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Address quality of lighting
This pilot credit is proposed to expand on the current lighting requirements, in order to address the quality of the lighting in a space. Quality criteria focus on illuminance and reflectance to attempt to maximize occupant comfort and productivity.
Credit Submittals
General
- Register for Pilot Credit(s) here.
- Register a username at LEEDuser.com, and participate in online forum
- Submit feedback survey; supply PDF of your survey/confirmation of completion with credit documentation
Credit Specific
- For suspended, wall-mounted, freestanding or partition mounted direct/indirect ambient lightingLighting in a space that provides for general wayfinding and visual comfort, in contrast to task lighting, which illuminates a defined area to facilitate specific visual work. provide manufacturer’s product information and cutsheet.
- For task-ambient lighting solutions that achieve recommended IESNA illu-minance levels with the combination of both systems provide manufac-turer’s product information and cutsheet.
- To demonstrate an efficiency of greater than 50% for all luminaires provide manufacturer’s product information and cutsheet.
- To demonstrate sources with more than 50 lumens / Watt for 95% of the demand power, provide a comparison to IESNA/ASHRAE and manufac-turer’s product information ad cutsheet.
- To demonstrate a surface brightness of less than 10,000cd/m^2 for all lu-minaires with luminous parts within an 11-degree field of view from 4 feet above finished floor, provide on-site measurements or product data for fin-ishes
- To demonstrate an average wall-surface-to-work-surface illuminance ratio that does not exceed 3:1, provide on-site measurements or product data for finishes
- To demonstrate a ceiling-surface-to-work-surface illuminance ratio that does not exceed 10:1, provide on-site measurements or product data for finishes
- To demonstrate that dimmable fixtures are used for 90% of the luminaires, provide cutsheets and lighting schedule
- To demonstrate a CRI of 80 or higher for 100% of lamps, provide cutsheet
- To demonstrate automated shade controls provide electrical switching plans or an electric schedule
- To demonstrate automated or fixed shade control for top-lighting daylight systems provide electrical switching plans or an electric schedule.
Additional Questions
- Do the criteria associated with quality interior lighting align with your project’s and occupants comfort and productivity needs?
- How difficult was it to document this credit?
USGBC
Excerpted from LEED Pilot Credit Library
COPYRIGHT © 2011 BY THE U.S. GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVEDPilot Credit 22: Quality Interior Lighting
Intent
Provide for occupant comfort by establishing quality criteria for interior lighting within a space.
Requirements
Meet the requirements of Section 9.5, Building Area Method; or Section 9.6 Space-by-Space Method; of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2010 (with errata but without addenda).
AND
For at least 90% of the regularly occupied floor area incorporate at least four of the following interior lighting features. [Regularly occupied spacesRegularly occupied spaces are areas where one or more individuals normally spend time (more than one hour per person per day on average) seated or standing as they work, study, or perform other focused activities inside a building. are places where one or more individuals normally spend time (more than one hour per person per day on average) seated or standing as they work, study, or perform other focused activities inside a building.] There are two categories: hardware and design.
Hardware
- Use light fixtures with a luminance of less than 12,500cd/m2 above 45 degrees from nadir. Exceptions include:
- Wallwash fixtures properly aimed at walls, as specified by manufacturer’s data
- Indirect uplighting fixtures, provided there is no view down into these uplights from a regularly occupied space above.
- Use light sources with a CRIColor-rendering index, or CRI, is a scale of 0 to 100, used by manufacturers of fluorescent, metal halide, and other non-incandescent lighting equipment to describe the visual effect of the light on colored surfaces. Natural daylight is assigned a CRI of 100. of 80 or higher for at least 95% of the associated con-nected lighting load. Exceptions include: Lamps or fixtures specifically included in the design to provide colored lighting for effect.
- Use lamps that last a minimum of 24,000 hours for at least 60% of the connected lighting load
- AND use lamps that last a minimum of 6,000 hours for at least 90% of the connected lighting load.
Design:
- Provide suspended, wall-mounted, free-standing or partition-mounted indirect or di-rect/indirect ambient lightingLighting in a space that provides for general wayfinding and visual comfort, in contrast to task lighting, which illuminates a defined area to facilitate specific visual work. for up to 75% of the connected lighting load.
- Provide a lighting design that meets the following thresholds for average surface brightness (weighted average of surface reflectances):
- Ceilings- 85%:
- Walls- 60%:
- Floors- 30%:
- If furniture is included in the scope of work, provide a lighting design that meets the following thresholds for average surface brightness (weighted average of surface reflectances):
- Work surfaces-50%:
- Movable Partitions-50%:
- Provide a lighting design that has an average wall surface illuminance to average work plane (or surface if defined) illuminance ratio that does not exceed 1:10.
- Provide an electric lighting design that has an average ceiling illuminace to work-surface illuminance ratio (excluding fenestration) that does not exceed 1:10 [The area of the ceiling that shall affect a workstation in an open plan environment shall extend 2x the ceiling height from the center of the workstation (may be drawn and calculated as a rectangle, square, or circle in plan).]
EB: O+M
ESTABLISHMENT
For at least 50% of the regularly occupied floor area, have in place at least four of the following interior lighting features. There are two categories, hardware and design.
