Lighting the way to building performance

Written by Liz Peck MSc FSLL, Design Principal at LPA Lighting, President Elect Society of Light & Lighting and Judge of the Building Performance Awards 2015

Any lighting geek - for I am one - will tell you that lighting is the single most important component of building services.  I know there are those who will argue for HVAC and others but honestly, I've got jumpers for winter months and in my office, I've got open windows delivering fresh air and - even more importantly - a bucket-load of daylight; for I am also a daylight freak and I countenance people having daylight breaks during their working day; daylight is good for you and that's official. 

Sainsbury’s Project Graphite, LED lighting programme.
Joint winner of the Lighting for Building Performance Award 2015
Even putting to one side the benefits to well-being, daylight is also a driver in energy-efficient lighting; I don't remember the last time a light was on in my office but it would have been before the clocks changed in March.  Harvesting daylight and controlling the lighting accordingly means the bare minimum of artificial energy is used for lighting and it's not rocket science in terms of controls either: simple but effective lighting controls means the old adage of lights only being on when they are needed actually rings true, whether daylight- or occupancy-based control.

For the first time, lighting is being recognised as a stand-alone award in the annual CIBSE Building Performance Awards.  With lighting playing such a dominant role in electricity costs of commercial buildings - up to 40% - the time has rightly come to reward schemes focused on lighting alone - and bringing opportunity for recognition to lighting designers and other companies who are delivering lighting schemes. 
Cundall Birmingham - Cundall Light4,
 Joint winner of the Lighting for Building Performance Award 2015
I read once that employing a specialist lighting designer will typically result in 30% less energy being used on the project - and who am I to argue with such a great statistic?  It's not just about energy, of course, occupant feedback and quality of the design will be considered, most likely above everything else. But as all those same lighting geeks will tell you, quality design and energy efficiency are not mutually exclusive, by definition, great design will be efficient.

For more information about the Lighting for Building Performance Award visit www.cibse.org/bpa. 

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