L1 / L2 Building Regulations
L1 / L1B Compliance - What Does It Mean?
Reasonable provision should be made for a dwelling to benefit from energy efficient electric lighting in the following instances;
- A dwelling is extended
- A new dwelling is created via a change of use
- The lighting system is being upgraded as part of a re-wire
- New builds
Fixed Internal Lighting
To comply with the Building Regulations 2000 (2006 update) L1A the light fitting should ONLY be able to accept lamps having a luminous efficiency greater than 40 lumens per circuit-watt. The circuit-watt is measured as the power consumed in the lighting circuit by the lamp and its associated control gear and power factor correction equipment.
i.e. Fluorescent and compact fluorescent light fi fittings would comply, whereas GLS tungsten filament lamps and halogen lamps would not.
Reasonable Provision
Within the area of the building work the fixed energy efficient lighting should comprise of not less than one (1) per 25m sq of dwelling floor area (not including garages).
OR One (1) per four (4) fixed fittings.
Note – Cupboards and other storage areas would not count towards these totals.
L2 / L2B Compliance - What Does It Mean
These building regulations refer to office, industrial and storage spaces (Where office also includes those areas that involve predominantly desk based tasks, such as seminar rooms, conference & class rooms including those in schools). ‘Other’ areas might be those such as Hotels, bars etc
Fixed Internal Lighting
To comply with the Building Regulations 2000 (2006 update) L2A the building should average over its whole area an efficacy of at least 45 luminaire-lumens per circuit watt.
(50 lamp lumens per circuit watt for ‘other’ areas)
This should allow flexibility of design to vary the light output ratio
Lighting Controls
Lighting controls in these areas should avoid unnecessary lighting at times when either daylight levels are sufficient or the spaces are unoccupied.
Note - Automatically switched lighting should be subject to a risk assessment on the grounds of safety and suitability
Reasonable Provision
This should include easily accessible local switching within each area or at the boundaries between those working areas and main point of access routes.
The distance of local switching to the luminaires it serves should be less than 6 meters, or a maximum of twice the height of the light fitting above the floor (if this is greater).
Separate switching should be provided for the perimeter row of lighting if it has plenty of natural light (defined as daylit space)
*PLEASE NOTE - ABOVE INFORMATION IS A SUMMARY PLEASE REFER TO RELEVANT BUILDING REGULATIONS FOR FULL DETAILS