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Trends in Recommended Lighting Levels: An International Comparison Evan Mills Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA Nils Borg International Association for Energy-Efficient Lighting, Sweden Abstract While much focus is placed on energy efficiency as a determinant of lighting energy demand, the lighting level (illuminance) is also a key factor. This paper compiles and compares recommended lighting levels for illustrative commercial and industrial settings in 14 countries. These include offices, classrooms, retail stores, hospitals, and manufacturing activities. The comparison reveals a 2 to 8-fold variation in lighting levels for the activities studied. The general pattern for a given country and activity is that levels increased by up to a factor of ten between the 1930s and the early 1970s; thereafter, levels tended to stabilize or decline. Lighting recommendations have potentially large implications for energy use and may prove useful in explaining differences among countries. Before this can be quantified, more research is required on actual (versus recommended) levels and differences in the efficiency and control strategies of lighting technologies used in each country. Back to Right Light Proceedings startpage Top of page