrical and structural testing, aka GN22 and non-destructive recording and understanding • The asset management of heritage lighting on listed buildings • The challenges of 4G/5G shared asset use • Rising material costs plus the need to be understanding the lifecycle of materials, for example the best LED lanterns available (in other words, not just the sales talk) • How to drive responsible, sustainable growth, including the question of should we even be lighting new housing developments? This theme is featuring higher and higher on the agenda for all local authorities. This

is partly because of central government requirements, such as the Department for Transport’s incentive funding annually based on the performance of our highways services in five key areas. These include: • Asset management policy and strategy • Communication • Performance management and maintenance • Asset data management • Lifecycle planning The scheme rewards councils that demonstrate that they are following an asset management approach and adopting best value and efficient practices to help manage its highway infrastructure. The amount of incentive funding awarded to a local authority is based on a self-assessment score and is proportionate to other funding streams. Councils are banded 1 to 3, with 3 being the top and receiving full funding. There is some trepidation out there around the commitment by councils delivering large-scale capital projects, especially when the authority is using unsecured borrowing based on a ‘spend to save’ project outcome. With costs increasing exponentially, are projects at risk now of not being delivered? Return-on-investment assumptions are typically made up of three components: energy savings, carbon savings and maintenance savings. If we deliver a project today, when both price of materials and energy are high, what are the consequences if energy prices fall significantly? We work in an arena that is often politically driven, so when an officer goes ‘cap in hand’ with their business case and report to Cabinet, the most successful are those which offer ‘return on investments’ – but (perhaps cynically) also when they’re within, or close to, a political term for maximum impact. Is there, too, a potential for manufacturers to price themselves out of work?


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Local authority street lighting As our landscapes change, with greater demand on housing and urbanisation, it seems nonsense to state the obvious, yet it is important to do so. Our budgets are decreasing but our stock, and therefore our costs, are set to increase. Within this, some councils are finding themselves under increasing pressure from both internal departments and external bodies to make attachments to lighting columns, as this can often and has the ability to generate revenue, regardless of weight, windage, age and so on. There are examples of some authorities experiencing attachments without prior authorisation, regardless of risk and consequences, and this is fast becoming a blight for street lighting asset managers. Requests for attachments in general range from CCTV, autonomous vehicle equipment, and footfall sensors through to festive decorations, EV charging, ANPR cameras, vehicle activations and speed indicator signs, and small cell water metering. Indeed, it was noted that a recent APSE circular referred to lighting columns as ‘smart multi-purpose columns’. One

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authority’s immediate concern was: ‘But they won't be so smart when one collapses, somebody is electrocuted, or electricity is found to be not being paid for.’ I’m personally seeing the effects of this rising demand and, as an officer, this area is taking up a lot of time and limited resource. In the autumn of 2022 and April of this year, three documents were published which, I feel are all critical tools to street lighting and other highway asset managers: • BSI 190: 2023 Existing lighting and CCTV columns – Assessment for multifunctional use – Code of practice • BSI PAS 191: 2023 Multifunctional columns – Design – Specification • Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development in England [3] These publications have come about because of the pressure, especially on local authorities, around the UK’s Digital Strategy, the DCMS Digital Connectivity Infrastructure Accelerator Programme (DCIA)

and how this is delivered through existing legislation, namely the Electronic Communication Code, which is set out in Schedule 3A of the Communications Act 2003 [4]. Personally, I don’t think these publications have received enough airtime by our industry. I feel these are essential reads to adopt into practice and have a unilateral understanding of. The revisit of the ILP’s TR22, now GN22 Asset Management Toolkit: Minor Structures: 2019 has helped [5]. The move away from UKRLG Well-lit Highways: 2004, instead delivered via an overarching highway infrastructure guidance, the UKRLG Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure: Code of Practice 2016 (lighting features in Part D) has also moved generically to a more ‘risk-based approach’ [6]. Positively, these have gone a long way to bringing strong asset management principles to the fore, and a focus on assessment and testing methodology. But this is still an area of growing concern, and rightly so. Our ageing cable network does not go without attention in our survey either, especially around where possible funding


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Local authority street lighting about within Lighting Journal earlier this year (‘We can’t carry on just doing what we’ve always done’, April 2023, vol 88 no 4).

HEALTH AND SAFETY Four concerns appear uppermost here: • Safe working practices • Standards of workmanship in the industry • Ongoing costs with the HEA for HERS compliance • LED health

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has been backtracking on net zero commitments

streams may, or may not appear. There is also mention of the need to be mapping cable networks. I think it is here where we need technology and robust asset management systems to capture this data.

SERVICE DELIVERY AND FINANCIAL PRESSURES Key worries and concerns cited by the councils we surveyed in this context included: • Managing rising customer expectations • Changes to lighting levels based on budget pressures (such as electricity costs) versus short-term financial gain • Revenue budget constraints and a lack of funding, including commercialisation opportunities • Guidance on switching off and dimming • Quality and compliance of lighting A repeating theme is the challenges around lighting level standards versus financial savings, yet still having to manage customer expectations. It’s that old chestnut: how do we juggle managing public perception and our immediate priorities delivering an overall public service? We are hearing more and more cases of councils struggling with their finances, with Birmingham City Council just the latest high-profile collapse but with more predicted. With more councils possibly issuing Section 114 notices, basically declaring bankruptcy, we are in unprecedented times. What might this all mean for lighting? Is there, too, any way we can turn some of these bad fortunes to our advantage? For example, a couple of authorities in our survey mentioned ‘commercialisation opportunities’. But what, in reality, is meant by this? And how can this be communicated across other authorities?

I feel this would be a particularly interesting topic to expand on, and something to explore in greater detail, come the new year in Daventry. Competing legislation and financial crises means that, as lighting professionals, we find ourselves spinning an ever-greater number of plates. Whether that be around climate, pollution, ecological requirements, energy, maintenance and resource savings. Or the pressure for consumption, for active travel, for reclaiming the night. Which one trumps the other? Variable lighting standards seems to be a further reoccurring theme. One question raised by one respondent was: ‘How do you identify a LED lantern fault if you do not have CMS?’ In general, there seems to be a bit of trepidation around the whole dim-to-save situation and officers would I am sure welcome some unilateral guidance. The quality of lighting on the highway seems an increasingly topical conversation, with some councils now arranging for their lights to be dimmed from anywhere between a ‘light touch’ to what is considered as ‘aggressive’. But how far is too far? Before the lighting is not actually doing the job it’s supposed to do in terms of safety, and the perception of safety? I think many officers are waiting in trepidation to the findings of Live Labs 2/East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s innovative project plans – as unveiled in fact last year at Daventry. They are, to recap, researching and implementing measures to decarbonise the country’s streetlights and introduce the next generation of road signs, road markings, and cats’ eyes, ones able to glow brighter in vehicle headlights. This is a three-year research programme and runs until March 2026, with a five-year subsequent, extended monitoring and evaluation period, as Karl Rouke wrote

It would come of no surprise to many that the ongoing concerns around LED lighting, and the effects on health, is still being raised by minority groups. LED blue light content in particular generates concerns and conspiracy theories. So, as specifiers, we do, I feel, need more guidance on how best to respond to these concerns.

TECHNOLOGY Here a further five concerns are central: • Smart city infrastructure • Emerging technologies, including 5G, solar and wind • Lighting control systems, including CMS under-reporting. This is where an under report occurs when an asset with a CMS unit reference declared in the detailed inventory does not appear in the daily event log produced by the CMS. In the event of an under report, a meter administrator is required to calculate consumption as if the asset had operated from dusk to dawn at full power. This means that any intended savings from energy reduction measures, such as dimming, trimming or part-night operation are not captured, causing consumption to be higher than perhaps it should be. • Lack of guidance for EV and smart cities • Mobile working technology, especially handheld devices There is some interest in what new technology could offer our sector, especially the development and use of hybrid solar and wind lantern systems. There is acknowledgement that, in the short term, these technologies could assist in our net zero ambitions for ‘decarbonisation zones’, with a possible largerscale roll out in the future as technology matures and becomes more affordable and considered ‘the norm’. We still see and hear the fearmongering that 5G infrastructure generates and, again, just last month, we saw yet another

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Local authority street lighting deliberate attack [7]. How do we debunk these societal beliefs/fears? There is some interest in the use of mobile working technologies, such as hand-held devices. The technology has considerably moved on and matured and real operational efficiencies can be delivered, not to mention the ability to demonstrate a variety of compliances. I think most DLOs (direct labour organisations) and contractors have such tech available at their disposal. But are there still those without? If so, how can we support them? As with most cases, authorities need to understand what and where funding is available to embrace new technologies to help us respond to the multitude of challenges and, opportunities the lighting sector faces.

MISCELLANEOUS Finally, there were some what we might term ‘miscellaneous’ concerns raised by the survey. These were: • Parks lighting and safe spaces • Effectiveness of lantern shields • PFI expiry These concerns don’t fit necessarily into a regular ‘box’ but are of course still worthy of mention. After all, they are the concerns of individuals who felt there was strength and merit in these particular areas. Parks lighting and safe spaces has received recent spotlight in the availability of Home Office funding under the Safer Streets model. This, to recap, allows police forces and local authorities to invest in crime prevention initiatives. As often seen in our industry, there is always a clash of priorities. In the case of parks and public open spaces, the tension here is to provide lighting for safety versus the lighting of green (possibly blue) spaces where safeguarding ecology and dark skies should be paramount. Again, it’s about getting the message across and advocating the publications available. To my mind, some timely (perhaps ILP-led?) refresher CPD wouldn’t go amiss here. Light shields are a peculiarity, in as much as sometimes they are overused in favour of poor engineering. That said, on occasions where ecological and environmental restrictions are a necessity, they have a vital role to play in protection.

Ahead of another uncertain winter, energy price volatility remains a concern

If unsure, speak to your choice of luminaire manufacturer who will be able to model the effect of lighting with specific shield positioning in place. PFIs (private finance initiatives) are considered by some as quite niche. But as these projects start their journal to expiry, officers it is clear do feel they need additional support. This is something Elizabeth Thomas discussed at this summer’s Professional Lighting Summit in Manchester. There are 31 street lighting PFI projects, including the London Borough of Brent’s, which has now expired. The total ‘capital value’ is £1,423bn, with more than 1,314,719 assets managed under this arrangement. The Department for Transport (DfT), along with the Infrastructure Projects Authority (IPA), has released guidance on the expectations around preparing for contract expiry [8]. However, the reality is this is going to be, and by their own acknowledgement, a ‘resource hungry’ process. So, with our own resource issues, as is very clear, how do we effectively ‘close the door’? Lessons learnt from other concessions will be key here, and strong collaboration to ensure we find the course of least resistance. Maybe another topic of conversation that the ILP needs to be looking at? One way, or another, when ILP members and the wider lighting profession gather back in Daventry next February, it is clear that, for many local authorities, it is a question of ‘crises management’ rather than ‘crisis management’, with lighting teams also having to navigate an increasingly challenging landscape. There will

undoubtedly be lots to discuss. When reviewing this article, I was surprised at just how many important avenues of public services, and government policies and strategies we interact with. This, to me, underpins the importance and influence the lighting industry plays in delivering this most important national agenda. Let’s hope we can make that importance heard loud in clear, both in Daventry and in the corridors of power.

Michala Medcalf is street lighting manager, Engineering Assets and Policy Group, at Derby City Council and ILP Chair – Local Authority.

FOLLOW-UP DAVENTRY EVENT The ILP is holding a follow-up in February to the special ‘energy crisis’ CPD event held in Daventry, Northamptonshire earlier this year. The event will return to the Mercure Daventry Court Hotel and will be held on Thursday 1 February. More details will be posted online, at theilp.org.uk/events as they become available but, for now, hold the date in your diary! The event will bring together ILP members, local authority lighting teams, lighting designers, manufacturers and specifiers to assess and discuss the key challenges the industry faces and what solutions, if any, may be open to lighting professionals. It’ll be one not to miss. So remember, Thursday 1 February at the Mercure Daventry Court Hotel.

[1] ‘Take action on local light pollution’, CPRE, https://nightblight.cpre.org.uk/take-action-about-local-light-pollution; ‘Streetlights not the main cause of light pollution’, https://cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk/gairrhydd/streetlights-not-the-maincause-of-light-pollution/; ‘Astronomers Dim Street Lights to Home in on Light Pollution’, https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/street-light-pollution/; ‘The argument for switching off lights at night’, BBC, https://www.bbc.com/future/ article/20210719-why-light-pollution-is-harming-our-wildlife [2] https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/planning-construction-news/aluminum-and-steel-demand-drop-2023/129623/#:~:text=Despite%20this%20trend%2C%20the%20price, low%20prices%20across%20the%20continent [3] BSI 190: 2023 Existing lighting and CCTV columns – Assessment for multifunctional use – Code of practice, https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/standards/pas-190/; BSI PAS 191: 2023 Multifunctional columns – Design – Specification, https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/standards/pas-1912023/; Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development in England, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-for-wireless-network-development-in-england [4] UK’s Digital Strategy, https://www.gov.uk/guidance/digital-connectivity-infrastructure-accelerator-programme; Electronic Communication Code, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/information-for-industry/policy/electronic-comm-code [5] GN22, The ILP, https://theilp.org.uk/publication/guidance-note-22-asset-management-toolkitminor-structures-atoms/ [6] UKRLG Well-lit Highways: 2004, https://www.ciht.org.uk/media/12302/well-lit-highways-24-may-2013-clean.pdf; [7] ‘Long Eaton: Fire that damaged 5G mast suspicious, police say’, BBC News, October 2023, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-66960504 [8] ‘Preparing for PFI contract expiry’, Infrastructure and Projects Authority, February 2022, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-pfi-contract-expiry

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Lighting and sustainability

The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero's offices in Victoria, London, though here showing when it was still the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

A WIN FOR LIGHTING Effective lobbying by the industry has led to the government delaying the introduction of EU minimum energy performance standards By Allan Howard

R

egular readers of Lighting Journal will recall that in September Bob Bohannon drew our attention in his ‘Minimum energy, maximum headache’ article to the impending UK Eco-Design proposals (vol 88, no 8). These, to recap, were the so-called ‘minimum energy performance standards’ (MEPS) for light sources contained in the first tranche of the new eco-design regulations due to hit the industry from as soon as this month (November 2023). Bob advised that concern has been building within the industry at the proposals for the best part of 18 months, especially within the UK Lighting Liaison Group (UKLLG). That concern mainly centred around the minimum energy performance standards for light sources being promoted by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (now the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, DESNZ). The standards proposed the introduction of new rules to mandate a minimum energy performance standard for light sources and lamps of 120lm/W from the

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autumn of 2023, rising to 140lm/W in 2027. As Bob advised, this was challenged by the UK Lighting Liaison Group (see the panel at the end for details of the LLG) and the Lighting Industry Association (LIA) together. A working group was set up which had a range of meetings with DESNZ and, as a result, developed a mass of evidence in response to the consultation. Essentially advising that the approach was wrong, it should be delayed and considered correctly.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE (FINALLY) The evidence was submitted and, as Bob reported, we then had a very longer period of silence. Soon after publication of Bob’s article, however, the energy efficient products team at DESNZ did respond and, quoting directly, from their letter I am pleased to advise that: ‘In advance of publishing the government response to the consultation, we would like to inform you that we will not be bringing in the new standards later this year as proposed in the consultation. ‘We will respond to the issues raised by consultees in the government response. However, we wanted to assure you now that we are aware that industry will need time to develop their products in accordance with new regulations and we will take this into account when we set the revised implementation deadline.’ So, we can all breathe a little easier, at least for now! It was hard work but – all thanks and recognition to the LLG working

group members and the depth of evidence generated – we have been able to show how the UK LLG can act as one industry voice, be heard and effect change. Special recognition, too, needs to go to the LIA for the huge volume of evidence generated that supported our case. The outcome is really that the lighting industry responded as one voice and has effectively won the day.

