Which documents define the standards of illumination?

Content

I. Illumination standards
   1. TCP natural and artificial lighting
      a. How to apply lighting standards correctly?
      b. Luminous flux ripple factor
      c. Stroboscopic effect
      d. Illuminance measuring instruments
   2. How to use tables C.1, D.1 from TCP 45-2.04-153?
II. Lighting TCP
   1. Safety factor in lighting TCP
   2. Who checks the lighting standards?
III. Conclusions

Illumination standards

Engineers of many enterprises and organizations do not think about whether illumination standards are observed in their buildings. The peace is usually disturbed by the labor inspectorate, who comes to inspect the workplace and measure the illumination with a certified light meter. Then the measured values are compared with the table values. If the illumination is less than the norm, then an order is usually issued to increase it to the standard. If everything is normal, which happens infrequently, then the inspection will come less often.

Another situation is also possible when it is necessary to replace obsolete lamps with LED ones and determine the required illumination. In this case, the supplier’s engineers can help you, as they almost certainly know these values by heart. However, you should also know these values in order to prepare a preliminary TOR for a supplier or to check the correct selection of fixtures. In both cases, you need to have this document with a table of illumination standards at hand.

TCP natural and artificial lighting

Illumination standards in many industrial, office and other premises are described in TCP 45-2.04-153 “Natural and artificial lighting”. This document also provides links to some other TCPs and GOSTs. The main table with illumination values is listed in Appendix B and is divided into objects, types of premises. You will find in it the necessary value. In addition, this application has information about the height of the working plane, the limit values ​​of the ripple coefficient.

How to apply lighting standards correctly?

Any illumination values can be interpreted in your favor, since Tables C.1, D.1 indicate exactly the minimum reference values. On your object, you can set any value of illumination, not less than that specified in the TCP. This means that if, according to these tables, for the main aisles and warehouse aisles, the illumination of the working surface (floor, mark 0 meters) is 150 lux, then you have the right to install a little more lamps and make the illumination 250 lux.

Less than 150 lux can no longer be set. Otherwise, you will have to come up with excuses or say that this, for example, is not the main passage, but something else. It is difficult to give a correct example without discussing a specific object. Please note that the illumination at the walls or the edge of the aisles and driveways always turns out to be less than in the center. This can be used by inspectors who have come to receive a fine from you. Install more lights in these places to eliminate this unevenness.

^{Source: dialux.com}

Luminous flux ripple factor

Also, an important indicator in tables B.1, D.1 is the pulsation coefficient of the light flux. Now most modern drivers allow you to reduce the ripple to 1% or less. This has a positive effect on the vision of employees and their mood. This indicator is important in rooms where there are rotating machines or equipment with rotating parts (milling machines, lathes, CNC equipment, etc.). In the presence of light pulsation, a rather dangerous stroboscopic effect can occur.

Stroboscopic effect

Stroboscopic effect occurs when the flickering frequency of the light source matches the rotational speed of the equipment or is a multiple of it. For example, the pulsation frequency of fluorescent lamps with a conventional control gear (ballast) is 50 Hz. If the spindle of the machine rotates at a frequency of 50, 100, 150 Hz and another multiple frequency, then it may seem to the worker motionless. The worker may begin to change the part or reach into the prohibited area, considering the machine stopped and safe.

Imagine a busy, noisy shop where employees put on their headphones. There are no warning lights on the machines that allow workers to determine whether the machines are turned on or not. In the presence of strong pulsations in low-cost LED fixtures, a stroboscopic effect can occur, and a worker will have an accident at work. Most often, such lamps are bought in tenders. These can be Belarusian lamps made of inexpensive components.

Illuminance measuring instruments

Now many devices for measuring illumination also measure the pulsation coefficient of the light flux. They cost slightly more, and this option is much more convenient and cheaper than buying a separate heart rate monitor. For a long time, TKA-PKM 08 has been on the list of one of the most popular luxmeters-pulse meters. It is included in the register of measuring instruments and can be verified at any certified center. We advise you to immediately buy a device with verification, as this will save you from this.

