Commissioning a lighting design: what to prepare

The fuller the information you give a lighting designer, the more precise the result and the fewer the revisions. What documents and answers belong in the brief.

Clients commissioning a lighting design often say just one sentence: "The office needs good lighting." A designer can work with that, but the result will be generic, followed by revisions, extra luminaires and lost time. A brief prepared in advance speeds up the project and lets you obtain proposals that can actually be compared.

Plans and dimensions

The first thing a designer needs is the geometry of the building. Prepare:

• floor plans, ideally in an editable format (DWG or DXF), or otherwise a scaled PDF;
• ceiling heights, and if there is a suspended ceiling, its height and type (grid tiles, plasterboard, stretch ceiling);
• sections, or at least notes on areas with changes in level;
• window sizes, orientation and type of blinds or curtains;
• locations of existing wiring, distribution boards and switches.

If the building already exists, a few photographs of each room and a list of the current luminaires are very helpful. If the plans are old, have the dimensions checked on site; changes made during construction often never reach the drawings.

What will happen in each space

Lighting serves a function, so it is important to describe the work done in each zone. A room of the same size could be a meeting room, a computer office, a store or a sales area, and each has different requirements. For every zone, note:

• the main activity (computer work, reading, assembly, sales, waiting, circulation);
• the layout of furniture and equipment, especially desks, shelving and machines;
• working hours and how many hours a day the lights will be on;
• whether there are older workers or tasks with special visual demands;
• ceiling, wall and floor finishes, their colour and glossiness.

If the furniture layout is not yet known, say so clearly. The designer will then calculate uniform light across the whole area, and adjustments may be needed once desk positions are fixed.

Requirements and standards

Decide in advance which norms the design must meet. Offices, schools, hospitals and industrial premises are subject to different standards. In European practice, EN 12464-1 for indoor workplaces and EN 1838 for emergency escape lighting are widely referenced. If the premises belong to an international company or there is a specific certification goal, add those requirements to the brief as well.

Then set out your own requirements: preferred colour temperature, colour rendering index, dimming or sensors, the control system (simple switching, DALI, smart home), any restrictions on luminaire type (recessed only, for example) and the design style. If a luminaire brand has already been chosen or stock is already on hand, note that too.

Budget framework and operation

You do not have to state an exact figure, but the designer needs to know what level of solution is expected: the minimum required by the norms, a mid-range solution, or a design-led high-end one. Otherwise the design may turn out needlessly expensive, or simpler than you hoped.

Operational questions belong in the brief as well. How easy is it to reach the luminaires — will a lift be needed to change a lamp in a tall atrium? How often is the space cleaned? Is it dusty? This information helps the designer choose the right maintenance factor and avoid solutions that demand frequent servicing.

What to expect as deliverables

Finish the brief by stating what you require from the design, so that different proposals cover the same scope:

• lighting calculations (DIALux or Relux files, for example) with illuminance, uniformity and UGR results by zone;
• a luminaire layout plan and a specification schedule;
• switching and control groups;
• a separate plan for emergency lighting, if required;
• whether visualisations are needed.

When you receive the design, check that the luminaire data used in the calculations matches the products actually being offered. If a substitute luminaire is proposed, ask for the calculations to be updated.

Zaferoğlu Elektrik produces its Zəfər İşığı lamps in Ganja, while its Baku office is located in Babək Plaza. For the lamp types specified in a design, you can make a selection from the catalogue and request an offer.