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AS 1680-1976

ARCHiVED

UDC 628972

Australian Standard
1680

1976

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CODE OF PRACTICE FOR

INTERIOR LIGHTING
AND THE
VISUAL ENVIRONMENT

STANDARDS

ASSOCIATION

OF

AUSTRALIA
Incorporated by Royal Charter

THE FOLLOWING SCIENTIFIC, INDUSTRIAL AND GOVERNMENTAL organizations

and departments were officially represented on the committee entrusted with the
preparation of this standard:

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Associated Chambers of Manufactures of Australia

Australian Chamber of Commerce
Australian Optometrical Association
Department of Construction
Department of Employment and Industrial Relations
Electricity Supply Association of Australia
Royal Australian Institute of Architects
State Departments of Labour and Industry
State Departments of Public Works
The Association of Consulting Engineers, Australia
The Illuminating Engineering Societies of Australia

This code, prepared by Committee LG/1, Artificial Lighting (Codes), was approved
on behalf of the Council of the Standards Association of Australia on 17 May 1976,
and was published on 1 September 1 976.

To keep abreast of progress in the industries concerned, Australian Standards

are subject to periodical review. Suggestions for improvements, addressed to the
head office of the Association, will be welcomed.

This standard was issued in draft form for public review as DR 74181.

AUSTRALIAN STANDARD CODE OF PRACTICE

INTERIOR LIGHTING

AND THE
This is a free 6 page sample. Access the full version online.

VISUAL ENVIRONMENT

AS1680- 1976

First issued (as AS (E) CA5O1)

Revised and issued as AS CA3O
Revised
Revised and issued as AS 1680
Reprinted

1942
1957
1965
1976
1981

Published by the
STANDARDS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA
STANDARDS HOUSE, 80-86 ARTHUR STREET, NORTH SYDNEY, NS.W. AUSTRALIA

1S8N07262 10129

AS1680-1975

Preface
This code was prepared by the Association's Committee on Artificial Lighting
(Codes) as a revision of AS CA3O - 1 965, which it accordingly supersedes.

An Australian standard code for the interior illumination of buildings by artificial

light was first issued in 1 942. It was published in the emergency series of SAA publications, as AS (E) CA5O1 - 1 942, to meet the urgent demand for guidance in the
lighting of factories in wartime.

A revision based on experience gained from the use of the 1 942 code was
issued in 1 957. Account was then taken of developments in lighting practice and
new information about factors affecting the quality of lighting installations. Particular
attention was given to recommendations for the control of discomfort glare, and the
novel treatment of this subject in the code attracted international interest.

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The code was next revised in 1 965, mainly to up-date the recommended ilIuminance values which by this time were below those customarily used in Australian
practice. The quality recommendations were, however, still sound and required only
minor alteration.

There have since been a number of important changes in the techniques and
equipment associated with interior lighting which were not envisaged when the
1 965 edition was prepared. It has therefore been necessary in this 1 976 edition to
recast a number of the main recommendations relating to lighting quality, as referred
to below. The opportunity has also been taken to thoroughly review all sections of

the code in order to make the recommendations even more comprehensive and
practical than previously.

Whilst it is not possible to indicate in detail all the changes which have been
made, the following are among the most significant differences from the 1 965
edition.

Section 3 has been expanded and rearranged with emphasis on the promotion
of task visibility. Whilst it includes the traditional recommendations on the ilIum-

inance required for various tasks and interiors, it now provides recommendations on the special lighting techniques needed to ensure adequate visibility
of the detail in certain types of task.
Recommendations for the control of glare from luminaires have been amended
to take account of developments in luminaire design, although the basic objectives remain the same. Reference is made in Appendix D to the specific differences from the 1 965 edition.
The section on colours of light sources has been expanded to provide more

helpful advice on the choice of appropriate colour appearance and colour

rendering properties.
A new section has been included giving recommendations for the selection of
colours and colour schemes for the interior surfaces of work places.

The title of the code has been amended to emphasize that the recommendations apply to the total visual environment in building interiors, and to take account
of the fact that the code now includes some general recommendations pertaining to
the use of natural lighting.
The standards and other publications to which reference may be required in the
application of this code are listed in the Bibliography. Acknowledgement is made to
the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations for some of the illustrative
material.

CopyrightSTANDARDS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA 1 976.

Users of standards are reminded that copyright subsists in all SAA publications. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or transmitted by any
means without prior permission in writing of the Standards Association of Australia,

AS1680-1976

Contents
Page

Page

FOIREWORD

SECTION 1.

SCOPE, APPLICATION AND

SECTION 9. COLOUR OF LIGHT SOURCES

9.1
Colour Appearance and Colour
Rendering
9.2 Nature of the Task
9.3 Nature of the Interior
9.4 Compatibility with Daylight
9.5 Compatibility with Other Lamps
9.6 Maintenance
.

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1.1
1.2
1 .3

DEFINITIONS
Scope
Application
Definitions

6
6
6

SECTION 2. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR

GOOD LIGHTING
2.1
Objectives of Lighting Installation
2.2 Task
2.3 Environment
2.4 Other Considerations

APPENDICES

9
9

9
9

A Recommended Service Illuminance for

Typical Tasks and Interiors
B Determination of Average Illuminance
C Maintenance of Lighting Installations ...
D Luminance of Lamps and Luminaires
.
E Atmosphere and Environment
F Colours for Interior Surfaces in Work
Places
.

