PNNL

Abstract

Lighting energy codes throughout the US have become progressively more stringent due to increased interest in energy efficiency, and associated federal legislation. At the same time, the codes must, and are expected to allow for design flexibility. Historical code development for lighting has been mostly empirical with often limited observation to always make the best fit for the reality of design. With each iteration, the processes used to determine the codes and standards tries to become more closely representative of practical design and application. A natural challenge in this process is the number of variables associated with lighting design that challenges code writers to think critically about the visual needs of people, generally accepted lighting practices, and changes in the market that promote energy efficiency. Despite the issues, the code must keep designs from being wasteful and allow designers the artistic flexibility to achieve the lighting needs of the space. This paper provides a detailed look at these issues and how they affect the code development process through the development of one of the national lighting energy codes/standards. As new 2010 and beyond versions of the codes are in preparation, more detailed methods are being developed to walk that fine line between efficiency and design flexibility. The paper also explains some of the progression of the process of development of national lighting energy codes (ASHRAE/IES 90.1) and its effect on other codes.