^{Source: testo.com}

How to use tables C.1, D.1 from TCP 45-2.04-153?

In order to use the table correctly, you must first select the type of room from the list. Next, you need to pay attention to whether there are windows in the selected room. If there are windows, then we also need to take into account the natural illumination, which in the daytime is added to the artificial illumination, and the ratio of these illuminations is regulated by the KEO natural illumination coefficient. If there are no windows, then you should focus only on the norms of artificial lighting.

For example, we need to replace lights in a racking warehouse in a freight forwarding area with windows in the walls. We open tables C.1 or D.1, find the category “Warehouses” and look for “Shelving warehouses” in it (list 4 in the current version of the TPK). In this line, we see that two values are suitable for our case of combined lighting: 200 lux for only artificial lighting (measured without taking into account light from windows at night) and 400 lux for the total illumination from lamps and windows.

Lighting TCP

Next, we select the number and power of fixtures in the DiaLux program. Our task is to choose such an arrangement of luminaires so that, taking into account the illuminance safety factor, which is usually used within 0.7-0.8, the illuminance is not less than the normalized values. Then we add natural light and check if the resulting value is correct. After choosing the number and power of fixtures, we check the glare indicator, and if everything is fine, you’re done.

In addition to useful tables C.1 and D.1, which describe the lighting standards, there are many more important tables in TCP 45-2.04-153 that need to be taken into account when replacing lighting. Table 3 will help you determine the safety factor that must be taken for the selection of fixtures. When we calculate the illumination of new fixtures, we must take into account that over time they will become dusty and dirty. The safety factor takes into account how dirty the luminaires can become and how much luminous flux to lose after one year.

Safety factor in lighting TCP

DiaLux uses a fractional safety factor. If the lamp in a year loses 20% of its original brightness due to pollution, then in DiaLux you need to take the value 0.8. Table 3 shows the reverse values, that is, instead of 0.8 there will be 1.25. Getting this value is easy: 1/0.8 = 1.25. In the same way, you can get the opposite value for DiaLux. We look at the table, we find K_zap = 1.6, and in DiaLux we substitute 1/1.6 = 0.625. This means that after a year the lamp will retain 62.5% of its original brightness.

Look at Table 13, which lists the illumination standards for roads, highways of various congestion. In addition to these values, in the text of the TCH you will find other features of the design of road lighting. For example, the uneven illumination of the roadway, which should not exceed 1:2. To calculate the unevenness, we take the value of the illumination between the supports and under the lamps and divide one by the second. In addition, glare is important for road lighting.

Who checks the lighting standards?

Illumination standards at workplaces are checked by the commission for labor protection, labor or another certified organization that you invite for such a check. It is important that the organization has an accreditation certificate for the relevant type of work. In our case, it is important to measure natural and artificial illumination, pulsation coefficient, glare, and for high-precision work, you can order the measurement of the color rendering index (for example, when working with printing or paints).

It is not necessary to measure the correlated color temperature as this is usually done by the luminaire manufacturer. If it is fixed, it does not affect the health of the staff. We got a whole list of points that are important to follow, and a bunch of numbers that need to be met. If not, then you will pay fines until you fix the shortcomings. It sounds strict, but the inconsistency of lighting standards can lead to a deterioration in the vision of employees and their well-being.

Conclusions

For our part, we will provide advisory assistance to any client who needs to replace his outdated lighting with a new one. In addition, we can perform any lighting calculations on the instructions of the client without being tied to our equipment with payment for the time of the engineer’s work, and you can be sure that these calculations will be 100% correct even after a year of your new fixtures. I note that correctly selected lamps will save you a significant part of the costs in the future.

Following the links below, you will receive a table of illuminance values for industrial premises, as well as TCP 45-2.04-153. In it you can find all the regulatory requirements for lighting in almost any buildings and structures, except for specific ones. This standard does not describe the illumination standards for sports facilities, military, secret and other objects of increased danger or significance. However, you can check such details with our specialists. Call us and we will help you!