SECTION 3. TASK VISIBILITY

3.1
General Requirements
3,2 Recommended Service llluminance
3.3 Diversity of llluminance
3.4 Task Surroundings
3.5 Local Lighting
3.6 Special Conditions
3.7
Special Classes of Task
3.8 Switching
3.9 Maintenance of Service Illuminance

10
10

SECTION 5.
5.1

5.2

12
12

13
13
16
16

5.3

GLARE FROM LUMINAIRES

19
19

Glare Control
Luminance Limits
Shielding Angles

21

SECTION 7. BRIGHTNESS DISTRIBUTION

7.1
General Requirements
7.2 Reflectance of Surface Finishes
7.3 Choice of Lighting System
7.4 Location of Luminaires
.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

36
60

63
68
72

74

25
25
26
26
27

28

28
29
29

SECTION 8. COLOURS AND COLOUR SCHEMES

8.1
General Considerations
31
8.2 Suitable Types of Colour
31
8.3 Suitable Colour Schemes
31
8.4 Identification and Safety
32

76

TABLES
3.1

3.2
5.1

Recommended Service Illuminance

for Various Classes of Visual Task
General Illuminance Required when
Task is Locally Lit
Maximum Permissible Luminance

11
12

(kcd/m2) for Luminaires Employing

Translucent Materials or Bare Tubular Fluorescent Lamps

23

5.1 A Adjustment of Limits for Special

5.2

Allowances of Clause 5.2.5

Minimum Shielding Angles for Cutoff Luminaires

6.1

Minimum E/L Ratio for the Control

Al *
SECTION 6. UNWANTED REFLECTIONS
6.1
Avoidance of Reflections
6.2 Location of Tasks and Luminaires
6.3 Use of Local Lighting
6.4 Limitation of Source Luminance
6.5 Avoidance of Glossy Surfaces

10

SECTION 4. NATURAL LIGHTING

4,1
17
Provision of Natural Light
4.2 Control of Sky Glare and Direct Sunlight
17
Penetration
4.3 Supplementary Artificial Lighting
18
.

34
34
34
35
35
35

A2 *

A3 *
A4 *

A5*
A6 *

Cl
C2

23
24

26
of Veiling Reflections
Recommended Service Illuminance
42
for General Building Areas
Recommended Service Illuminance
for Industrial Buildings and Pro43-53
cesses
Recommended Service Illuminance
for Public and Educational Buildings 54-55
Recommended Service Illuminance
56
for Offices
Recommended Service Illuminance
for Hospitals and Medical Premises 57-58
Recommended Service Illuminance
59
for Shops and Homes
Cleaning Solutions and Their Use.
66
Typical Maintenance Factors for
Various Luminaire Types and Room
Categories
67

An alphabetical index to the entries in Tables Al to A6 is

provided on pages 37 to 41.

AS1680-1976

STANDARDS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA

Australian Standard Code of Practice

for
INTERIOR LIGHTING AND
THE VISUAL ENVIRONMENT

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Foreword
The code sets down basic recommendations for the creation of good seeing
conditions in buildings by means of appropriate lighting and interior colour
treatment. The aim of the recommendations is to create a visual environment in
which essential task detail is made easy to see and adverse factors which may
cause visual fatigue are either excluded or appropriately controlled.

Satisfaction of these objectives is of great importance in promoting efficiency

and well-being in workplaces, and cannot be achieved merely by supplying some
specified quantity of light on the work.
While the provision of sufficient illuminance on the task is a necessary element,

in many instances task visibility depends more on the way in which the light is
applied. Furthermore, creation of the comfortable visual conditions which workers
require in order to maintain efficiency throughout the whole work period depends
less on the quantity of light than on factors such as the distribution of light throughout the workplace; the use of suitable finishes on the walls, ceiling and equipment;
the choice of luminaires with adequate glare control; the elimination of unwanted
reflections; and so on.
Attention to all of these factors produces good quality lighting'. Experience has
shown that when inefficiency, eye fatigue, spoilt work or accidents are blamed on
the lighting installation, failure to meet one or more of the 'quality' recommendations
is usually the true cause of the trouble. Even in cases where the illuminarice is
apparently too low, this is seldom the sole reason for the complaint. Consequently,
when drafting this 1 976 edition of the code, the committee gave particular attention
to underlining the importance of quality as distinct from quantity alone.

The recommendations in the code have been expressed in metric units; the
values of recommended service illuminance which were previously in lumens per
square foot (lm/ft2) are now given in lux (lm/m2) and are based on the following
scale: 20, 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 600, 800, 1200, 1600 and 2400 lx. The values
of service illuminance prescribed in Appendix A for specific tasks and interiors have
been thoroughly examined both collectively and individually and are considered to
represent a reasonable balance, having regard to the requirements for efficient work
performance and the increase in capital and running costs which may be incurred if
buildings are excessively lit.

The committee is of the view that the greatest scope for increased productivity
lies with improvement in lighting quality rather than in the provision of higher values

of service illuminance. Compliance with the recommendations of the code

(especially the quality recommendations) will ensure that the equivalent sphere

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This is a free 6 page sample. Access the full version online.

AS 1680-1976 Code of practice for interior lighting

and the visual environment

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