Technical information

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Principles for establishing the working area and
surrounding calculation surfaces
Lighting of the working area
The working area is dened, according to EN 12464-1, as the area of
the workplace where tasks are performed. For areas where the size
and/or placement of the working area is unknown, the area where
the tasks may be performed is to be considered as the working area
The working area is usually made up of the entire workplace/
workstation. For example, in an oce workplace, the working area
is made up of a small surface where paper work is carried out. Work
with a monitor and keyboard usually demands a lower illuminance
than when paper work is performed. The illuminance level needs to
be adjustable for work with monitors and to help achieve a suitable
balance with the surrounding area. Adjust relative to the surround-
ing areas illuminance.
In an oce where paper work is carried out the workspace can be
made up of an entire work table. In industry, the size of the work-
ing area can be harder to dene e.g. workplaces for work involving
microelectronics or a production line for assembling cars.
When the exact size of the working area is unknown, it is nor-
mally taken as 0.6 mx0.6 m for an oce workplace. In this case
the working area is thought to be located directly in front of the
person’s normal position and at the front edge of the desk. The vari-
ation of the illuminance, i.e. the ratio between the lowest illumi-
nance in relation to the average illuminance on the working area,
should be as small as possible and not fall below 0.7.
Lighting of the immediate surroundings
The lighting of the immediate surrounding area should relate to the
lighting level within the working area and in addition create the condi-
tions for a well-balanced luminance distribution within the normal
eld of vision. Extensive changes to the lighting level around the work-
ing area can cause visual stress and discomfort.
The immediate surrounding area is dened as an area around the
working area with a width of at least 0.5 m. The size of the immedi-
ate surroundings should be determined by the planner and may
need to be increased to a width greater than 0.5 m, for specic types
of workplaces.
The size of the immediate surroundings can be increased:
When the size of the working area is small.•
If the illuminance within the working area is high.•
With active work.•
The illuminance in the immediate surrounding area can be lower
than within the working area, but should not fall below the values
stated in the table to the right.
The variation of the illuminance, i.e. the ratio between the lowest
illuminance in relation to the average illuminance in the immediate
surroundings, should be as small as possible and not fall below 0.5.
Lighting of the peripheral surroundings
There are no dened demands on the illuminance within the pe-
ripheral surrounding areas in the EN 12464-1, i.e. the area outside
of the immediate surrounding area. This area is dened as the
area outside the surrounding areas, to a distance of 0.5 m from the
room’s walls.
However, within a workroom the relation between the illu-
minance on the working area and the lowest illuminance in the
workroom in the zones where there are no workplaces, should not
exceed 5:1. For example, circulation areas.
If, for example, demands on the illuminance within the work-
ing area are 500 lx on the workplace, the lowest illuminance in the
premises should not fall below 100 lx. The lowest illuminance is
calculated within a zone outside of the immediate surroundings, to
half a metre (0.5) from the room’s walls.
Uniformity within the peripheral surroundings should not fall
below 0.5. The lighting around the working area should contribute
towards good visual adaptation, as recommended in the luminance
distribution and luminance limitations section of the report.
As a rule in work areas with bright walls, the relation between the
illuminance within the working area and the average illuminance
on the rooms walls should not exceed 3:1.
Light planning
EN 12464-1
Example of the workspace for a typical workplace.
Relations between dierent illuminances and uniformity demands
Illuminance within
the working area
Illuminance within the immediate
surroundings
≥ 750 500
500 300
300 200
≥ 200 E
uniformity
E
min
/E
ave
≥ 0.7 E
min
/E
ave
≥ 0.5
Table of uniformity demands and the relation between illuminances within the immedi-
ate surroundings of the working area.
w
a
=width
l
a
=length
l
o
=length
w
o
=width
0.5 m
1
2
3
1. Working area (l
a
x w
a
)
– size and position are established by the lightplanner.
2. Immediate Surrounding area (l
o
x w
o
)
– The size to be established by the light planner. (l
a
+2 x ≥ 0.5 m) x (W
a
+2 x ≥ 0.5 m).
3.Outer surrounding area
– 0.5 metres from the room’s walls.
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