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Utility Level

The working plane refers to the horizontal and vertical plane that is to be illuminated by a light source—such as a desk. Depending on the purpose of the lighting, standards define a reference point for illuminance at which it is measured. For sedentary activities, this is generally at a height of 75 cm above the floor, which corresponds approximately to the height of a desk. For traffic routes, which include stairs and hallways, however, the reference point is much lower—at just 20 cm. The required illuminance level for the working plane ultimately depends primarily on the activity being performed there. For example, the Workplace Directive and DIN 12464 recommend specific illuminance levels, such as as low as 50 lux for storage rooms and as high as 1,500 lux for opticians’ workstations. The more detailed and precise a visual task must be performed on a work surface, the higher the illuminance must be. In addition, there are differences between direct lighting of the usable area and lighting that is solely indirect. For example, the proportion of luminous flux from direct lighting is approximately 90 to 100 percent, whereas for indirect lighting it is only around 10 percent. This must therefore also be taken into account when lighting usable areas.

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Eine Gruppe fröhlicher junger Menschen lächelt gemeinsam in einem sonnigen Park.

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