WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN SCHOOL & COLLEGE LIGHTING
LOW GLARE
Glare can prevent students from seeing their teacher, or the blackboard, clearly, and it prevents teachers making eye-contact with their pupils. In the worst cases it induces headaches, fatigue and absenteeism. Low glare (UGR<19) is therefore recommended for classrooms.
USE OF DAYLIGHT
If plenty of daylight is available, we should use lighting controls to exploit it, but the window rows need to be controlled separately from the other rows.
ROBUST, WATERTIGHT & HYGENIC
The lighting in less-supervised spaces, such as corridors and changing rooms needs to be very robust. Look for fittings with a high IK rating (impact protection) – the maximum is IK10 - and a high IP rating (ingress protection). Changing rooms should have IP44 minimum. Kitchens and laboratories should
have IP54.