Allan Howard BEng (Hons) CEng FILP FSLL is coordinator/secretary of the UK LLG as well as group technical director, Lighting & Energy Solutions, at WSP

THE UK LLG The UK LLG consists of representatives from all of the UK and international lighting professional organisations (in other words ILP, SLL, CIBSE, IALD, CIE), the relevant trade organisations (HEA and LIA), and other interested parties, including KTN, the UK Health Security Agency, DESNZ and so on. The purpose of the LLG is to discuss all matters lighting, share information and where applicable come together as a UK voice for the lighting profession/industry on core issues and matters. No one organisation ‘owns’ the LLG. It has no website and so Allan Howard provides coordinator/ secretariat services.


NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 LIGHTING JOURNAL

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PROMOTING GOOD LIGHTING The CIE’s 30th Quadrennial Meeting took place in Ljubljana in Slovenia in September. The CIE’s Nigel Parry was there for Lighting Journal By Nigel Parry

Ljubljana in Slovenia, destination for the CIE's 30th Quadrennial Meeting

T

he CIE’s Quadrennial Meeting in Ljubljana was followed by the annual meeting of the Divisions and their associated technical committees. Around 431 delegates from 41 countries and territories arrived to listen to the papers and mix with fellow-minded lighters. As usual at CIE conferences, keynote speakers are invited in each day to open the sessions. It was worth noting that two of the three were from the UK. The first keynote speaker was Dr Peter Boyce and then, via Zoom, Kit Cuttle from New Zealand. Boyce and Cuttle presented their view of the role and limitations of current lighting standards. Their considered opinion is that, although these prevent bad lighting, they do little to promote good lighting. They prefer a reverse design method, as opposed to the lumen method. Unlike the lumen method, the reverse lighting design approach specifies the end state of the installation and then determines how this can be achieved. An overview of this method, also known as the ‘LiDOs Procedure’, written by Kit Cuttle, can be found in Lighting Research & Technology, 54(7), 628-629 (2022). The LiDOs Procedure differs from the lumen method in that, at the outset, the practitioner identifies the lighting needs


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Lighting research and the opportunities presented by the application to form a list of lighting design objectives (in other words LiDOs) to be achieved. Spatial brightness is the only required objective and is specified by a mean room surface exitance value. Other objectives may involve illumination diversity to achieve a distribution of visual emphases. These specified values are related to the photometric properties of the space to determine an optimal direct luminous flux distribution to achieve those lighting design objectives that relate to ambient illuminance or illuminance distribution. The selection of luminaires and the planning of the layout and controls are then directed to providing the required direct luminous flux distribution. This is as well as achieving any of the practitioner’s other chosen objectives with lighting colour and glare control specified by conventional lighting metrics. However, this method requires reliable data for the reflectances of the major surfaces for calculating the mean room surface exitance (MRSE). It should be noted that MRSE can only be calculated, not measured. There are a series of spreadsheets for the LiDOs procedure. The next major challenge for this approach is to include daylighting.

OUR NEW FAMILY

A slide from Maria Nilsson's presentation, which considered a different approach to looking at the performance of modern LED headlamps

DIVISION 4 ACTIVITY Following the keynote address, the sessions split and had three rooms with different focus for the papers. Looking at mainly the Division 4 (road lighting) activities, the first session was on road safety and was chaired by Ron Gibbons from the USA. Three of the four papers were from Sheffield University. The aspects of pedestrians and cyclist safety were outlined with a clear question mark about whether cyclists should actually be in a larger grouping, to include scooters, electric mobility carriages and the like. The next session was on road lighting measurements, chaired by Dionyz Gasparovsky (Div 4 Director). Here a number of interesting papers looked at the use of R tables and wet road conditions. An interesting paper by Laure Lebouc, from France, looked at studies to define new observation geometries for road lighting design. Design calculations at present are based upon a ‘standard’ driver eye height of 1.5m above carriageway. Yet there are other road users, cyclists and pedestrians for example, drivers of SUVs, lorries and so on. whose eye height is greater or less that 1.5m. So the angle of calculation at the target area varies – how does this affect the lighting performance from their perspective? As view angle increases, average luminance and uniformities decrease but considered that visibility is not really affected. Then what about R tables? Do the tables really represent current road surfaces? Road optical properties are really unknown. Designers may use generalised R values when undertaking luminance design and the tables as they stand are thought not to represent current road surfaces.

The problem as I see it is that the surface is continuously changing/evolving, a driver (say on the M25) may have four or more different road surfaces in their field of view, as repair works, new roads and so on are undertaken. So, what should be done? Is luminance still the right approach? Maria Nilsson from Sweden had a different approach of looking at the performance of modern LED headlamps and how much they varied. And yet they are apparently all within specification? The Division 1 workshop, ‘Can cone fundamentals be used in everyday photometry?’ led by Tong Bergen began with presentations from Lorne Whitehead, Yoshi Ohno and Peter Blattner. This workshop is linked to the CIE Research Forum RF-05 and TC1-98 (A roadmap toward basing CIE colorimetry on cone fundamentals). This aims to create a colour space similar to CIELAB but based on the responses of L, M and S cones. In this system, the existing V(lambda) (V(λ)) function would be replaced by a new function VF(λ). This work would lead to updates of CIE 170-1:2006 and CIE 1702:2015 (Fundamental chromaticity diagram with physiological axes). For the second day, the plenary lecture by Simon Hodson, titled 'Shedding light on FAIR data and open science', emphasised the importance of all types of data from fundamental constants to specifications. In this context ‘FAIR’ = findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable. This presentation illustrated the link between the CIE and the International Science Council (ISC), of which CODATA (the Committee on Data for Science & Technology) is an important part. Celine Villa, from France, has been looking at the use and performance of luminescent road markings and gave a CALUMMA™ www.theilp.org.uk

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Lighting research four-month update on her research work. Trial samples have been placed on the research building, together with typical white lining materials and these are assessed every five minutes. These systems do not seem to work well in wet conditions and also the team’s assessment period so far does not extend into winter where day light ‘charging’ hours are less, and operational periods are longer.

LED AND INSECTS Egidio De Benedetto, from Italy, reported on considerations of the use of grazing lighting to light motorways, something being trialled around Naples. The paper essentially only looked at this application with regard to fog conditions. Trials have only been undertaken under laboratory conditions looking to create fog and assess the performance. Leonard De Causmaecker, from Belgium, discussed the impact of public LED lighting on insects’ movement. This was an interesting study, based as it is upon upward-facing light boxes around three different landscapes, with a camera that recorded the insects every five minutes and software that counted their numbers. The work so far seems to contradict what we consider, in that 2700K attacked more insects than 6500K. It was questioned if this might be different if typical street lighting was considered where the light is downwards. Annika Jagerbrand, from Sweden considered what metrics should we use when considering and reporting light and light pollution? And the need for common reference considerations, the need to consider atmospheric/astronomical pollution, ecological impacts and impacts on human health. CIE 231:2014 and CIE TN001:2020 aid this, through this we can address unverified ‘findings’ on the effect of artificial light. Tomas Novak, from the Czech Republic, advised on metrics regarding modelling radiation into the upper hemisphere when considering illuminated billboards. Essen-

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The UK delegation (or most of them) in Slovenia. Below, left: Nigel Parry on the badminton court with Kaida Xiao. Below right: the TCA4-62 meeting in full swing

tially, this is the development of a digital integrating sphere with the board at its centre. In one case, it would take 46 streetlighting luminaires/columns to create the impact of one billboard. A wide range of poster papers were also put on display. For those not aware of such sessions, some 40 ‘A0’ size posters were put up summarising research being undertaken. The lead researcher was present to discuss and answer questions. It was quite fascinating looking at the diversity of lighting topics being considered.

‘LIGHTING FOR PREPAREDNESS’ On the final day we had another session, which had an unusual title of ‘Lighting for preparedness’. This was hosted by Jennifer Veitch and Steve Fotios of the UK. This open session wanted to look at how could the lighting profession and CIE assist with the provision of light in emergency situations? So, what is lighting preparedness? Essentially, it is considering the provision of lighting for use following natural disasters, pandemics, energy crises and perhaps innovation amongst other considerations. This is not just a lighting but a power supply consideration. Rescuers need to act quickly and there are ‘golden’ periods where lives can be saved, so rescuers need to work 24/7 – and artificial lighting is a key

aid to help them in their searches. In Ukraine, for example, people are reporting they feel safer at night now some lighting has been returned. In the interim, is there any form of lighting that could provide some comfort? The charity Shelter Box (http://shelterbox.org) has developed one such solution. So, can suitable equipment be made ready for such incidents and distributed in the time required? A lively debate ensued with a proposal to start a Technical Committee to consider lighting resilience. One of the final sessions looked at the design and implementation of road lighting. Once again, a debate with a high number of D4 members ensued and agreed that reports such as CIE 115 required updating. Where do the values assigned to the different lighting classes come from? It is not possible to track back to any decisions made in British Standards, CEN Standards or the CIE’s own research. There are many uncertainties in providing a lighting installation. We have material tolerances’ software – is it really up to the task? It is noted that certain software for calculating P classes when considering curved areas puts grid points at the rear of the footway, which are not calculation points; this can adversely affect the results, installation accuracy (or not) and then


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Lighting research measurement results. Equally, LED luminaires are still assessed as a uniform light source whereas the source is clearly nonuniform so why does this approach carry on? How can all of these be considered and brought together? The ILP has undertaken some good

work, such as TR28, looking at undertaking performance measurement on site and considering the uncertainties. This is also supported with some guidance notes, such as 2016’s GN3 Measurement of performance of LEDs. The final session was on outdoor integra-

DIVISION 4 TECHNICAL MEETINGS

noted that there are still many issues relating to road surface reflectances, which will have an influence upon the design. This committee is to work alongside CIE/ISO TS22012, and then may update the ISO. The aim is to complete this by the next mid-term meetings in 2025. 6. JTC 18 Lighting education. Chair: Dionyz Gasparovsky. This committee is looking for a new D3 chair, as Dionyz Gasparovsky is the current D4 chair. This committee reported slow progress, with meetings earlier this year. It will meet to look at areas of work to be developed.

The three-day conference was followed by Technical Committees and the Annual Divisional 4 meeting. The following committees met in Ljubljana: 1. TC4-62 Adaptive road lighting. Chair: Paolo Di Leece. The meeting was packed, with around 40 members in attendance. The report is well developed but the meeting focus was on the term for adaptive lighting. A few remaining chapters are nearing completion and a working draft for editing will be available early 2024. 2. TC4-58 Obtrusive lighting colourful and dynamic displays. Chairs: Steve Lau/Allan Howard. Three presentations (Allan Howard, Steve Lau and Tomas Novak) were provided and explored how this area is expanding. Importantly the report is to provide guidance to the industry and planners. This work is 80% completed and the due date for completion is December 2025. 3. TC4-50 Road surface reflection. Chair: Valerie Muzet. Valerie has taken over the TC and is formulating a new work plan. A number of presentations were given on various aspects of on-site measurements. The committee is now looking to collect R-tables for its report. Extension is approved and draft to editor due in 2024, and the report is due to be published in 2025. 4. TC4-53 Tunnels lighting evolution. Chair: Jerome Dehon. This committee held eight meetings in the last year, so progress is good but still more work to be done. An extension is required, with the aim to provide a working draft by the third quarter of 2024. 5. JTC 13 Depreciation maintenance of lighting systems. Chair: Dionyz Gasparovsky. This committee is developing new terms for maintenance for the luminaire and for the surfaces. It was

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The following Technical Committees are also active: • TC 4-47 Application of LEDs in transport signalling and lighting (Hugh Barton). This has completed preparing for publication. • TC 4-57 Guide for sports lighting (Alan Smith). • TC 4-59 Guide for lighting urban elements (Diana del Negro). This has an updated workplan in that it is set to publish by 2026. • TC 4-60 Road traffic lights – photometric properties of roundel signals (Ron Gibbons). This is due for completion summer 2026. • TC 4-61 Artificial lighting and its impact on the natural environment (Annika Jägerbrand). This will require further resources and/or work to complete. Parallel activity is a possibility. • JTC 01 Implementation of CIE 191:2010 Mesopic photometry in outdoor lighting (Stuart Mucklejohn). This was due to send out for ballot by the end of October 2023. In addition, at the Annual Meeting it is worth noting that updating CIE 115 was agreed. Steve Fotios presented a proposal for a revision, combining breaking it down to elements covering: pedestrians and motorists (Year 1); cyclists and vulnerable road users (Year 2+). Then the plan will be to revise CIE 115.

tive lighting and chaired by Annika Jaegerbrand. This session touched on a variety of subjects, including considering if female pedestrians express a lower degree of reassurance than male pedestrians and how road lighting could help? How, too, might we evaluate any possible effect on driver circadian systems under street lighting to the impact of road lighting on melatonin? To complete the conference, the local organisers arranged a mini-badminton competition. Suffice to say, we didn’t win but Kaida Xiao and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

CONCLUSIONS In summary, the conference provides huge networking opportunities to find out and discuss how the application of light and lighting is approached across the world. A high number of students are in attendance, who wish to understand the practical application of light and lighting to aid their research. Research never seems to stop, there is always a bit more required. As Ron Gibbons (US) commented in one session, more research needs to be undertaken in the field rather than in the laboratory. But this does cost. In the past four years, CIE has published 56 documents relating to light and lighting. This is no mean achievement, considering the last four years and the requirement for agreement on each publications content. Why not therefore consider joining the CIE at your national level? You gain a 66.67% discount on all publications and the CIE-UK provide bursaries for attendance at CIE events such as this session, and much more.

Nigel Parry is CIE D4 Editor and UK treasurer. With thanks to the generous contributions from Allan Howard and Stuart Mucklejohn.

FUTURE MEETINGS AND EVENTS The 2024 Shanghai (CN) hybrid ‘Lighting up the cities’ symposium and/or workshop on architectural lighting and/or various aspects of obtrusive light will be held next September. The Technical Committees and Annual Meeting will also be held online during the year. Vienna will then be the destination of the 2025 CIE Mid-Term Meeting, including workshops. CIE is looking for proposals for its 2026 meeting, ideally in Africa or America. And Nanjing in China will be the venue for the 2027 CIE Quadrennial Session.


©Martin Knowles Photography

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 LIGHTING JOURNAL

TAKING FLIGHT A stunning ‘dynamic flight’ illuminated balustrade and handrail is at the heart of the new David Oluwale Bridge in Leeds, one which celebrates both the iconic Leeds Owl and the rich diversity of this vibrant northern city By Fabien Le Dem

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he David Oluwale Bridge is a new pedestrian and cycle bridge located just to the south of Leeds city centre that opened in January 2023. The bridge crosses the River Aire and provides a vital traffic-free connection from the city centre to the newly constructed Aire Park south of the river. To demonstrate the city's continuing efforts to recognise and integrate all parts of its community – and to create a lasting symbol of the commitment to diversity and inclusion – the bridge was named after the Nigerian-British citizen David Oluwale, who tragically drowned in the river in 1969 in a racially motivated incident. For this project, BMMJV (a joint venture between ourselves at Mott MacDonald and BAM Nuttall) were employed by Leeds City

Council to undertake all design stages of the project. This involved proposing a concept, confirming feasibility, liaising with stakeholders, submitting planning, undertaking detailed design, constructing, and finally commissioning the bridge. As a practice, we are very used to designing and delivering global infrastructure projects with a particular focus on local users’ experience. In particular, we are very keen to deliver ‘active travel enjoyment’ for communities after dark. The David Oluwale Bridge project showcases how, through creative thinking and collaboration, it is possible to create beautiful, functional solutions that can do just that, while at the same time producing sustainable outcomes.