Hardware:
- Use light fixtures have a luminance of less than 12,500cd/m2 above 45 degrees from nadir. Exceptions include:
- Wallwash fixtures properly aimed at walls, as specified by manufacturer’s data
- Indirect uplighting fixtures, provided there is no view down into these uplights from a regularly occupied space above.
- Use light sources with a CRIColor-rendering index, or CRI, is a scale of 0 to 100, used by manufacturers of fluorescent, metal halide, and other non-incandescent lighting equipment to describe the visual effect of the light on colored surfaces. Natural daylight is assigned a CRI of 100. of 80 or higher for at least 95% of the associated co-nected lighting load. Exceptions include: Lamps or fixtures specifically included in the design to provide colored lighting for effect.
- Use lamps last a minimum of 24,000 hours for at least 60% of the connected lighting load
- AND use lamps that last a minimum of 6,000 hours for at least 90% of the connected lighting load.
Design:
Suspended, wall-mounted, free-standing or partition-mounted indirect or di-rect/indirect ambient lightingLighting in a space that provides for general wayfinding and visual comfort, in contrast to task lighting, which illuminates a defined area to facilitate specific visual work. is in place for up to 75% of the connected lighting load.
- Meet the following thresholds for average surface brightness (weighted average of surface reflectances):
- Ceilings (85%):
- Walls (60%):
- Floors (30%):
- Meet the following thresholds for average surface brightness (weighted average of surface reflectances):
- Work surfaces (50%):
- Movable Partitions (50%):
- The average wall surface illuminance to average work plane (or surface if defined) illuminance ratio does not exceed 1:10.
- The average ceiling illuminace to work-surface illuminance ratio (excluding fenestra-tion) does not exceed 1:10 [The area of the ceiling that shall affect a workstation in an open plan environment shall extend 2x the ceiling height from the center of the workstation (may be drawn and calculated as a rectangle, square, or circle in plan).]
PERFORMANCE
Demonstrate that the interior lighting features have been maintained.
Potential Technologies & Strategies
Organizations
LEED Pilot Credit Library
The homepage for the LEED Pilot Credit Library. The LEED Pilot Credit Library is intended to facilitate the introduction of new prerequisites and credits to LEED. This process will allow USGBC to test and refine credits through LEED 2009 project evaluations before they are sent through the balloting process for introduction into LEED.
Articles
Foundations of LEED
Background for the LEED Pilot Credit Library is provided in this foundational document.


9 Comments
Surface brightness requirement
We are applying for this pilot credit in a building which facade consist of a double skin facade, the exterior layer is opaque with windows (existing facade of the building before project renovation) and the interior layer is completely glazed. Should the average wall brightness be calculated considering only the opaque walls (and therefore the glazed facade would not be included in the calculation)?.
The brightness of the interior glazed surface is 6%, so in case they were incuded in the calculations it would not be possible to fullfill this requirement even with all the opaque surfaces meeting the criteria.
Surface Reflectance Calculation Template
I'm considering this credit for a project and am curious if anyone has developed a spreadsheet with surface reflectance calculations required in the design portion of credit requirements. I was hoping there would be a LEED Online form developed, but unfortunately that's not included in the process.
Hi Melissa,
USGBC is currently working on resources for the LEED v4 credit. The resources are not final, but the draft may be useful for your project. Please send me an email at loaks@usgbc.org if you are interested in more information.
Relationship of Credit Requirements to Submittals
I'm struggling with this credit as I don't see the link between the credit requirements and the submittals. As we have to incorporate 4 of 8 features this is pretty critical.
We're installing Philips PowerBalance LED fixtures in the ceiling which I believe covers us for all of the hardware features and also the ceiling/workspace luminance ratio (as there is no indirect lighting.) We could also design for the wall/ceiling/floor brightness percentages.
Can anyone help with the documentation I would need to provide to document these?
Hi Michael,
Good question. There is definitely a disconnect between the current credit requirements and the submittals listed here. We will update the submittals as soon as possible to fix this issue. Also, as I mentioned to Melissa, feel free to email me if you are interested in using the draft resources we are working on for the LEED v4 credit.
Larissa -
I would really like to see the draft resources. We're using the Powerbalance fixtures on a string of projects and I'd like to get as much experience with this credit as possible.
Pilot Credit Content?
The content listed here on this page differs from the current content on the USGBC website - they have a similar but different set of requirements listed. Which one is currect? See http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=8197
Jonathan, sorry for the confusion. The USGBC content is more up to date. We had a mix-up in posting the information here that we will fix within the next couple days.
questions
2) Is there a percentage of workstations that a task light is required for? What if I can meet recommended light levels without task lights?
3) This seems a little confusing as worded. Also, a fixture efficiency of 50% is quite low. This is the range of most can lights. How about greater than 80% for 95% of the fixtures? How does this relate to LED fixtures which are tested for total lumen1. A lumen is a unit of luminous flux equal to the light emitted in a unit solid angle by a uniform point source of 1 candle intensity. 2. A measurement of light output. output?
4) Is a source the lamp/ballast output or the total fixture output?
5) Every surface or something like 95% again?
6) Not sure how to verify this one.
8) Is this average to average ratio or max ceiling to min work surface ratio?
I see 1, 3, 4, 10 as relativly easy to comply with and document.
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