What is BS EN 12464‑1- Lighting of indoor work places about?
BS EN 12464‑1 specifies lighting requirements for humans in indoor workplaces, which meet the needs for visual comfort and performance of people having normal or corrected to normal ophthalmic (visual) capacity. All usual visual tasks are considered, including Display Screen Equipment (DSE).
BS EN 12464‑1 specifies requirements for lighting solutions for most indoor workplaces and their associated areas in terms of quantity and quality of illumination. In addition, recommendations are given for good lighting practice including visual and non-visual (non-image-forming) lighting needs.
Note 1: BS EN 12464‑1 does not specify lighting requirements with respect to the safety and health of people at work and has not been prepared in the field of application of Article 169 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union although the lighting requirements, as specified in this document, usually fulfil safety needs.
Note 2: BS EN 12464‑1 neither provides specific solutions nor restricts the designers' freedom from exploring new techniques nor restricts the use of innovative equipment. The illumination can be provided by daylight, electric lighting, or a combination of both.
Note 3: BS EN 12464‑1 is not applicable for the lighting of outdoor workplaces and underground mining or emergency lighting. For outdoor workplaces, see EN 12464-2 and for emergency lighting, see EN 1838 and EN 13032-3.
Who is BS EN 12464‑1- Lighting of indoor work places for?
BS EN 12464‑1 on indoor workplace lighting is useful for:
- Interior designers and architects
- Lighting equipment manufacturers
- Product design engineers
- Facility managers
Why should you use BS EN 12464‑1- Lighting of indoor work places?
To comply with best practices for indoor workplace lighting, you need to ensure that:
- Lighting is adequate, appropriate, and comfortable for workers performing visual tasks
- Lighting systems are providing efficient and effective good quality lighting that’s tailored to the user’s needs and visual capacity
- Workers have a feeling of well-being that contributes to higher productivity and performance, and higher quality work
BS EN 12464‑1 provides you with lighting design criteria, lighting design considerations, and the schedule of specific lighting requirements. Specified design criteria which are listed in BS EN 12464‑1 need to be verified, and that verification procedure has also been provided.
BS EN 12464-1 contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goal 3 on ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all ages, because it supports the well-being of those working indoors.
What’s changed since the last update?
BS EN 12464‑1:2021 supersedes BS EN 12464‑1:2011, which is withdrawn. BS EN 12464‑1:2021 includes some technical changes with respect to BS EN 12464‑1:2011. These include:
- The impact of visual and non-visual (non-image-forming) effects of light on people's performance and well-being are elaborated in the new informative Annex B
- A new chapter on design considerations (Clause 6) gives advice on how to apply the requirements when designing lighting for visual tasks and activities within a space
- Relation between the task area and its immediate surround and the background area is more detailed
- Glare requirements have been clarified for improved usability including clarification for shielding in 5.5 and recommended practices for UGR in non-standard situations has been added in a new informative Annex A
- Flicker and stroboscopic effect is updated 