For the project, which ran from September 2020 to January 2023 we effectively took the role of ‘lead creative designer’. To that end, we were able to tailor the forms of the bridge to work efficiently whilst also improving access and providing a highquality appearance, all complemented by a unique lit environment after dark. Figure 1 overleaf shows our creative design thought process behind the design, in particular our desire to develop a strong narrative associated to the structure, one that also channelled the city’s much-loved Leeds Owl. The lighting installation also needed to be fully into the bridge’s balustrade glazing system, of which more shortly. Leeds City Council’s initial intention was to create a structure that promoted social cohesion combined with a strong cultural attachment to the city. The project brief ‘discovery’ phase defined the need for an aesthetically pleasing structure which offered safe access for all users, day and night, whilst complying with challenging constraints from the Environment Agency, Canal & River Trust and ecologists.


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Public realm lighting At the outset, the brief was modest and therefore driven by budget limitations. The exact site extents, bridge location and geometry wereyet to be determined and the client anticipated the budget limit and land availability would result in a functional and utilitarian lighting installation.

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT Our team was, however, determined nevertheless to deliver a unique solution that embraced sustainable solutions and delivered end-users enjoyment day and night. To that end, we engaged with a wide range of affected access groups, including the city’s Access Use Ability Group, Disability Hub, Black and Minority Ethnic

Equality Hub, Leeds City Council access officer/communities’ team and disability champion, Sustrans, and the local cycle sub-group. We worked together to develop a solution that provided the best level of safe access practicable day and night-time within the limited site extents. Our stakeholder engagement works also included a significant period studying the site’s biodiversity with the ecology consultant and local authority planning team. Preserving the dark corridor was, naturally, a priority. At Mott MacDonald, we firmly believe that creating a unique lit environment requires a deep understanding of the site and its context. Once we completed our stakeholder engagement activities, we commenced to define and challenge the project constraints, including working up justifications forpotential relaxations. For example, our early-stage engagement with the ecology team meant we were able to put humans and sensitive species on the same level when it came to

appraising lighting options for the bridge. These discussions led us to reach a common understanding with the client and agree design measures to deliver a functional lit environment, mitigate light spill and set an acceptable colour temperature. We also challenged the fact that the existing early 1990s’ urban spherical lighting distribution within the proximity of the site contributed to create an obtrusive light baseline impacting the dark water corridor. We therefore provided our client with additional support to replace the legacy lighting baseline with new flat lanterns and specific optics to distribute lighting away from the water edge and the site. The bridge design intent was to deliver a decluttered structure, one where horizontal and vertical structural and ancillary lines were kept to a minimum. The lighting installation had to be recessive, so to ‘disappear’ during daytime and ‘reveal’ the bridge as a new user experience at night.

Chapman Brown Photography

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Public realm lighting Once the site lighting baseline was optimised and defined, we were able to develop a unique lighting solution using industrystandard guidelines and obtrusive lighting mitigation recommendations combined with our in-house multidisciplinary creative thinking. A Vierendeel bridge form with a very thin construction depth was developed. A glass parapet solution was provided to enhance the appearance of the bridge. The inclusive users access strategy included the requirement for dual-sided continuous handrails along the ramps and bridge. These consistent horizonal lines through the entire project provided a real value opportunity to integrate discreet point light sources. This approach has ensured all areas of the walkway surface are uniformly illuminated while also mitigating glare and environmental light spill.

Figure 1. Four visualisations highlighting some of the creative thinking process behind the project

‘DYNAMIC FLIGHT’ CONCEPT The use of uniform lighting, in turn, assists those bridge users with adaptive difficulties. The light colour finish of the bridge deck then provides reasonable reflectance characteristic to support the vertical illuminance along the route, which enhances the feeling of safety. We worked with DW Windsor to fully integrate its ‘Garda’ handrail range to this project. The glass balustrade surfaces provided an ideal canvas for creative manifestations. Our client requested us to develop a bespoke artwork solution that would represent the social value of the bridge, the identity of the city and be a showcase after dark. The city of Leeds is well known for its iconic owl. There are three owls on Leeds City Council's coat of arms, there are enormous golden owl statues outside Civic Hall, and sculptures and paintings of owls at 24 other locations around the city, all of which are part of the ‘Leeds Owl Trail’. However, these municipal representations are always of a static, perched bird. Our lighting designers wanted instead to connect the images of the bird with a children’s book about friendship and togetherness involving a flying owl, as these values, naturally, were important to our client. This led to the development of the ‘dynamic flight’ concept and motif that has become integral to the bridge, and lighting, design. It has been about using the city icon and combining it with the story to develop an art concept based on ‘positive energy, movement and life’. The iconic Leeds Owl has therefore become no longer a static bird but a flying nocturnal specie along the bridge after

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Figure 2. Two visualisations of the owl-based ‘dynamic flight’ artwork concept

dark, with the artwork concept revealing the owl at night-time as part of the bridge crossing experience. We worked with manufacturer The Light Lab to develop the balustrade graphic, integrate the luminaires, supply glass panels and supply and commission a lighting control. Once the bridge geometry was set, the lighting design team resumed the conception of the balustrade artwork. A dot matrix graphic approach was chosen to manifest the artwork along the bridge. The process included etching dot patterns between the two panes of glass making each of the balustrade panel. Each balustrade was then to be bottom-edge lit to reveal the pattern at night, as shown overleaf.

TWO-STAGE MOCK-UP PROCESS A two-stage lighting physical mock-up of the balustrade, pattern etching and lighting was used to test out different solutions at small-scale. The first stage aimed to test the dot matrix pattern density, reject the least effective proposals and witness from a distance (in other words simulating the bridge approach) the effect of superimposed patterns, as the feature balustrade is on both sides of the bridge. This latter experimental activity was important to ensure that the patterns were perceived as intended and not visually interfered by the Moiré effect, or the mechanical interference of light by superimposed networks of lines.


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Public realm lighting

The dot-patterned balustrade panels in the workshop. Photograph by the Light Lab

The second stage of the mock-up was to present the etching patterns, lit effects to the stakeholders and agree light scenes. This mock-up was used to test the dot matrix pattern density for best visualisation. The dot matrix design enables the patterns to be discreet during daytime ensuring high transparency through the balustrade. At night-time, the patterns reflect the light emitted by linear light fixtures integrated to the bottom edge of the glass balustrade. This approach creates a pleasant contrast and visual comfort. Finally, we developed a lighting control strategy to enable our client to theme the bridge at night-time throughout the year so as to be able to celebrate local, national or international events and seasonal festivities.

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The stage 1 mock-up in place. This mock-up was used to test the dot matrix pattern density for best visualisation

The control system, based on a Pharos platform, enables all light sources to be dimmed or switched off. The handrail lighting is fixed white light

at 3000K. The balustrade lighting is RGBW 100mm increments enabling a multitude of static or dynamic effects. The physical control system is located in a secured compound below the bridge approach ramps and can also be remotely accessed via a GSM 4G network. This wireless connection enables the client to change the bridge setting as required with the support of the control specialist contractor if required. It is important to emphasise at this point that the control strategy and selection of hardware was designed in conjunction with the recommendations of the ecology consultant. Known bat activity types, including hibernating, commuting and foraging, had been identified and logged in the local area, and within the area of the lighting control system. This approach has enabled our client to remove specific colour spectra from the balustrade lighting system at certain times of the year. For example, blue and green light are not recommended during bat activities out of hibernating season. The output of the luminaire has also been tuned to ensure that impact on the dark corridor below have been mitigated.


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Public realm lighting CONCLUSIONS AND FEEDBACK The success of the David Oluwale bridge project is the result of a design process that deeply explores user requirements and constraints. It took focused and practical design decisions to deliver a unique, vibrant and sustainable night-time experience across the River Aire. We are very proud of the fact the scheme was highly commended in the 'Civil Project of the Year’ category in the Constructing Excellence Yorkshire and Humber Awards in July. Even more so, we were delighted in September to win the ‘Project of the Year – under £10m’ award at the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) Yorkshire and Humber annual dinner. The David Oluwale Bridge project truly is an example of active travel enjoyment. But don’t just take our word for it. Let’s leave you with some final words of feedback. ‘The bridge is a truly inspiring monument. By acknowledging the city's past as we look forward to what lies ahead for Leeds, we are ensuring that we pass on the lessons we have learned to future generations while encouraging them to continue to strive for a brighter future.’ says Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council ‘The new David Oluwale Bridge is deeply symbolic. It is a physical emblem of our commitment to confront historic institutional failings and prejudices which led to the death of an innocent man, as well as a representation of renewal; of our commitment to aim for a future where people from all cultural and economic backgrounds are made to feel safe and welcome in Leeds,’ agrees Emily Zobel Marshall, co-chair of DOMA, The David Oluwale Memorial Association. Fabien Le Dem is a senior associate, architectural lighting lead, at Mott MacDonald

PROJECT CREDITS Client: Leeds City Council Contractor: BAM Nuttall Bridge designer: Mott MacDonald Lighting designer: Mott MacDonald Artwork graphic designer: Mott MacDonald Electrical designer: Mott MacDonald Landscape designer: Planit.IE Handrail lighting: DW Windsor Balustrade lighting and glass panel: The Light Lab Lighting control: The Light Lab

‘THERE WAS A LOT OF CO-ORDINATION’

Bespoke handrail projects like this one require a lot of co-ordination, writes David Anstee of DW Windsor. It’s not like doing a column top where you go and give someone a load of columns and heads and they just put them in. With a handrail, it has to be made to suit the installation. You need to know, pretty much to the millimetre, what the lengths are going to be. You need good drawings and then you have got a significant co-ordination exercise that needs to go alongside that. You’ve got different trades and different people doing different parts of the job. All bridges tend to pose different questions. In this case, one key challenge was that the client wanted to run all the power from just one side of the bridge. That was straightaway a headache because it meant you had to get everything across the bridge, and there weren’t any proper ducts underneath. Mott MacDonald was having to design ducting that was multi-purpose because not only did we have the illuminated handrail but Light Labs were doing the illuminated glass. So, their team needed to get power to the glass, we needed to get power across the bridge. One of the major co-ordination exercises therefore was how to get the wiring across the bridge and how to

make it work for everybody; how to make sure that everything would fit in there. You have things like light colour, light output, you’ve got dimming circuits; so you’ve got quite a lot of technical things going on, all of which need to be checked and made sure they work together. It is looking at things like volt drop, like the strength of the brackets, how are you going to get power into the handrail, how will things get terminated; you’re having to design tolerances and allow that, hopefully, when you get to site it all works and it goes together. It is all about just doing the basics and doing them properly.

OVERALL AMBITION Overall, however, I would say this was a particularly well-specified and thoughtabout project; some of the projects that we do do not have this level of thought behind them. But that was also connected to the overall ambition of the project, the combination of the illuminated panels with the handrail, all having to work together. The bridge overall is finished to a pretty good level, which with Garda is what we’re trying to work to all the time. There were things that were quite complicated, curves and radiuses for example, which are always difficult to do in an illuminated handrail. So, we were very pleased with the result. David Anstee is Garda technical manager at DW Windsor

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THE ‘DIRTY SECRET’ OF CAT A

How to address the ‘unacceptable’ waste often associated with Cat A fit-outs was a key conversation at the Circular Lighting Live lighting and sustainability conference in September – and it is clear there are no easy solutions By Nic Paton

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ighting may have made significant advances in recent years in terms of improving its record on sustainability, energy efficiency, emissions, and in reducing waste. Yet, as Nigel Harvey, chief executive of Recolight, argued at the Circular Lighting Live conference in September, lighting still has something of a ‘dirty secret’: Cat A (or Category A) fit-outs. ‘I think we as an industry can be justifiably proud of a lot of the good work we’ve

A typical 'Cat A' fit-out in progress

done in improving energy efficiency; we’re getting into material efficiency in terms of products and better luminaire take-backs,’ he told delegates to the conference, now in its second year, and held this year at London’s Royal College of Physicians. ‘But, actually, if the information about the level of waste associated with Cat A fitouts was out there, it would undermine a lot of those good sustainability credentials. Partly this will come across as a rant – it is a rant as much to myself as to others. Because

I think we all have been involved in a status quo, but a status quo that is generating huge amounts of waste – that really has to stop,’ he emphasised. The Circular Lighting Live conference, for which the ILP was a partner, saw discussions range from the ‘avalanche’ of European Union regulations around sustainability that lighting can anticipate in the coming years through to what changes the industry can expect to see within TM66; from how to make a success of


NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 LIGHTING JOURNAL

Lighting and sustainability remanufacturing through to the better deployment of environmental data, and much more. During a day of intense discussion – with 35 speakers and panellists in all – the two tracks of presentations, a lighting designers’ ‘track’ and a main-stage ‘track’, also focused on real-life projects. This included looking at the Holburne Museum in Bath, the Entopia Building in Cambridge, Dublin Port Tunnel (as highlighted in Lighting Journal in September) and many others. Yet Nigel’s presentation was, in many respects, a wake-up call to the 290 delegates, given that it focused very much on an area where lighting has significant room to improve rather than one where good progress is already underway.

‘OUR SOFT UNDERBELLY’ As Nigel put it: ‘Even just in PR terms, this [Cat A] is our soft underbelly. We know the story. Virtually every new building out there will have a full installation of Cat A luminaires. That’s great. But when it comes along and is leased out to tenants, a significant proportion of those brand new, almost unused, luminaires get ripped out and replaced with Cat B. ‘One estimate – and this may be high – has suggested it could be up to 100,000 fittings per week that are getting trashed. What are we losing there? We’re losing the embedded carbon of the fittings, of the manufacture, of the distribution, of the installation. All of that is being canned. ‘And they’ve been used for maybe one,

Recolight's Nigel Harvey giving his presentation

two or three hours perhaps; they’ve been installed for a few months. That level of waste is totally unacceptable. It should be totally unacceptable to us all,’ Nigel added. ‘Lighting’s not the only part of the problem. It’s other parts of the Cat A fit-out too – the floorings, ceilings, partitioning – a significant proportion of new buildings have all that ripped out from day one. Brand new, virtually unused and installed product.

‘The circular economy is about keeping products in operation and use for as long as possible and making them more durable. Yet, by design, Cat A is almost doing the exact opposite. This is totally against the principles of a circular economy,’ Nigel continued. The solutions to this will not be easy, he conceded. The industry, at one level, needed to come up with new business models and approaches. But it also needed to be about culture change, both for the industry itself and, crucially, the mentality and expectations of clients. ‘We’re all used to the Cat A situation, it’s what expect, it is the status quo. That’s the way it happens, we can’t change it. Well, we have to change it, we can’t carry on like this,’ Nigel said. There also needed to be a change of mindset among developers and letting agents, he contended, especially the idea that, if you don’t fit out and light every floor, it’s not going to be possible to let every floor. For many suppliers and contractors, too, Cat A fit-outs can be a significant revenue earner, which therefore will also need to be addressed in any solution. ‘Almost everyone is incentivised to do the wrong thing. We’re all, even Recolight, incentivised to do the wrong thing. The problem is that we might benefit in the short term, commercially, but it’s material efficiency that suffers, it’s waste that suffers, it’s the climate that suffers, ourselves and future generations,’ Nigel highlighted. We are beginning to see some larger developers grasping this nettle, however, he pointed out, for example lighting single

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Lighting and sustainability floors rather than whole buildings. Or fitting out bays to demonstrate the type of fittings and Cat B lighting experience that tenants might benefit from. Or using VR or CGI to show what the site might look like. Another option might be more use of product leasing, or what we used to call lighting as a service, he argued. ‘For Cat A that lighting-as-a-service, that product ownership model, is a really good solution. Companies often don’t feel able to go down that route because it does involve greater use of finance, it may be more challenging. The alternative is to offer a take-back guarantee, which says “I will take back that Cat A product either when it reaches end of life or if it gets taken out prematurely”. Again, getting that product back in and making it available for resupply,’ Nigel argued. ‘Frankly, why don’t we lobby to ban Cat A fit-outs? Or at least to ban the removal of products from a Cat A fit-out if they’ve been installed for just a few months? With our current government, I think the likelihood of any suggestion like that is going to fall on very deaf ears. But this is the sort of radical approach that we might need to consider,’ he added. ‘Attitudes are changing. Change is coming. None of us can look at that waste of up to 100,000 fittings per week – even if that’s an over-estimate, even if it is less, the number is frightening. I don’t want to be standing here in two or three years’ time, at Circular Lighting Live 2026, and the same situation still to be happening.’ ‘It is not easy to look at what could be a big order and come back with some smaller orders. But this is a sustainability issue, it’s a waste issue, it’s a moral issue, and it’s a climate issue. We just can’t be discussing this in five years’ time,’ Nigel concluded.

