{"id":255,"date":"2014-11-15T10:17:16","date_gmt":"2014-11-15T15:17:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=255"},"modified":"2014-11-15T10:17:16","modified_gmt":"2014-11-15T15:17:16","slug":"measuring-the-value-of-lighting-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=255","title":{"rendered":"Measuring the Value of Lighting Design"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lrc.rpi.edu\">Lighting Research Center<\/a> at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute recently published a short video in which LRC director Mark S. Rea discusses the costs and benefits of lighting. Here it is.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/iframewidth=560height=315src=\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_eN0EfzJ2Woframeborder=0allowfullscreen\/iframe\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_eN0EfzJ2Wo\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>If you set aside the plugs for the LRC, his statements, and those in his book <a href=\"http:\/\/spie.org\/Publications\/Book\/1000979\">Value Metrics For Better Lighting<\/a>, are similar to what I\u2019ve said throughout <em>Designing With Light<\/em>, which is that it\u2019s the quality of the light and lighting design that are of primary significance while the amount of light that is delivered is secondary. Therefore, the true value of the lighting design is found in the design\u2019s success in meeting the multiple requirements of the owner and the occupants of the space, not in the cost of hardware and installation.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, there are several factors that have created resistance to placing value on thoughtful, appropriately designed lighting. The first is that most people simply do not see light (pun intended). For far too many people, if the light is bright enough for them to see what they\u2019re doing it is acceptable and little or no judgment is made regarding the other factors of lighting design, such as color rendering, providing visual interest, overall effect on occupants, etc. I find that if I show clients or students the difference between light that is adequate for vision and light that creates an appropriate atmosphere or environment they can see it and appreciate the difference. It is also a surprise to them that lighting design can make such a difference in a space.<\/p>\n<p>The second factor is that project budgets are set in dollars with no little or no allowance made for the quality of the design. I have often worked on projects where the project budget and the lighting equipment budget have been set, although design work has barely begun. I understand that a client only has so much money to spend and that has to be respected. However, 1) No bean counter in the world can predict what the design team will develop. Budgets are more appropriately set in coordination with the design team after the design team understands the full extent of the client\u2019s needs and desires. Then, if the projected cost exceeds the client\u2019s budget, informed decisions can be made to pull back on certain aspects of the building\u2019s design or to allocate more money to construct the building the client wants. 2) Spending more money up front on efficient lamps and fixtures, and on controls, can more than pay for itself in savings on energy and maintenance.<\/p>\n<p>Another factor is that we value what we can measure. Since the early 1900s the lighting design community has invested a great deal in determining how to measure light and on how much light is required for \u201cvisual tasks.\u201d Those two aspects became the criteria for evaluating lighting design, and are still presented as primary in many lighting textbooks. In the 1970s John Flynn and others began to study how light can affect the impressions one forms of a space. Later research examined the relationship between a lighting design and those occupying the lighted space including: the affect on worker productivity, absenteeism, and worker retention; student learning outcomes and test scores; retail sales; a light source\u2019s spectrum and clarity of vision; and light\u2019s affect on sleep cycles and other aspects of health. This research has shown over and over again that intelligent, thoughtful, appropriate lighting design can have a significant effect on the occupants and on the owner\u2019s bottom line, whether that bottom line is to make more money, increase student success, or improve health.<\/p>\n<p>Knowledgeable lighting designers can bring so much more to a building than just illumination, yet illumination and lighting design remain synonymous to most of our colleagues and clients. That is part of the reason only about ten percent of construction projects have a lighting designer on the team. Lighting designers and lighting design professional organizations need to do a much better job of educating design team members and our clients about quality lighting design, what it is, and why it matters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute recently published a short video in which LRC director Mark S. Rea discusses the costs and benefits of lighting. Here it is. &nbsp; &nbsp; If you set aside the plugs for the LRC, his statements, and those in his book Value Metrics For Better Lighting, are similar &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=255\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Measuring the Value of Lighting Design<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[18,19],"tags":[34,58],"class_list":["post-255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-design","category-lighting-profession","tag-design-2","tag-lighting-economics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4gZSw-47","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":746,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=746","url_meta":{"origin":255,"position":0},"title":"The Myth of the Irrelevant Lighting Designer","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"July 31, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Kevin Willmorth has a long and interesting article on his blog in which he argues for the recognition of professional lighting designers and what a professional lighting designer is and is not. \u00a0The post echoes Chapter 1 of Designing With Light, and\u00a0many of the things I've written here, including promoting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Lighting Profession&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Lighting Profession","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=19"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4407,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=4407","url_meta":{"origin":255,"position":1},"title":"My New Book, Fundamentals of Energy Efficient Lighting and Controls, is Now Available","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"March 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm pleased and proud to announce that my new book, Fundamentals of Energy Efficient Lighting and Controls, is available for pre-order beginning today (March 13) and will begin shipping on April 3rd. The book grew out of conversations with the Association of Energy Engineers and their need for better study\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Education&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Education","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=21"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover of Fundamentals of Energy Efficient Lighting and Controls","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/designinglight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/energy_efficient_lighting-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":692,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=692","url_meta":{"origin":255,"position":2},"title":"LRC Responds to AMA on LEDs","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"March 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"You may remember that in June of last year the American Medical Association (AMA) released a report called \u201cHuman and Environmental Effects of Light Emitting Diode (LED) Community Lighting.\u201d The report made some noise in the general press because it supported the idea that blue light from blue-pump white LEDs\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Color&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Color","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":235,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=235","url_meta":{"origin":255,"position":3},"title":"Promoting Lighting Design","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"November 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"By some estimates less then 10 percent of construction and renovation projects include a professional lighting designer on the design team. Why? Who\u2019s looking after the lighting design? What can the lighting design community do about it? The reasons projects go forward without a lighting designer range from the owner\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Design&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Design","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=18"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":382,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=382","url_meta":{"origin":255,"position":4},"title":"&#8220;Celebrating Pratt Authors&#8221; Comments","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"May 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Here are my comments from last night's \"Celebrating Pratt Authors\" event. \u00a0 Let me say a few words about my book and than I\u2019ll move on. One of the things that drive me to write \u201cDesigning With Light\u201d is missing content in other lighting design books. I come from the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Education&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Education","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=21"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":537,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=537","url_meta":{"origin":255,"position":5},"title":"Who Needs A Lighting Designer?","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"November 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"No I\u2019m not begging for work (although I am available for weddings and bar mitzvahs). At the beginning of every semester I ask my interior design students (especially at Parsons, where the class is an elective) why understanding lighting design is important to them. They tell me that lighting design\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Design&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Design","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=18"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=255"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":257,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255\/revisions\/257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}