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Seeing the Light
At a recent cpd seminar the presenter, looking at his knowledgeable and qualified audience, asked the question, ?Tell me, in your view, what is a lighting scheme?? after a pause that seemed like a lifetime, Mr. Edison finally got to work with his light bulb and the answer came back � ?Luminaries � electric lighting!?
?Wrong answer? the presenter retorted. The audience looked even more puzzled � ?surely it must be � that�s what we�ve always done � what else could it be?? said their puzzled expressions. However this was not an unusual answer, the question has been asked many times and each time the answer is the same.
Yes, electric light is part of the ?lighting scheme? but what of the other elements in the design? Surely we must take into consideration windows and rooflights. The light they deliver comes at no cost � daylight after all is free. A lighting scheme must take into consideration all sources of light, luminaries, and natural light. Lighting levels can and should be controlled within the environment we inhabit.
Conservation of power and efficient use of resources
As an industry we seem to forget what the Kyoto Treaty is actually about � surely energy conservation is in there somewhere � I don�t recall reading that the idea was to keep costs at a minimum � yes make our buildings more energy efficient � but not at the expense of the building occupants. The benefits of natural light in terms of health, mental welfare, and efficiency have been well documented.
Rooflights are by far the most efficient means of providing light into a building, and the light they deliver is a free resource. A lighting scheme must therefore take into consideration that resource if it�s to be truly energy efficient. Linking luminaries to light sensors will control the amount of power supplied to the light source automatically and therefore efficiently. Sensors can be set to the optimum light levels required for the activity within the room. Power up when the sun goes in and power down when the sun comes out! Light sensors can save up-to 30% of power consumed by electric luminaries.
You might say that as a rooflight manufacturers association NARM has a vested interest in this theory, but I suspect we all should have a vested interest in the conservation of power and the efficient use of all resources available to us.
NARM promoting natural light
NARM is truly about the promotion of natural light and its efficient and safe use. How are we working towards both objectives?
NARM has sponsored research dispelling the myth that rooflight areas in access of 12% lead to solar overheating in wide span industrial buildings, indeed in many cases they can have a positive heat gain benefit. Research has been carried out by the renowned Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development at De Montfort University sponsored by NARM � a copy of which is available to download at www.narm.org.uk. NARM continues to sponsor further research into the positive effects rooflights can have in reducing a building�s CO2 emission value.
NARM is an extremely active member of the Advisory Committee for Roofworks (ACR) along with many other trade associations from the roofing industry and the Health and Safety Executive. ACR is effectively about promoting safe working at heights through education and industry standard tests for fragility. Its document ACR[M]001:2000 Test for Fragility of Roofing Assemblies has become the industry benchmark for rooflight testing and we would urge all specifiers and users to check that the products they use have indeed been tested to this standard. All NARM members test to ACR[M]001:2000 Again a copy of the document is available for download at www.narm.org.uk.
Back to our cpd, having explained to his audience the theory behind using daylight as part of the lighting scheme, the presenter told me it was as if some one had suddenly switched on the light!
Jim Lowther
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