Kristina Allison presenting on TM66

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Top: Leela Shanker presenting. Above: John Bowden (with Cliffe Tribe at the lectern) explaining the Building Crafts College project.

REPURPOSING CAT A IN PRACTICE One practical way of addressing this ‘dirty secret’ was then highlighted by John Bowden, principal of Silent Design and Cliffe Tribe, UK specification manager at Casambi, talking delegates through a recent project with the Building Crafts College in Stratford, east London. John explained how he had been called up by a contractor who had done a Cat A fit-out in London. ‘He said, we’ve got three floors, would you be interested in taking the lights and doing something with them?’ he said. John agreed and the products – some 400m of linear luminaires, equipped with high-quality Tridonic DALI drivers and LED boards that had only been in use for just 18 months – were then put in storage at the company’s offices in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. Through a contactor, he was then approached about the fact the Building Crafts College, which offers training in a range of specialist building and construction crafts, was looking to refurbish its lighting, around 350 lights in all, many of

them old T5 fluorescent batons with pretty basic controls. ‘I thought, “do you know what, we could use this reclaimed lighting that we have in storage, what about doing something super interesting with that?”. So, we put it forward,’ John explained. ‘We said, “we will retrofit a lot of your stuff to LED, no problem, but also, we have these reclaimed lights. The LED boards are fine, the gears are a yearand-a-half old, but we’ll give you a fiveyear warranty”. That was an important part of the job. We put our money where our mouth is and gave them a warranty. And they said, “crack on, go for it”,’ he added. John emphasised how they looked at sustainability in the round, not just in the context of the lighting. For example, even for transporting the lighting it was rested on old carpet tiles that had been taken from a previous project and would otherwise just have gone to waste. ‘No tape, no cardboard boxes, nothing. That was how we approached this whole project, to use as minimum


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Lighting and sustainability

The end-of-conference panel discussion with, from left to right, Leela Shanker, Nigel Harvey, Tom Ruddell and Helen Loomes

waste as possible. And I think we really achieved that,’ John explained. The cabling on site was minimised, fittings were reworked in the Silent Design workshop, they ensured no rewiring was needed and even most of the original linear lighting was saved for future remanufacturing and reuse. ‘Some of them, we were able to take away the lights and upgrade them to LED, which would otherwise have been waste, and used them in other areas of the college,” John explained. Others were remanufactured and sold on, with any profits made going towards buying new recycling bins for the college. ‘So, we’re trying to bring a social element to the project as well,’ he said. ‘We’re talking about collaboration, we’re talking about partnerships, where everyone has come together,’ agreed Cliffe Tribe ‘I think this is possibly the lowest-carbon project in the UK in 2023, just because we’ve thought about everything,’ said John in conclusion. ‘We haven’t just thought about lighting. We’ve thought about how package it, how to transport it, all those little things. It will be one of the lowest-per-light-fitting carbon projects in 2023,’ he added.

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CHALLENGE OF WARRANTIES The challenges of remanufacturing and reuse, particularly in the context of Cat A, was also a focus of the panel discussion that concluded the day. The discussion, chaired by Ray Molony, editor of the Circular Lighting Report, brought together Helen Loomes, president of the Society of Light and Lighting, remanufacturing engineer at EGG Lighting Tom Ruddell, Leela Shanker, lighting designer with Borealis Lighting Studio, and Recolight’s Nigel Harvey. ‘The more we can make remanufacturing an understandable and measurable process, that you can specify and measure, then the safer that option becomes for end users. So it becomes a really viable option rather than a fringe option,’ emphasised Tom. The problem of how to provide acceptable warranties for this sort of repurposed lighting was one that needed to be overcome, highlighted Helen. ‘Do you think you can over the problem of the warranty? Because that is always the first question asked. Is there a warranty on that product? And yet, actually, in the scale of things it is quite a small issue,’ she said. ‘I thought it was interesting that John [Bowden] in talking about his project said

they gave a five-year warranty,’ agreed Leela. ‘That they accepted a degree of risk, and hedging of their bets. When we’re rethinking the lifespan of products, perhaps we need to be rethinking the lifespan of warranties as well?’ she questioned. ‘It is all about setting an expectation,’ said Tom, adding that at Egg Lighting they’d been seeing a huge pick-up in recent months in numbers of people wanting to donate old lighting, suggesting there is an appetite there. But the difficulty in terms of the time, mess and cost of removing old fittings also needed to be addressed, suggested Leela. ‘The systems right now are a bit messy for those reclaiming or removing product in a way that they’re going to remain undamaged as much as possible. Even the basics, like labelling what you have so that it is more easily, seamlessly applied to its new home,’ she pointed out. ‘There have been a lot of complaints from contractors about how much time it took, what a waste of time it was and how difficult they were finding it to do. But I really think that is a teething problem. That, when we have the systems up, there will be a smooth transition for that and we will accept there are a certain percentage that are going to get broken or lost in the process,’ she added. ‘I would say, to be requiring “flawless” products, given the scale of the threat we’re all facing, is itself flawed,’ emphasised Nigel Harvey in conclusion. ‘Actually, what we need to be doing is accepting what is good enough and appropriate but then accepting there will be times when we have to compromise. ‘It is very real. Because until and unless we really get to grips with this, we’re facing a very difficult future,’ he added.

RECOLIGHT REUSE HUB Recolight used the Circular Lighting Live event to launch a ‘Reuse Hub’, a digital marketplace for the donation and reuse of lighting products. As project manager Francesca Cameron highlighted, products can include lamps, luminaires, lighting equipment, components, and controls, with Recolight looking both for donors and recipients. ‘The reason why we’re doing this is that, currently, companies like remanufacturers don’t have the access point where they can go and get products,’ she said. More details on the hub can be found at https://www.recolight. co.uk/reuse-hub/


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Lighting and sustainability

PERFORM GREENER Next month’s Build2Perform event at London’s Excel Centre will for the first time include a new lighting section, Light2Perform. The focus will be very much on how the industry can accelerate its drive towards greater sustainability By Nic Paton

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ighting and sustainability is set to be a key topic of conversation at next month’s Light2Perform, the debut dedicated lighting area of CIBSE’s Build2Perform event. The ILP will be a partner of Light2Perform, which will be held at London ExCel Centre from 5-6 December. The event, with Tamlite Lighting as headline sponsor, is free to attend. It will see experts in the field of lighting coming together to discuss latest guidance, research and innovations. There will be a session exploring CIBSE’s TM65 and updates on TM66, looking at the circular economy and embodied carbon energy, and providing insight into how to calculate this in relation to lighting equipment. This will be led by Kristina Allison, TM65.2 project lead and senior lighting designer at Atkins Global. Helen Loomes, president of the Society of Light and Lighting (SLL), and Bob

Bohannon, head of policy and academy at the Lighting Industry Association will join CIBSE’s chief technical officer, Hywel Davies, to look at how lighting fits within the new building guidance.

NEW SLL GUIDANCE The new SLL publication LG14: Control of electric lighting will also be launched at the event in a session with author Sophie Parry, head of Trilux UK Akademie and chair of the SLL technical and publications committee. The new CIBSE office lighting guide, LG7, will also be profiled, with author Simon Robinson, technical director at WSP, discussing the upward trends in hybrid working and the circular economy. Helen Loomes says of the event: ‘Lighting is an essential aspect of any building project and can significantly affect building users experience of a space. We need to make sure it’s part of the conversation at an early stage of any project. This dedicated lighting area at Build2Perform will help foster better connections between the lighting community and the wider built environment.’

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT: Light2Perform WHERE: Excel Centre, London WHEN: 5-6 December HOW TO REGISTER: https:// www.build2perform.co.uk/light2perform

HOW TO BE BRILLIANT AT LIGHT23 Paul Traynor, head of Light Bureau UK, will be delivering a keynote ‘How to be brilliant’ presentation for the ILP at LiGHT23 later this month. After its debut last year, LiGHT23 will return to the Business Design Centre in London’s Islington from 21-22 November. Last year saw Hoare Lea’s Juan Ferrari and Brad Joseph (shown above) use the How to be brilliant slot to outline their practice’s ‘North Star’ commitment to sustainability (‘Follow your north star’, February 2023, vol 88 no 2). This year Paul Traynor will step up and give his own take on ‘How to be brilliant’. He will be joined over the two days by Hoare Lea’s Ruth-Kelly Waskett and lighting designer Chloe Salvi, who will be discussing ‘parents in lighting’. Other speakers at the Business Design Centre will include Pippa Nissen of Nissen Richards Studio and long-time collaborator, lighting designer Zerlina Hughes of studio ZNA, who will explore the complex refurbishment of the National Portrait Gallery, which re-opened in June. But this is just a snapshot of what is a jam-packed two days of lighting CPD, which will include the return of the ‘[d]arc thoughts’ track of presentations. Alongside this, and new this year to the event, which is again free to attend, will be the ‘darc space’, in collaboration with darc magazine, where decorative lighting brands will be given a dedicated area to shine.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT: LiGHT23 WHERE: Business Design Centre, Islington WHEN: 21-22 November HOW TO REGISTER: https://www.lightexpo.london/

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'WE NEED TO MAKE

Hitting net zero for the construction industry is going to be a lot more challenging than many currently realise, and there may be a case for the government doing more to incentivise tax reliefs for LED products. Either way, the industry doesn't have a choice By Gary Thornton

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NOT RIPPLES'

et zero is the single most important priority for the construction industry if we want to meet the government’s 2050 target. Right now, however, the pathway feels decidedly rocky. The UK Green Building Council (UKBCG) tells us that the built environment contributes around 40% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions when the entire building, infrastructure, and vehicle footprint is considered [1]. Amongst all the cold hard facts, this figure particularly resonates and hammers home the scale of what’s required from our sector. It’s clear that we’ve got to throw everything we’ve got at the race for carbon neutrality. In the lighting industry, progress has been made to ensure that energy-efficiency is a clear priority. We’ve benefited from

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 LIGHTING JOURNAL

Lighting and sustainability game-changing advancements in LEDs and control gear that have allowed us all to optimise energy usage in our schemes. It’s great to see the industry pulling together in the same direction but, as we reach the upper limit on what LEDs can practically produce in terms of lumens per watt, we need to ask ourselves where we can go next and how we can do more? The answer undoubtedly lies in how we tackle the more complex topics of circularity and carbon reduction. A huge amount of energy has been directed at both issues. We’ve benefited from the introduction of the TM66 Technical Memorandum from CIBSE and SSL [2]. This, to recap, is a standardised assessment tool that helps lighting designers categorise luminaires in the context of the circular economy. TM66 is a great leveller for the industry. It puts transparency at the forefront of everyone’s minds and will, hopefully in time, ensure that circularity is a nonnegotiable part of the design and specification process. More recently, the lighting community welcomed the publication of the TM65.2 Embodied Carbon in Building Services: Lighting methodology from CIBSE [3]. This is a tool for assessing the amount of embodied carbon associated with a light fitting. It’s still too early to understand what influence TM65.2 will have, but we should take consolation in the fact that the lighting

industry is focused on improving our knowledge and processes. Clarity is exactly what we need as more clients commit to ambitious net zero projects. Lighting designers have a small but significant role to play in how they are delivered.

WHAT DOES NET ZERO REALLY MEAN? The reality is that net zero is a simple enough concept but hard to implement in practice. Part of the problem lies in the fact that we’ve been talking about this issue for years and, along the way, the phrase has been overused and misunderstood. In some cases, even, misused as companies make 'greenwashing' claims that are tricky to substantiate. We know that net zero status is achieved by reducing operating and embodied emissions as much as possible, then offsetting unavoidable carbon emissions through renewable energy generation or approved carbon offsets. As the viability and reliability of current offsetting methods is widely debated, we realise that decarbonisation should be our focus. But we need a better understanding of what this means for each discipline. One of the key things the construction industry – and by extension the lighting design industry – can do right now is to move away from splitting embodied carbon and operational carbon when we assess a project’s carbon footprint.

We need to think beyond construction and widen the scope to consider how that building performs over time and how it is dismantled and repurposed after use. Ensuring longevity is imperative. A 50-year building must remain in-situ for exactly that amount of time to achieve the intended carbon reduction over its lifetime, otherwise we’ve only ‘designed’ a net zero project and not actually achieved it, effectively just gaming the system. There’s a distinction between zero carbon-ready and net zero carbon. The first term implies zero carbon emissions, while the second delivers because it refers to a building with either zero or negative operational energy. This is a distinction that we should be making when we talk about highly efficient buildings, which are connected to either a decarbonised electricity supply or on-site renewable energy source and will be net zero operational carbon by 2050.

RETROFIT SHOULD BE OUR PRIORITY The Climate Group states that ‘new buildings are more energy efficient, but 80% of buildings that will be standing in 2050 have already been built’ [4]. It’s a point that should give us real pause for thought because it highlights just how critical it is to start upgrading our building stock rather than demolishing it. Moving to a retrofit-first way of thinking won’t be easy but we must get better at it

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Lighting and sustainability because this is where the big gains will be made. The embodied carbon outlay of creating an entirely new structure often dwarfs the potential operational carbon savings that you get with an energy-efficient new build. And, whilst it may be tempting to take a piecemeal approach to this, deep retrofit is where we should be aiming, because gradual upgrades may incur higher carbon emissions. The lighting design sector has a role to play here to shift the emphasis away from recyclability to how we reuse and repurpose high-value luminaires and lighting controls. There is still a lot to be done because we haven’t moved far enough away from recycling and even that is far from straightforward. We need to work together to find an intelligent and considered design response for how we repurpose and reuse light fittings. We also need to do our bit to dispel the idea that new buildings are more desirable by getting better at reuse and working together to tackle the issues that currently make this a time-consuming exercise where ingenuity is often required. We should be proud to prioritise retrofit.

INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS TO CATCH UP WITH OUR ASPIRATIONS Another reason why net zero still feels like such a difficult prospect is because infrastructure isn’t evolving in line with our aspirational goals. We only need to look at the fact that developers are facing long delays to connect their renewable projects to the Grid, or how slowly we are progressing to upgrade the cabling required to facilitate the mass charging of electric cars at lamp-posts, to see the issues that arise when ambition isn’t matched by action.

Lack of progress on a practical level is threatening our net zero goals and creating a discrepancy between what our systems can provide versus what they can produce. It’s a stark reminder that every facet of the industry has a role to play, from policy level right through to delivery. We need forward-thinking measures and systematic changes if we are ever to realise net zero at scale.

CASE FOR GOVERNMENT At Nulty, we’ve been asking ourselves how we can move beyond steady improvements and do more as a practice? Earlier on in the year, for example, we addressed the circularity of our design and specification process by setting ourselves the target of achieving a '2' and above TM66 score for 50% of specified luminaires. This is a metric that we will assess after six months and hopefully improve on. It’s been a big learning curve and we’re already seeing the knock-on effect this has had on our time, but it’s time well spent. Moving to a circular economy will require hard work to collate the data and creativity to achieve the aspiration. Making a similar commitment to carbon reduction feels like a more difficult challenge. We’re only just starting to grapple with this subject in a meaningful way and it’s going to take time to gather and analyse the data before we can accurately track and understand all the emissions produced during the lifecycle of a product. Whilst it feels like a daunting task, we’re steadfastly determined to incorporate a threshold for TM65.2 in our design and specification process. We want to pledge a similar commitment to carbon neutrality and make our small contribution to the race to net zero. Fundamentally, we need to force a shift

where every stakeholder wants to go the extra mile to achieve a net zero project and see this through to the bitter end. Often, we see bold aspirations tempered throughout the design and construction process, because the most straightforward option isn’t always the right solution. It doesn’t help that, when we try to work out where the big gains can be made, we learn that this varies from project to project. Retrofitting an existing building is always going to be more complex than producing a new one. Taking a highly sustainable scheme from approved concept to site is potentially going to be more expensive and time-consuming. But we can’t allow aspirational clients to be held back by design teams who haven’t got the knowledge and tenacity to deliver net zero. Conversely, aspirational designers shouldn’t be limited by clients that talk the talk but aren’t prepared to follow through. This all brings us back to the need to make waves, not ripples. In the lighting world, a collective and concerted effort has been made to move forward, but we exist in an echo chamber and need to take the conversation outside the industry. It wasn’t long ago that the governmentawarded tax reliefs for LED products that contributed to reducing energy costs, as an intervention to support widespread adoption. We need a similar incentive at government level to shift things up a gear – and it will take the community to come together again to help this along. Without this level of intervention, however, we’ll never make the giant strides required to accelerate our path to net zero.

Gary Thornton is associate lighting designer at Nulty

[1] ‘Embodied carbon’, UK Green Building Council, https://ukgbc.org/our-work/topics/advancing-net-zero/embodied-carbon/ [2] TM66 Creating a circular economy in the lighting industry (2021), CIBSE, https://www.cibse.org/knowledgeresearch/knowledge-portal/tm66-creating-a-circular-economy-in-the-lighting-industry?id=a0q3Y00000JruI1QAJ [3] TM65.2 Embodied Carbon in Building Services: Lighting methodology [4] 'Energy efficiency measures will lead the way to net zero buildings', Climate Group, August 2022, https://www.theclimategroup.org/our-work/news/energy-efficiency-measures-will-lead-way-net-zero-buildings

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WORK TO LIVE How the workplace is used post pandemic, and increasingly urgent environmental and energy-saving imperatives, are profoundly changing how lighting designers need to think about, and specify, office and workplace lighting By Sophie Parry


NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 LIGHTING JOURNAL

Workplace and office lighting

S

ome might say that office lighting commenced its latest evolution as a consequence of the recent Covid lockdowns, which of course led to the requirement for nearly all officebased wok to be carried out from home. It is fair to say that the lockdowns accelerated this phenomenon but, for us, the reality is that this the evolution began way before lockdown in some sectors of the commercial office market. In this article, I intend to look at some of the more common trends that we see influencing the design of office lighting.

INTERIOR DESIGN AND CEILINGS

An office space with suspended continuous-row luminaires, in this case Trilux 'Arimos' lights

There was a point in time where just about every office project we worked on had a white suspended ceiling and the luminaires were fitted to the ceiling grid in lieu of a ceiling tile. This of course sounds like a good idea because a ceiling void was also created, which could then be used to hide electrical and mechanical services. However, the net effect was considered by many to be somewhat ‘vanilla’; vast areas of uniform ceiling with all the luminaires arranged in neat rows. Then suddenly, the ‘industrial’ look became popular, especially where redundant warehouses and industrial buildings were being repurposed and refurbished as office space. No more suspended ceilings just suspended luminaires and visible M&E services fixed to the soffit. Definitely not vanilla and definitely an interesting visual aesthetic – but it was also more of a challenge to deliver the required quality of lighting. The counter-argument to this was that good engineering and design is of course all about overcoming challenges and delivering solutions.

HUMAN-CENTRIC LIGHTING The concept of ‘human-centric lighting’ is a very broad church. Indeed it is and, for us, it all starts with daylight as the wellness benchmark. However, daylight availability in all four seasons and at all likely office working hours is a rarity in most countries, and definitely the case here in northern Europe, especially at 4pm in February. This then, is where electric light has to step up to the mark and to get as close to emulating the non-visual benefits of natural light for the benefits of the occupants as technology and budgets allow. In the UK, this requirement is nearly always going to be a requirement to comply with the WELL 2 whole-building certification scheme [1]. In addition to designing good-quality electric light to BS EN 12464-

1:2021, the metrics required are based on available daylight within the particular space [2]. Then it is a question, additionally, of adding a non-visual electric lighting component to the internationally agreed metric for the minimum amount of melanopic light required at the human eye to promote circadian entrainment in humans. To my mind, it can only be a matter of time before melanopic light becomes a specification requirement on every office project, irrespective of whole-building certification schemes. It just needs a country-level lighting application-based standard, such as the German DIN SPEC 67600 Biologically Effective Illumination Design Guidelines to provide good practice recommendations for lighting designers [3]. Under these guidelines, only luminaires meeting certain specifications can be used to light workstation task areas to meet these criteria. Suitable luminaires will usually have at least a CRI 90 metric, can be fixed output at, say, 4000K or, in some cases, a tuneable white luminaire with a 2700-6500K range might be a better solution. You will also need the melanopic data from the luminaire supplier to complete the lighting design.

BIOPHILIC ENVIRONMENTS This, of course, is all about creating a connection with nature in an indoor space. Biophilia is derived from the Greek word ‘philia’, or ‘love of’, in this case love of or the deep affiliation humans have for nature. Biophilic lighting and design is often closely linked to the theme of wellness; you may find such offices now well-stocked with ornamental plants, such as ferns, marantas and peace lilies. A common question lighting designers get asked in this context is: will the LED electric lighting also support the growth and health of the office plants? Generally speaking, the answer is ‘no’. This is because electric lighting, especially LED lighting, is human centric and not plant centric. Plants benefit more from certain lighting wavelengths than humans do, so these wavelengths are not normally part of a general-purpose office lighting LED based luminaire. Additionally, ornamental plants require a much higher level of illumination than humans, so we have to decide who we are designing for, humans or plants? Or getting back to the theme of design challenges, or both. This is nevertheless an emerging lighting conversation, and the subject of a number of recent research papers [4]. These, broadly, suggest that that separate, localised

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Workplace and office lighting lighting delivering about 4,000 lux with a localised power density of about 50 w/m² would support and maintain ornamental plants. This might therefore be an alternative to consider where the requirement cannot be consistently provided by daylight.

BREAK-OUT SPACES Not all office space has to be neat rows of desks in a big open area, conforming with the architecture of control. That all seems rather ‘BC’ now (ie ‘before Covid’). Office space, where appropriate (but increasingly), is often about less formal space and more about spaces where staff can relax in a more informal setting. This, in turn, stimulates better, more productive communication and idea-exchange with colleagues and clients. Then, from a lighting perspective, if we are talking playgrounds, sofas, table football and food bars, it is highly unlikely that the same space will be fitted with that rather vanilla suspended ceiling. The interior design, rather, is likely to be a lot more creative and abstract, less orderly and linear, so the requirement for electric lighting will have to complement this very different style of office space. An open soffit ceiling and exposed building services might be the starting point, with suspended luminaires to provide a degree of ambient lighting. In fact, that is all that may be required, if no detailed work is going to be carried out in this space. If, however, higher illumination levels are required, then why not continue the abstract design theme and supplement the lighting with freestanding or table-top luminaires?

Left: biophilic 'green wall' lighting. Right: designing an office space in harmony with daylight

LIGHTING QUALITY VERSUS NEED TO DECARBONISE The common denominator for all of these evolving trends is the use of energy. In 2021, BS EN 12464-1 Light and lighting for indoor workplaces was updated. One of the key themes of this standard is the potential for the illumination levels to be varied and often raised to overcome task variances for certain applications and to compensate for the less-than-ideal eyesight of the space users. For example, the maintained illuminance for an office area could be from 300 lux to 1,000 lux, depending on how the statements in tables 1 and 2 of the standard are applied to the design. If lighting designers continue to light spaces with the required illuminance on a ‘wall to wall’ basis at, say, 500 lux, then the lighting energy will likely be non-compliant with the local building regulation guidance limits and/or any additional wholebuilding certification such as BREEAM, LEED, or NABERS. In order to deliver the required lighting quality, the lighting designer will now need

to consider lighting just the required workstations or task area to the required higher illumination level and then step the illumination levels down in the immediate surrounding area and the background area. This will also require the use of appropriate automatic lighting control systems. In the UK at least, the default design and build preference is for ceiling-mounted luminaires. This method may well be historically tried and tested but, as lighting quality requirements increase, these ceilingmounted luminaires will be expected to deliver more – and which will require an increase in lighting energy. One solution for workstations would be to use more localised light sources to deliver the required illumination. This solution is one staple of retail lighting design, where multi-layered luminaire positioning relative to the tasks and stock position on a sales floor are used to deliver the required lighting quality. If we apply the same principle to the office application, the ceiling-mounted luminaires could deliver ambient lighting to the whole space and the increased lighting levels at workstations could be delivered by floor-standing or desktop luminaires. These design methods and product genres are not new of course, but now is the time to start to apply these methods. This is because electrical engineers and lighting designers are now required to comply with increasingly challenging lighting energy levels set by the building regulations, the sustainability brief and the client’s own ESG (environmental, social and governance) culture. Equally, lighting is increasingly required to support the design and operation of net-zero carbon buildings.

Sophie Parry CEng MIET FSLL is head of Trilux UK Akademie Track-mounted luminaires (in this case from the Trilux 'Canilo' range) plus in-office swings, illustrating how the workplace is changing

[1] WELL 2 whole-building certification, https://www.wellcertified.com/certification/v2/ [2] EN 12464-1:2021 Light and Lighting: Lighting of Workplaces – Part 1 Indoor Workplaces, https://www.en-standard.eu/bs-en-12464-1-2021-lightand-lighting-lighting-of-work-places-indoor-work-places/ [3] DIN SPEC 67600 Biologically Effective Illumination Design Guidelines, https://www.en-standard.eu/din-spec-67600-biologically-effective-illumination-design-guidelines/ [4] Evangelos- Nikolaos et al (2023). ‘The effect of artificial lighting on both biophilic and human-centric design’. Journal of Building Engineering no. 76 (2023), https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352710223014729

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FLEXIBLE WORKING Commercial office spaces need to be highly flexible spaces that can change configuration easily while maximising daylight, efficiency and energy use. As a recent project in a Scottish business park showed, this very much goes for the lighting too By Kevin McCully

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arketed as ‘grade A office space’, Kildean Business Park is a recently completed venture by Stirling Development Agency. It is a collaboration between Cromwell and Stirling Council, in a part of Scotland popular with high-growth technology businesses, financial services, and life science companies.

Designed by architects Michael Laird Associates, the 7,000+ sq m building is visually striking both internally and externally, combining a sophisticated blend of materials – but most noticeably a lot of glass! The developers made sustainability a Kildean USP, adhering to stringent ESG objectives and achieving an ‘Excellent’ BREEAM rating. So, it was imperative to incorporate low-carbon technologies that drove up carbon efficiency wherever possible. David Garden, senior electrical design engineer at M&E consultants Henderson Warnock, explained the challenge to me. ‘Kildean is one of Scotland’s most architecturally striking and sustainable commercial buildings, so to help achieve this we had to explore and embrace the latest in lighting innovation and design. ‘This meant keeping an open mind on how to light different areas of the building, with certain zones requiring a bespoke

approach. The client demanded a system that saved energy and complemented the building’s level of specification and highend design. ‘Glass is a big feature, creating an abundance of natural light, but this meant there was limited scope for obstructive cabling, so the lighting needed to fit seamlessly into the building and still deliver the connected automatous controls that can adjust the lighting throughout the building,’ he added. This was why the Kildean team turned to us at Whitecroft, in particular our ‘Organic Response’ lighting system, which is a wireless ‘plug & play’ lighting control system.

FLEXIBLE CONFIGURATION One of the drivers for choosing this system was the fact that, like many commercial workplace or office spaces, these spaces often need to change configuration, often quite quickly. At Kildean, for example, although the three floors are currently open plan, they


NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 LIGHTING JOURNAL

Examplary Workplace running lighting head could in the future be partitioned and adapted to the needs of new tenants. So, the lighting needs to be able to respond to those evolving needs. Kildean’s extensive use of glass also meant whatever solution was chosen would need to work in harmony with the ever-changing natural light conditions, both to save electricity and maintain occupant comfort and welfare. This is even more pronounced in locations as far north as Scotland, where the extreme changes in season accentuate variations in the levels of natural light. For example, the peak difference in daylight hours in central Scotland between the longest day (in June) and shortest day (in December), is just over ten-and-a-half hours. From an energy-saving perspective, it therefore made sense to have a lighting system in place that could take advantage of the abundance of natural light in the summer while keeping lighting levels at the required consistent quality throughout the building. To achieve this, the angle and intensity of daylight had to be considered at different times of the day because, as the sun moves across the sky, it creates significant differences in natural light levels in different spaces.

REAL-TIME ADJUSTMENTS Organic Response gives every light fitting its own sensory capabilities (as opposed to just rooms or clusters of lights) so each luminaire can respond individually throughout the building and adapt to factors such as changing daylight and room occupancy. This includes real-time adjustments to the natural light coming through the large windows. For example, if a cloud moves across the sun, the lights will fade up, and

these adjustments in the sunnier months will help offset the electricity used during prolonged winter darkness. The fact the system is wireless also removes the need for a full wire installation and possible obstructive cabling. The lighting and controls are interconnected using infrared, jumping from one light to the other, with the Bluetoothenabled switches even able to operate without a power supply. This makes them easy to reposition to suit.

This, again, meant each luminaire arrived on site enabled for installation; they come ready to respond without further configuration needed during fitting. This level of flexibility is particularly useful for ‘Category A’ office fitouts that only include basic finishes, in other words no fixtures and fittings, such as partitions, meeting rooms or individual offices. A lighting configuration app also enables the contractors to program the lighting at the point of installation. Facilities managers can then make changes to the lighting through the lifecycle of the building without the need for a commissioning engineer or additional software. Finally, there was the sustainability imperative. The lighting at Kildean reduced materials and embodied carbon through a modular design that promotes product circularity. The lighting contains removal units that allow for the replacement of key components, so lengthening the life of the product and materials. This will free future facilities managers to just replace the LEDs with the latest generations of more energy efficient models, or even change the lighting aesthetics in line with future office refits. Kevin McCully is a senior account manager at Whitecroft Lighting

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Workplace lighting

REMAKING WORK The recent refurbishment of Arup’s Piccadilly Place office in Manchester has highlighted both the practical and sustainability value of remanufacturing versus stripping out and starting from scratch By Nic Paton

A

s Lighting Journal highlighted earlier this year, (‘Engineering change’, April 2023, vol 88 no 4), remanufacturing is becoming an increasingly important conversation within lighting’s drive for better sustainability. A great recent example of remanufacturing in action was the completion over the summer of the refurbishment of Arup’s office at Piccadilly Place in Manchester. Already occupying the sixth floor, the project saw Arup expand on to the seventh floor and for both spaces to be totally refurbished. A key project objective was to reduce embodied carbon by renovating or repurposing furniture and equipment as an exemplar demonstration for its clients. Arup wanted to explore the refurbishment of the existing TCS-L luminaires to LED. The company approached The Regen Initiative, which specialises in remanufacture, supported by technology from Tridonic UK, to make the project a reality. Conceived by F Mark and COCO Lighting, the Regen Initiative, as its name suggests, offers a lighting fixture refurbishment service, so is all about breathing new life into existing fixtures, providing a credible, more sustainable, alternative to just stripping out and ‘fitting new’.

LIGHT QUALITY SPECIFICATION Arup and the Regen Initiative therefore collaborated in the design, prototyping and testing on-site of the retrofit solution to ensure the optical performance could be maintained. They also worked to define a specification for light quality and to integrate smart wireless lighting controls to replace the existing DALI system. The LED retrofit upgrade of the 214

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incumbent TC-L fluorescent lighting was completed out of hours by Regen associate Challenger Lighting Services so as to minimise disruption to Arup’s daily operations in the office. Along with the rebuilt LED retrofits, which were remanufactured off site, the lighting levels were balanced to meet the client’s exact specification. The emergency lighting provision was also upgraded to be compliant with regulation and the whole project was fitted with wireless controls from Tridonic UK. Overall, the remanufacturing and retrofit of the fixtures has resulted in a 72% energy reduction and the avoidance of 5,554kg of CO2e being produced in comparison with the replacement of existing luminaires with new. The Tridonic x Casambi wireless upgrades have meant PIRs and meeting room switch plates have been replaced. Regen engaged the services of Atrium to supply these components and commission all wireless lighting towards the end of the project. The emergency lighting provision was upgraded to be fully DALI auto-test compliant. ‘The resulting green credentials for this project really speak for themselves,’ says F Mark and Regen Initiative’s Simon Fisher. ‘We knew what we could do to remanufacture the old fittings to make them LED-

ready, and utilising technology from Tridonic UK and Casambi to provide wireless controls, dimming and emergency lighting compliance, were all key parts of the project deliverables for us. ‘What has been truly inspiring about this project is the collaboration between the Regen Initiative and Arup to evolve the scope of work, to really move the dial on the amount of carbon and money saved, as a result of these innovative green techniques being deployed. ‘Finally, the success of the project has meant that we have been invited to return to provide similar capabilities as part of the renovations to the seventh floor of Piccadilly Place, which sees us taking on a role as lighting remanufacture contractor, working as part of a wider supply chain,’ Simon adds. Richard Morris, lighting design leader for Arup’s Manchester office, says: ‘We have been promoting the lighting and circularity agenda for some time. ‘We were keen to put this into practice and working with the Regen Initiative gave us the opportunity. Now, having been through the process, with no disruption to our daily work and validation of the energy and carbon savings, we can share our experience with our clients with confidence and promote luminaire refurbishment as a realistic proposal,’ he concludes.


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Examplary running head INDUSTRY LIGHTING BY TRILUX www.trilux.com

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THE SOUTHPORT

CONFERENCE

The APLE annual conference in Southport in 1947 was marked by an intensification of the battle by the profession against the government’s diktat that street lighting could only be run at 50% of its pre-war capacity

By Simon Cornwell

N

o-one was looking forward to the cold, dark winter months of 1947. Despite the resumption of full lighting at the end of the war, coal shortages had bitten hard, and the beleaguered government, desperate to conserve fuel, announced a series of restrictions to keep the country running. Even street lighting, which only used a meagre 2% of the country’s total energy, came under the government’s eye. A new street lighting blackout returned in February, ordained by the government, to save the country's vital coal stocks.

A further diktat followed that August, ruling that street lighting could only be run at 50% of its pre-war capacity. Lighting engineers were outraged, but some complied, either extinguishing alternative lanterns, fitting lower wattage lamps or running half-night schemes. So, the residents of Southport were confused when the lighting in their town was upgraded that September; and two mysterious lines of columns appeared in a local park, which led inexplicitly towards the sea. If anyone asked, then the answer was simple: the Association of Public

Lighting Engineers was coming to town. The APLE had been holding annual conferences since its foundation in 1924, with the association determined to make each subsequent convention bigger and better than the last. This momentum had been dramatically halted by the war, with only sporadic, brief meetings during those dark days, and the first post-war conferences in Glasgow (1945) and London (1946) were shadows of their 1930s heydays. But it was the APLE’s conference at Southport in 1947 that finally showed signs of post-war recovery and optimism. As the APLE said: ‘The APLE has accepted the cordial invitation of the Mayor and Corporation of Southport to hold the next Conference in their town. An important sessional meeting, with the subject of “Safety First” as it pertains to street lighting, will be held in the Floral Hall.’ In reality, it was Southport’s lighting engineers (one for gas and the other for electricity) who swung the deal, knowing the knock-on advantages and benefits of playing host to the APLE’s annual conference. It would bring much-needed commerce to the town, give the local lighting engineers extra clout with the manufacturers and, hopefully, a new installation might be left behind if a good deal could be struck.


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Light on the past

The weighty conference programme included introductions from various dignitaries, times of the papers and events, and brief details of all the exhibiting manufacturers

The President 1947-1948, Thomas Wilkie, FIES, Public Lighting of Leicester. It was his second tenure as the association’s President

The conference duly opened on Monday 17 September, 1947 with the annual general meeting, a reception hosted by the mayor and the induction of the new President, Thomas Wilkie. This was going to be Wilkie’s second tenue as president. The amicable Leicester lighting engineer had already held the post in 1930, a well-known and admired founding member of the association, one of the few who’d attended the meeting in Bingley Hall, Birmingham in September 1923, where the formation of the APLE was discussed.

‘Maintenance of Public Street Lighting’ or the extremely technical ‘Photometry in Relation to Public Lighting’, which were aimed at the experts. The conference had to run a tightrope between being overly technical and too trivial. Buts, despite this vague focus of ‘safety’ and the diversity of papers, the delegates did have their own shared agenda: they were keen to confront the 50% reduction in street lighting, a subject that kept raising its head – and refused to go away. The discussion during the less formal ‘annual luncheon’ that Wednesday revea-

DIVERSITY OF PAPERS The main gist of the conference started the next day, with Wilkie’s presidential address. His paper probably addressed the conference’s subject of ‘Safety First,’ but unfortunately it has been lost to the mists of time, as it was distributed as a separate paper with the Public Lighting journal rather than being included within the publication itself. The first paper, ‘Street Lighting in Relation to Road Safety, Traffic Problems and Crime Prevention’ was the only one to continue with the conference’s theme. The APLE was always aware of the broad range of delegates at conference and so selected papers accordingly. Amongst the lighting engineers were members of lighting committees and even laymen councillors. Papers such as ‘The Design of Lamp Columns and the Royal Fine Art Commission’ and the ‘Lighting of Class “B” Side and Residential Roads’ were more suited to this non-technical audience than

led the pressure that Mr A E N Taylor, the representative from the Ministry of Transport, was under. If he expected any deference or defence from the association’s newly elected President then he was mistaken. Wilkie had battled government policy before the war, arguing for centrally controlled street lighting that could be turned off during an air raid, even setting up trials in Leicester to show fellow lighting engineers and government representatives. Whilst it was policy the Germans followed, the UK government rejected it and demanded total blackout. So, Wilkie did have an axe to grind, and he used the luncheon to attack the 50% policy. ‘If the restrictions now imposed were reasonable and if I felt they were an advantage to the country as a whole, I would not say much about them, but I cannot not take that view,’ he wrote. Taylor batted the issue aside, denying sole responsibility from his department, as ‘the decision to cut street lighting by 50% had been taken at the highest possible level and was not a decision of any Ministry.’ The President was not impressed: ‘The restriction represents 200,000 tons of coal per annum, but this is about the amount lost in the recent Grimethorpe colliery strike, or about two weeks output of outcrop coal. Moreover, the restriction brings in other factors which are of great importance: it will result in increased road accidents and crime.’

INSPECTION OF NEW INSTALLATIONS The mood was not purely argumentative and confrontational that Wednesday.

The installation in Princess Gardens of modern lighting columns for main road and side roads

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Light on the past There was a special session where the manufacturers were invited to demonstrate and describe the new lanterns that they’d installed (and in some cases merely lashed up on existing columns) for the conference, all conveniently located on streets near to the Floral Hall. ‘Open coaches’ were hired to take delegates around the streets of Southport that evening when the new installations could be inspected. It was a good turnout by the manufacturers with 11 new gas and 10 new electric installations burning brightly, at pre-war capacity, a temporary reprieve from the government’s hated 50% rule. These lanterns were installed under the watchful eye of Southport’s gas and electrical engineers. Southport’s existing installation was mostly gas, with the remainder being electric lighting of the town’s important thoroughfares and promenades. This matched the nation as a whole: gas lighting was still king and used on most streets in the country. Of the 120 miles of streets in Southport, 115 were lit by gas, mainly using the Sugg Rochester lantern. New roads and estates, however, tended to use electric lighting and the engineer had been experimenting with mercury and sodium discharge lamps before the war. Sugg’s foothold in Southport proved advantageous, as the town required a new, directional gas fitting for its major thoroughfares. The solution was Sugg’s new panel refractor lantern, a radical new design based on an existing prototype (which had been shown at the previous conference). This was developed in conjunction with Holophane (for the glass panel refractors), the South Metropolitan Gas Company (for its unique Supervia strip mantles) and the Southport Corporation Gas Department. New Group A and B units – now called the Sugg Southport in honour of the town – were proudly shown off and were destined to replace all the gas units throughout Southport after the conference. The installations around the town streets were mostly lash-ups with substitute lanterns on existing columns. To show off complete designs, a display of modern street lighting columns was erected in Princess Gardens between the New Bridge and Pier. These were erected in two rows at approximately 12ft intervals, each manufacturer exhibiting their group of columns together. This exhibition remained unlit and was strictly for daytime viewing – it was more about a manufacturers’ model ranges and aesthetics rather than nighttime optics. The paper ‘The Design of Lamp

www.theilp.org.uk

The Sugg Southport, developed by the Southport Corporation Gas Department, Sugg, South Metropolitan Gas Company and Holophane

Holophane’s Dilux lantern, one of the many new lanterns installed on the streets of the town, for a temporary nighttime display during the conference

Columns and the Royal Fine Art Commission’ was also good promotion for the manufacturers, especially those who’d received the all-important ‘passed by the Royal Fine Art Commission’ certificate, and many were keen to point out these credentials in this outdoor exhibition. It also showed future trends in column and bracket design, which were now more functional and bereft of unnecessary decoration and embellishment, ordered rows of steel and concrete with clean linear and curved lines. The bus rides around the town and visiting the Princess Gardens installation marked the mid-point of the conference, with further papers being given on Thursday morning.

This set the stage for the final event, the ‘President’s Reception’, where live music, dancing and refreshments took place from eight until midnight, which marked the end of the formal conference. It also temporarily halted the mumblings about the 50% reduction and government interference. It isn’t known if the man from the Ministry, Mr Taylor, stayed for the whole conference – he certainly wasn’t mentioned again since the mid-week luncheon. The conference was undoubtably a success, reproducing the size and scope of the pre-war events, and it drew a new line in the sand as to the future standards by which these gatherings would be judged. The remaining delegates gradually left that Friday – although some took up the option to visit the Mersey Tunnel via Chester to inspect the lighting – and the manufacturers uprooted their columns from Princess Park and unplugged the temporary, jury-rigged lanterns on the streets. It isn’t known if any were left behind, although Southport’s gas engineer was undoubtably looking forward to the arrival of his new Southport lanterns. As the conference finally left town, the street lighting was reduced back to its 50% gloom, a final nod to the elephant-in-theroom which kept raising its head during the sessions. But of which no decision was ever made.

CALLS TO MAKE A STAND The APLE then introduced a new event that afternoon with the ‘open session’. This was intended to simply be a sounding board for blue-sky thinking, but the government’s 50% ruling wasn’t far from anyone’s mind. Delegates started to argue about the lighting restrictions and asked the association to make an official stand on the matter. The ‘open session’ ended unresolved with proposals for the association to make a stand, and an equal number of proposals claiming that a decision could not be made as some delegates had already left. There was one moment of levity when one delegate – presumably from Southport – suggested that manufacturers leave their lanterns behind, and this was met with raucous laughter.

Simon Cornwell BSc (Hons) is an R&D development senior manager at Dassault Systems


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THEY THINK IT’S ALL OVER And it is now – but only once you’ve completed the Exterior Lighting Diploma’s (ELD) Completion Module. Threequarters of ELD students fail to carry through this final task of the diploma, meaning they’re not actually properly qualified. Make sure you’re not one of them

By Guy Harding

L

ast month I wrote about the ILP’s Exterior Lighting Diploma (ELD) modules A, B and C, which are held at the Draycote Hotel (‘Careers service’, October 2023, vol 88 no 9). In this article I will focus on what is called the Completion Module. Typically, up to 40 students embark on Module A each year, yet we only receive on average 10 completed Completion Modules each year. Are you therefore part of the 75% of our students who have done one or more modules and so think you hold the diploma – yet actually don’t? We issue letters of attendance for Modules A, B and C but to fully achieve the ELD you need to be able to show: • 1. Your course assessments scores from Modules A, B and C (the ILP will keep a record of these). • 2. That you have also submitted your Completion Module for marking. Completing the ELD, with a credit score or above, will lead to you being registered as EngTech with the Engineering Council and your membership of the ILP being upgraded to associate member. This, in turn, will entitle to use the postnominal designatory letters EngTech AMILP after your name on business cards

and email signatures. In essence, therefore, this is recognition of your competence as a lighting professional! Your employer, in most cases, will have paid for your course and have expected you to complete the diploma. In addition, you owe it to yourself and your family to complete it, having spent the time away from them on the residential modules, where we taught you Modules A, B and C. The completion module demonstrates what you have learnt. You will therefore already have all the necessary knowledge to complete this last module and demonstrate what you have learnt. So, what’s stopping you?

WHAT IS THE COMPLETION MODULE? The Completion Module consists of showing or evidencing how you would illuminate four ‘Elements’ or ‘reports’. These are: A. A subsidiary road scheme. This will typically be a residential area and based on what you will learnt around illuminance in Module A). B. A traffic route scheme. This will be based on what you have learnt around luminance in Module B. C. An area design. This will normally be a car park, urban space, sports pitch or similar, and will be based on what you have learnt around floodlighting in Module C. D. An architectural scheme. This final report will be based around illuminating a statue, building or similar (which can be conceptual) and will, again, be based on learning from Module C. All four will need to be presented as standalone reports but you can reference common appendices. They should contain enough information for, in principle, the report to be handed over to a contractor for it to be installed.

WHAT WILL YOU NEED TO INCLUDE? For each report, there is a suggested or recommended list of content to include, although this will vary depending on the specific focus of the report. The content will also be explained and reiterated in depth during the modules and, of course, tutors are always happy to answer questions or provide clarifications. First, unsurprisingly, you’ll need to describe the site. This could mean the road type, typical usage, destination, or building being lit. You will want to show a plan and image(s) from Google Maps Streetview (often a screengrab or snip will do). You will want to show traffic volume or average daily traffic. For a car park, is it long or short stay? What environmental zone is it, too, for example E1 to E4? Is there a possibility of obtrusive light? The report will need to describe the site’s background and history. This will normally need to include details such as the history of the area, a description of any properties or landscape, and any ecological constraints you need to be aware of. You will need to explain, too, why the scheme is necessary, the condition of existing equipment, accident statistics, the crime rate , or whether it is a new development. Alongside this, you will need to spell out the design philosophy, the equipment used and why. Why, for example, did you use these particular luminaires or columns? To help with your evidence, you can cite extracts from the manufacturers’ data sheets in the appendices. Have you, as well, considered alternatives, other manufacturers or other methods of lighting? Other questions you will need to consider include the lighting class and levels as

Guy Harding presenting at an ILP conference


NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 LIGHTING JOURNAL

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Lighting education laid out in the British Standard and whether, for example, the scheme will involve dimming? Are you at any point departing from the Standard and, if so, why? How, too, is the scheme controlled? What is the maintenance factor and how did you calculate it? What about any future maintenance issues? Within the reports you will need to discuss health and safety and how your scheme relates to the Construction Design and Management (CDM) regulations’ risk assessments. You will need to outline the scheme’s energy consumption, including options for making both energy and carbon savings. If you are using a private network, you will need to add the cable calculations. Light pollution and obtrusive light will, naturally, be an important issue to show you have considered and, if appropriate or relevant, mitigated. What, too, are the environmental constraints that you have considered? At a technical level, each report will need to include drawings and specifications, your calculation results (and the full calculation can go in the appendices), the indicative design, the scheme costs, and, of course, a picture of the finished scheme, or a similar road or area if your scheme has not been built. For element D, incidentally, there is a recognition that you may not do architectural designs in you day job, so it is perfectly acceptable to use a local statue or building and develop your concept from there. Also, it does not have to be an installed design, a conceptual one is fine. But do think about the same issues as for road lighting, especially how it will be cabled, how it will be controlled and possible light pollution issues. Importantly, remember to add a conclusion for each element. In other words, what worked well and not so well? What would you do differently next time? You should include a bibliography (if appropriate). Finally, your appendices

should comprise the following: scheme drawings, specifications, designer’s risk assessment, calculation reports, and cost/ carbon calculations.

MODULE MARKING Once submitted, your Completion Module will be marked on the following criteria below, with a score of 1-5 marks given for each of the following. That it: • Identifies and describes the design area, the existing lighting and the reason for new lighting. • Identifies equipment and reasons why these were chosen. • Identifies possible alternatives and outlines why these were rejected. • Identifies any health and safety issues, including hazard elimination, the CDM regulations and manufacturers’ lists. • Identifies environmental issues, including light pollution and energy costs. • Identifies any ongoing maintenance issues. • Includes information for building the scheme (such as drawings, specifications and so on). • Includes calculation results, such lighting levels and cable calculations where necessary, and that full results are in the appendices. • Includes a visualisation (descriptive or an image).

• Includes underpinning engineering, mathematical principles and any longhand calculations. In addition, for Element C, you will need include a section on positioning and modelling issues and for Element D a description of your design concept. You are also awarded marks for the general structure, application and content of the module as well as its underlying engineering principles. The overall scoring is as follows: • Pass = 40% to 59% • Credit = 60% to 79% • Distinction = 80%+ Needless to say, we prefer an electronic submission that can be sent by a file transfer process. This will normally need to be sent to training and development executive Angela Davies, but please let her know first that you are sending it. We now mark modules throughout the year, so there are no submission deadlines. Finally, myself and Angela held a series of lunchtime Completion Module workshops online over the summer and will continue to offer these throughout the autumn and into next year. If you are interested in attending, please contact angela@theilp.org.uk We will also be travelling around the ILP Lighting Delivery Centres in the future to hold face-to-face sessions to help you complete you diploma. In the past few months, we have seen a marked increase in students booking places on the diploma and also the number of modules being received for marking. Let’s therefore keep up this progress (and good work)!

EUR ING Guy Harding BSc CEng FILP FSLL is the ILP’s Technical Manager The Draycote Hotel, venue for the residential part of the ELD

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 LIGHTING JOURNAL

‘THE LONGER YOU LEAVE IT, THE MORE DIFFICULT IT SEEMS TO BECOME’ For lighting designer Chris Smith, completing the ELD has been invaluable to his career progression. However, with, for him, the pandemic putting things on hold at just the wrong moment, he emphasises the key is not to delay pressing on with the Completion Module if you can By Chris Smith

I

have been involved in lighting for almost 10 years, starting off as a lighting technician at Lancashire County Council (LCC), before which I worked as a waste management technician, again at LCC. Like many who come into the industry, lighting was never something I’d planned on getting into. I just embraced any new opportunities that came up while at LCC. When I saw a job advertised in the street lighting team it sounded like something that I would be good at and might enjoy! LCC gave me a real grounding in many aspects of lighting, lighting maintenance and lighting design. Then, after a several years, I moved on to work as a lighting designer at Aptus Utilities. I’m now immensely lucky to be taking a bit of a sabbatical from lighting, travelling the world and working, and completing some long overdue training courses, such as Dialux and electrical engineering. I started on the ELD programme in 2018 and completed the first three modules towards the end of 2019. My reason for wanting to do the ELD was very simple. I’d heard this was the most important lighting course that you needed to do; I was interested in the subject and, when funding was approved, I couldn’t wait to get started! For me, I found doing Modules A to C


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Examplary Lighting running education head

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Lighting education very intense; they are long weeks. However, they are also so, so informative. The training is really interactive and takes you into areas of lighting that you may not have considered before. The best advice I can offer is simply to go in with an open mind and be prepared to learn things that you weren’t expecting. You never know when in your career these areas will come up again.

COVID DELAYS I began the Completion Module in early 2020 although, because of Covid, inevitably I experienced some delays in getting it done. As Guy Harding has explained in the previous article there are four elements to the Completion Module, which cover illuminance, luminance, architectural, and area lighting. Each one is similar in structure but involves very different elements of lighting. So it is about showing you can use different standards, software and approaches. At first, I hit the ground running and got all my ideas together for what I was going to do; this was the relatively straightforward part, at least for me! However, I found organising all of these ideas into a wellformatted document did take time. I was also unlucky in that, because of Covid, the Completion Module support that students normally get as part of the ELD was temporarily cancelled. That meant, as already highlighted, things got delayed and put on hold. I personally found it quite hard to get back started again. That also, to me, shows how important it is, if you can, to try not to lose momentum after completing Modules A-C and simply to press on and, well, complete the Completion Module.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and, looking back, I’m not sure I’d recommend the approach I took! I started off by doing all the lighting design elements and drawings, I then went on to write up the introductions, methods, summaries and conclusions, which provided all the information I needed. On reflection, as this last element was the most difficult part for me, it would probably have been easier to do this as I was going along. I also was unsure how to present the document in the most effective format. This, however, was resolved thanks to support from colleagues at Aptus. Now, with things back to normal, this is probably something you could reach out to the tutors to advise on.

PROUD TO GET A DISTINCTION Overall, I’d say it took perhaps 100+ hours of work, so it is a substantial commitment to get done, but that also shows it has real rigour. Once completed, I got the project printed and then saved it on to a memory stick and sent it over to the ILP (but obviously make sure you keep multiple copies in different safe places). I then had a short wait until the next round of marking, which took place about a month later. Once a few members on the panel had reviewed the project, I got an email with my mark. Once I heard I’d got a distinction it made all the stress and hours of work seem worth the effort. Looking back through the project at everything, I was very proud of the work I’d completed. I was also incredibly grateful to the support I’d received along the way, again from my colleagues at Aptus Utilities. I was over the moon to get the mark I did. The Completion Module has helped me

Chris Smith is now travelling round the world

in my day-to-day job massively. It gave me an in-depth understanding of areas I’d had little experience with in the past, which in turn has helped me to develop more efficient cost-saving and buildable lighting schemes, which (again in turn) has saved clients time and money and provided better lighting. It has also allowed me confidently to take on new projects, even in areas where I haven’t been involved in that working environment before. Because I’ve done them as part of the Completion Module (and gained a good mark) it gives you to the confidence to feel comfortable going into that otherwise unknown territory. My application for upgrading to EngTech AMILP was also recently approved, which of course also wouldn’t have been possible without having the Completion Module (and the whole, completed, ELD) under my belt. Finally, what would be my tips or advice for making it easier? First, if possible, get the support of your employer or colleagues. Having supportive people around you that you can bounce ideas off or run drafts pasts is a great help. Second, if your employer is happy to give you some time to do the module that really helps to give you focused distraction-free time to get the project completed. Third, get started as soon as possible after you have completed the first three modules. Obviously, in my case the small issue of a global pandemic caused a delay about which nothing much could be done. But I did find it was much easier at the beginning, when I was in the flow, than when I came back to things after a few months. In fact, I’d recommend, if you can, is a good idea even to start some elements of the Completion Module in between Modules A-C. Ultimately, the longer you leave it, the more difficult it seems to become. Chris Smith EngTech AMILP is a lighting designer

www.theilp.org.uk


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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 LIGHTING JOURNAL

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During 2023 the YLP and Lighting Journal joined forces to showcase and celebrate young lighters, up-andcoming lighting professionals and those who are new in the industry. The YLP’s Katerina Xynogola looks back on what these ‘new voices’ have been able to tell us By Katerina Xynogola

D

uring 2023, a total of 11 profiles from YLP members have been published in Lighting Journal (including this edition, with our final two profiles running opposite and overleaf). They have all showcased and celebrated new and upcoming talent in the industry. The Young Lighting Professionals (YLP), as most members will know, is a division of the ILP focusing on providing a supportive professional network to young lighting engineers. The profiles presented in the journal were an opportunity for young lighting professionals to get their work published and their voices heard, and for older members to find out what made them ‘tick’, what inspired them about light and lighting and, more widely, the profession. So, looking back over the year, what have they told us? Are there common themes? For me, it became apparent that, while of course there were many differences in experience, there were many commonalities too. Most young lighting professionals still ‘fell’ in the industry by accident, while a few came in through their experiences at different university courses and work in theatre. A lack of awareness of the industry was recognised by many as one of the main barriers to entry for younger professionals.

IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABILITY More positively, the perception of lighting as impactful for individuals, wellbeing, local communities and the environment was very clearly apparent. Young lighting professionals find their work important and fulfilling, a heartwarming prospect coming from what is the future generation of lighting designers – and showing how the industry has the

ambition to propel itself forward and support its members. Another common theme in a lot of profiles was the importance of sustainability and highlighting the environmental impacts of lighting alongside a need to improve things for the future. The variability and uniqueness of the industry was celebrated by the numerous different projects the profiles celebrated and the elements they found most inspiring in the industry. These spanned technical elements of work through to environmental lighting, architectural lighting, light art and more hands-on approaches. It was pleasing to read how the ILP was celebrated throughout the profiles, with the Institution’s teaching, CPD and events all praised, as well as the Exterior Lighting Diploma, the opportunities the ILP and YLP offer to network and collaborate with professionals in the wider industry. The opportunities ILP membership bring to finding like-minded people and to get involved in, say, presenting findings from projects and research, alongside getting involved in the running of the ILP and various outputs produced.

PANEL DISCUSSIONS To complement the new voices section, two panel discussions were organized during 2023, in the January edition (‘Youth speaks’, vol 88 no 1) and September edition (‘Catch them young’, vol 88 no 8). These gave a further voice to young lighting professionals and, in the first debate in January in particular, their passion for and commitment to mitigating climate change. The discussion very much focused on the role young lighting professionals will have in managing and mitiga-

ting our changing climate, and the important example and leadership they will need to be setting. The discussion included the need to be empowering young professionals to challenge the standards and common conceptions around having to provide high levels of light in areas that would normally not be illuminated. Concepts of circular economy were also discussed as a good starting point for sustainability but it was very much stressed that we all of us need to go further and consider a more holistic approach in designs and advisory work. The September discussion focused more on how to improve pathways into the profession, in particular the widespread lack of awareness of the industry and the concern it can too often become an afterthought due to budgetary restraints. The discussion expressed interest in solutions, such as wider promotion of lighting as a potential profession in schools and wider advertisement of lighting roles on social media, which is widely used by young professionals and students to search for job prospects. Crucially, young lighters emphasised the importance of the ILP to theme events, especially for how these work to cater for different groups and demographics within lighting and provide a support network for everyone starting out in the industry. Long may that continue.

Katerini Xynogala MSc BA(Hons) EngTech LCIBSE is the YLP’s editorial national committee representative as well as engineer, Lighting & Energy Solutions, at WSP


NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 LIGHTING JOURNAL

Examplary Young andrunning new lighters head

‘LIGHTING REQUIRES A BALANCE OF TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE, ARTISTIC SKILL, AND ABILITY TO ADAPT’ As our year of mini profiles of young and new lighters comes to an end, WSP’s Ahmad Yar Daniyal reflects on his route into lighting and what the industry means for him while INDO's Matt Robbins, overleaf, outlines how the YLP has helped him in his career progression By Ahmad Yar Daniyal

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF My name is Ahmad Yar Daniyal and I am a year-out lighting design engineer at WSP in the UK.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO LIGHTING? I came across a job opportunity for a lighting engineer on LinkedIn (as a year in industry) while applying for a placement as part of my postgraduate degree in electrical engineering. Despite lacking any prior knowledge about the field of lighting design, I decided to apply. The position piqued my curiosity, and I was eager to delve into the intricacies of this specialised area.

WHY LIGHTING? When I was deciding to start my career in lighting. I was confident my background in electrical engineering, coupled with my enthusiasm for learning and problemsolving, would enable me to quickly acquire the necessary skills and contribute effectively to the role. I was excited about the potential this opportunity holds for expanding my knowledge and expertise in the realm of lighting engineering.

WHAT DO YOU FIND MOST INTERESTING OR ENGAGING ABOUT YOUR ROLE AND WHY? Lighting design is an exciting field where

finding the right lighting level is the main goal. Each project presents unique challenges and opportunities to learn. It requires a good balance of technical knowledge, artistic skill, and the ability to adapt. Whether it's a big theatre or a small café, every space has its own characteristics that require customised lighting solutions. Paying close attention to details like light, shadow, colour, and brightness is crucial. We constantly push boundaries, try new technologies, and improve our skills. Lighting design is always changing, making it interesting and inspiring because no two projects are identical.

HAVE YOU BEEN INVOLVED IN ANY PROJECTS YOU ARE PARTICULARLY PROUD OF, AND WHY? I had the opportunity to contribute to a scheme where we developed a lighting design guide for Cardiff Council aimed at preventing crimes in parks. As part of this project, I played a key role in gathering data from anti-social behaviour (ASB) reports and police portals to inform the guide and improve future lighting installations. The project was important because it aimed to enhance the safety and security of parks by strategically implementing effective lighting solutions. By analysing data from the ASB reports and portals, we were able to identify patterns and hotspots where criminal activities were more likely

to occur. This information allowed us to develop guidelines that would help deter crime and create a safer environment for park visitors.

HOW DOES LIGHT INSPIRE YOU? As someone who only started their professional career in lighting 10 months ago, I have discovered a newfound inspiration in the field. Prior to entering this industry, I had little knowledge of the extensive work that goes on behind the scenes before the installation of lights. Learning about the technical aspects of lighting, such as colour temperature, brightness levels, and beam angles, has opened my eyes to the intricate science and artistry involved. I have developed a deep appreciation for the meticulous planning, calculations, and design considerations that go into creating optimal lighting solutions.

WHAT BARRIERS OR CHALLENGES WOULD YOU SAY STOP YOUNG PEOPLE FROM ENTERING THE INDUSTRY? While the lighting industry offers exciting opportunities for young people, there are several barriers and challenges that they may encounter when entering this field. Many young people may not be aware of the diverse career paths and opportunities available within the lighting industry. Limited exposure and information about the field can make it challenging for them to

www.theilp.org.uk

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 LIGHTING JOURNAL

Young and new lighters consider it as a viable career option. The lighting industry requires a strong foundation in technical knowledge and skills, including understanding lighting principles, electrical systems, design software, and emerging technologies. Young people may face difficulties in acquiring these skills if they do not have access to relevant educational programmes or training opportunities. Many employers seek candidates with industry experience, which can be a hurdle for young individuals who are just starting their careers. Without prior experience, it can be challenging to secure internships, apprenticeships, or entry-level positions that provide.

WHAT WOULD YOU IDENTIFY AS KEY CHALLENGES FACING THE INDUSTRY FOR THE FUTURE? As the lighting industry continues to evolve, several key challenges are anticipated for the future. With growing concerns about climate change and the need for energy conservation, the lighting industry faces the challenge of developing and implementing sustainable lighting solutions. Rapid advancements in lighting technology, such as LED lighting, smart lighting systems, and connected lighting, present both opportunities and challenges. The industry must keep pace with these innovations and develop the necessary expertise to integrate and optimise new technologies effectively. This requires ongoing research, development, and continuous learning to stay at the forefront of emerging trends. Balancing functional lighting requirements with aesthetic considerations can be a challenge. Designing lighting solutions that not only meet technical requirements but also enhance the visual appeal of spaces requires a combination of technical expertise and artistic sensibilities. The industry needs to address the ongoing need for skilled professionals who can design, install, and maintain advanced lighting systems. Developing comprehensive educational programmes, fostering apprenticeships, and encouraging continuous professional development are crucial for preparing the future workforce to meet the evolving demands of the industry.

HOW HAS THE ILP HELPED YOU ON YOUR LIGHTING ‘JOURNEY’? As a new starter in the lighting industry, the ILP has been instrumental in supporting my lighting journey. The ILP has provided valuable resources and guidance on lighting standards, helping me understand and navigate the complex world of lighting. One key way the ILP has supported my

www.theilp.org.uk

growth is through CPD events. These events offer opportunities to learn from industry experts, stay updated on the latest developments, and expand my knowledge and skills. Additionally, the ILP Professional Lighting Summit in Manchester this year was a significant milestone in my lighting journey. The Summit brought together professionals from various fields within the lighting industry, including advanced lighting manufacturers. It allowed me to network with experienced individuals, gain insights into industry trends, and discover innovative lighting solutions. Moreover, the ILP's Young Lighting Professionals (YLP) network has been immensely helpful in my professional growth. The YLP provides me with a platform to connect, collaborate, and share ideas. Through the YLP, I have been able to access valuable updates, resources, and discussions that keep me informed about the latest developments in the lighting industry.

WHAT’S YOUR AMBITION IN LIGHTING? WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE IN, SAY, 10 YEARS’ TIME? In the next 10 years, the lighting industry is expected to undergo significant transformations driven by advancements in technology, sustainability, and human-centric design. The industry seems increasingly focused on implementing circular economy principles, including product lifecycle management, recycling, and waste reduction. Outdoor lighting will play a crucial role in

smart city initiatives. Connected street lighting systems that adapt to real-time conditions, provide enhanced safety and security, and support data collection for city management purposes are likely to become more prevalent.

WHAT WOULD BE YOUR MESSAGE TO OTHER YOUNG PEOPLE INTERESTED IN OR THINKING ABOUT A CAREER IN LIGHTING? Lighting is more than just illumination — it has the power to transform spaces, create experiences, and improve quality of life. Take the time to understand what fascinates you about lighting. Whether it's the technical aspects, the creative possibilities, or the impact it has on people and the environment, identify your passion, and let it guide your career choices. Lighting is a diverse field with constant advancements. Stay curious and committed to learning. Engage in formal education, pursue certifications, attend industry events, and make use of available resources to expand your knowledge and skills. Seek guidance from experienced professionals who can share their insights and help you navigate the industry. Finally, join professional organisations such as the ILP and participate in networking events to connect with like-minded individuals who share your passion for lighting.

Ahmad Yar Daniyal is a year-out lighting design engineer at WSP


NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 LIGHTING JOURNAL

Young and new lighters

‘BEING A MEMBER OF THE YLP HAS GIVEN ME EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITIES THAT WOULDN’T OTHERWISE HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE’ For INDO Lighting’s Matt Robbins, membership of the YLP has opened doors and proved invaluable in helping him to progress his career By Matt Robbins

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF My name is Matt Robbins. I work for INDO Lighting as a sales engineer.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO LIGHTING? As I studied engineering at university, I wanted to work for an innovative company. With INDO’s key interests being in the development and improvement of new lighting technology, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for me.

WHY LIGHTING? Lighting tends to be something that people often take for granted, even though it has a huge effect on society. Being able to directly affect the safety and confidence of drivers and pedestrians is something that I take pride in.

WHAT DO YOU FIND MOST INTERESTING OR ENGAGING ABOUT YOUR ROLE AND WHY? Helping to understand customer requirements and working out the best-tailored solution involves great lighting designs

and careful product selection. The problem-solving involved with these lighting designs is the part I find the most interesting and engaging; it challenges me to find an optimal solution.

HAVE YOU BEEN INVOLVED IN ANY PROJECTS YOU ARE PARTICULARLY PROUD OF, AND WHY? INDO worked on a very large airport project in London. I performed the preliminary lighting designs for the project which allowed the customer to see the performance of our luminaires. This was a great achievement as I felt I really contributed to winning the project in a meaningful way.

HOW DOES LIGHT INSPIRE YOU?

WHAT WOULD YOU IDENTIFY AS KEY CHALLENGES FACING THE INDUSTRY FOR THE FUTURE? With the upcoming RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive) changes, I believe lots of councils will find themselves without sufficient stock of lamp replacements, potentially leading to a huge strain on the LED market. A surge of LED requirements will likely put lots of pressure on LED manufacturers to supply these large quantities of stock.

HOW HAS THE ILP HELPED YOU ON YOUR LIGHTING ‘JOURNEY’? Being able to meet with other like-minded people in the industry helps you better to understand current and upcoming projects as well as make new friends. Being a member of the YLP has given me excellent opportunities that wouldn’t otherwise have been possible, such as giving a CPD presentation to other professionals within the industry.

WHAT’S YOUR AMBITION IN LIGHTING? WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE IN, SAY, 10 YEARS’ TIME?

Lighting can change the way an environment can be perceived. From something as simple as a candle to something as extensive as highway lighting, it’s always critical to safety and human psychology. The horticulture lighting industry, for example, is growing fast and, with INDO’s technology advances in this field, it looks to be an exciting journey. Being able to affect that is something, again, I take pride in.

In the next few years, it would be great to get more involved with the YLP and get to better know its members. I would like to continue to build my professional profile, adding more and more experience to better my knowledge of the industry.

WHAT BARRIERS OR CHALLENGES WOULD YOU SAY STOP YOUNG PEOPLE FROM ENTERING THE INDUSTRY?

Lighting feels like a small industry, even though it is massively expansive. Lighting may seem fairly niche, but with so many different categories, there is something for anyone. Being a small industry, everyone knows everyone and it’s great to catch up with the friends you make at events and meetings.

Entering an industry with no prior knowledge always has its challenges. The lighting industry is no different – the vast majority of people use acronyms and abbreviations which take time to get used to. Through thorough training and having been given plenty of great opportunities to meet other ILP members, the introduction to lighting has been streamlined perfectly for me.

WHAT WOULD BE YOUR MESSAGE TO OTHER YOUNG PEOPLE INTERESTED IN OR THINKING ABOUT A CAREER IN LIGHTING?

Matt Robbins is a sales engineer at INDO Lighting

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LIGHTING CONSULTANTS This directory gives details of suitably qualified, individual members of the Institution of Lighting Professionals (ILP) who offer consultancy services

HERBIE BARNIEH

KEVIN RAMSAY

BEngCEngMILP

IEngMILPMIET

PROJECT CENTRE

SWECO

1 AMERICA SQUARE, LONDON, EC3N 2LS T: 0330 135 8950, 077954 75570 HERBIE.BARNIEH@PROJECTCENTRE.CO.UK

SWECO, EDINBURGH EH3 9QG T: 07467685753 E: KEVIN.RAMSAY@SWECO.CO.UK

WWW.SWECO.CO.UK

WWW.MARSTONHOLDINGS.CO.UK/PROJECTCENTRE Efficient, innovative, and bespoke lighting design services from an award winning consultancy. Experienced in delivering exterior lighting projects from feasibility studies to post construction services. Whether it’s highway, street, or public realm lighting, let us assist you to realise your project goals.

Lighting and electrical design consultancy providing private and public sector innovative professional services. Specialising in Section 38, Section 278, RCC, highways, architectural, public spaces, car park, lighting impact assessments, Internet of Things, interior and emergency lighting, EV design. From planning to post-construction we provide innovative and environmental balanced solutions.

STEVEN BIGGS

REBECCA HATCH

ANTHONY SMITH

IEngMILP

IEngMILP

IEngFILP

MILESTONE INFRASTRUCTURE

WSP

STAINTON LIGHTING DESIGN SERVICES LTD

PETERBOROUGH PE1 5XG T: 07834 506705 STEVEN.BIGGS@MILESTONEINFRA.CO.UK

MILESTONEINFRA.CO.UK Award winning lighting design specialists, delivering innovative design, installation and maintenance solutions in highways, public realm, commercial and architectural environments. Our HERS registered team provide design strategies, impact assessment, technical & certifier support.

ANDREW LONGMAN BEng(Hons)CEngMILPMIET MHEA-ManagingDirector

LONDON WC2A 1AF T: 07385 461143 E: REBECCA.HATCH@WSP.COM

WWW.WSP.COM

DFL-UK WINCHESTER SO23 7TA T: +44 (0)1962 855080 M: +44 (0)7779 327413 E: ANDREW@DFL-UK.COM

WWW.DFL-UK.COM Professional lighting design consultancy offering technical advice, designandmanagementservicesforexterior/interiorapplications for highway, architectural, area, tunnel and commercial lighting. Advisors on lighting and energy saving strategies, asset management, visualimpact assessmentsand planning.

STOCKTON ON TEES TS23 1PX T: 01642 565533, E: ENQUIRIES@STAINTONLDS.CO.UK

WWW.STAINTONLDS.CO.UK

National team of specialist lighting and energy professionals offering the latest thinking and best client service across all aspects of lighting and energy, both public and private sector. Architectural, Highways, Environmental, Local Government, Electrical and Technical Expertise

Specialist in: motorway, highway schemes, illumination of buildings, major structures, public artworks, amenity area lighting, public spaces, car parks, sports lighting, asset management, reports, plans, assistance, maintenance management, electrical design, Lighting Impact Assessments and Dark Skies Compliant Lighting.

BONNIE BROOKS

STEPHEN HIGHAM

NICK SMITH

BA(Hons)BEng(Hons)MSc CEngMSLLMCIBSEMILP

IEngMILP

IEngFILPMIES

THE LIGHTING BEE LTD

SHD LIGHTING CONSULTANCY LTD

NICK SMITH ASSOCIATES LIMITED

EXETER EX4 1NF T: 07840 054601, E: INFO@THELIGHTINGBEE.CO.UK

BOLTON BL2 6SE M: 07834 490 192 E: STEVE@SHDLIGHTING.CO.UK

CHESTERFIELD, S40 3JR T: 01246 229444 E: MAIL@NICKSMITHASSOCIATES.COM

WWW.THELIGHTINGBEE.CO.UK

WWW.SHDLIGHTING.CO.UK

WWW.NICKSMITHASSOCIATES.CO.UK

Professional independent lighting design consultancy providing designs for all exterior applications, including street lighting. Specialists in assisting at the planning application stage with designs, strategies, lighting impact assessments, and expert witness, with a focus on mitigating ecological and environmental impacts.

Outdoor lighting design consultancy specialising in street lighting and private lighting design services. We provide Section 38, Section 278, Car Park lighting designs, Commercial lighting and Environmental Impact Lighting Assessments and planning application consultancy advice throughout the UK.

Specialist exterior lighting consultant. Private and adopted lighting and electrical design for highways, car parks, area and sports lighting. Lighting Impact assessments, expert witness and CPD accredited Lighting design AutoCAD and Lighting Reality training courses.

SIMON BUSHELL

ALLAN HOWARD

ALAN TULLA

MBADMSIEngMILP

BEng(Hons)CEngFILPFSLL

IEngFILPFSLL

ENERVEO

WSP

ALAN TULLA LIGHTING

PORTSMOUTH PO6 1UJ M: +44 (0)7584 313990 T: +44 (0)121 387 9892 E: SIMON.BUSHELL@ENERVEO.COM

HERTFORD SG13 7NN T: 07827 306483 E: ALLAN.HOWARD@WSP.COM

WWW.ENERVEO.COM

WWW.WSP.COM

WINCHESTER, SO22 4DS T: 01962 855720 M:0771 364 8786 E: ALAN@ALANTULLALIGHTING.COM

Professional consultancy from the UK’s and Irelands largest external lighting contractor. From highways and tunnels, to architectural and public spaces our electrical and lighting designers also provide impact assessments, lighting and carbon reduction strategies along with whole installation packages.

Professional artificial and daylight lighting services covering design, technical support, contract and policy development including expert advice and analysis to develop and implement energy and carbon reduction strategies. Expert witness regarding obtrusive lighting, light nuisance and environmental impact investigations. registered personnel.

WWW.ALANTULLALIGHTING.COM Visual Impact Assessments for planning applications. Expert in minimising environmental impact. 3D building modelling of light spill. Exterior and Interior architectural lighting design. Site surveys and lighting measurements. Specialises in problem solving and out-of-the-ordinary projects..

LORRAINE CALCOTT

ALAN JAQUES

MICHAEL WALKER

IEngFILPIALDMSLLILABSS

IEngFILP

IEngMILPCMS

IT DOES LIGHTING LTD

ATKINS

MCCANN LTD

THE CUBE, 13 STONE HILL, TWO MILE ASH, MILTON KEYNES, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, MK8 8DN T: 01908 560110 E: INFORMATION@ITDOES.CO.UK

NOTTINGHAM, NG1 5FW T: +44 (0)115 9574900 M: 07834 507070 E: ALAN.JAQUES@ATKINSGLOBAL.COM

NOTTINGHAM NG9 6DQ M: 07939 896887 E: M.WALKER@JMCCANN.CO.UK

WWW.ITDOES.CO.UK

WWW.ATKINSGLOBAL.COM

WWW.MCCANN-LTD.CO.UK

Award winning lighting design practice specialising in interior, exterior, flood and architectural lighting. Emphasis on section 278/38, public realm, ecology receptor mitigation and supporting Councils with planning approvals, CDM2015 and SBD accredited. Specialists in circadian spectrally specific lighting design.

Professional consultancy providing technical advice, design and management services for exterior and interior applications including highway, architectural, area, tunnel and commercial lighting. Advisors on energy saving strategies, asset management, visual impact assessments and planning.

Design for all types of exterior lighting including street lighting, car parks, floodlighting, decorative lighting, and private lighting. Independent advice regarding light trespass, carbon reduction and invest to save strategies. Asset management, data capture, inspection and testing services available.

MARK CHANDLER

PATRICK REDMOND

PETER WILLIAMS

EngTechAMILP

MILPMSLLIEngTechIEI

EngTechAMILP

MMA LIGHTING CONSULTANCY LTD READING RG10 9QN T: 0118 3215636 E: MARK@MMA-CONSULTANCY.CO.UK

WWW.MMA-CONSULTANCY.CO.UK Exterior lighting consultant’s who specialise in all aspects of street lighting design, section 38’s, section 278’s, project management and maintenance assistance. We also undertake lighting appraisals and environmental lighting studies

REDMOND ANALYTICAL MANAGEMENT SERVICES LTD.

WILLIAMS LIGHTING CONSULTANTS LTD.

M: + 353 (0)86 2356356 E: PATRICK@REDMONDAMS.IE

OFFICE 6, STONEHOUSE BUSINESS CENTRE, 1A MIDDLE ROW, CHIPPING NORTON, OX7 5NH T: 01608 642530 E: PETER.WILLIAMS@WLCLIGHTING.CO.UK

WWW.REDMONDAMS.IE

WWW.WLCLIGHTING.CO.UK

Expert lighting and electrical infrastructure for all interior, exterior, and emergency lighting applications. On street EV charging infrastructure design. Authorising Officer and Live Working Manager for Local Authorities.

Specialists in the preparation of quality and effective street lighting design solutions for Section 38, Section 278 and other highway projects. We also prepare lighting designs for other exterior applications. Our focus is on delivering solutions that provide best value.

Neither Lighting Journal nor the ILP is responsible for any services supplied or agreements entered into as a result of this listing

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Celebrating a Century of British Manufacturing

Celebrating a Century of British Manufacturing CU Phosco have had 100 award-winning years of illuminating roads, motorways, airports, ports, shopping centres, housing estates and sports stadiums - throughout the world.

A century ago, Charles Albert Marques M.B.E, founded Concrete Utilities. As we celebrate the past and reflect on how far we’ve come, we’d like to take a moment to thank

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