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Artificial lighting has come a long way since the lightbulb was invented some 150 years ago. To celebrate the important role that light plays in all aspects of our lives and the sustainable development of society, today is UNESCO’s International Day of Light.

Held every year on 16 May to mark the anniversary of the first successful operation of the laser in 1960, the International Day of Light (IDL) features hundreds of official events and activities all over the world that showcase how light in science, technology, art and culture can help achieve the organization’s mission of education, equality and peace.

A key goal of the day is to “promote the importance of lighting technology and the need for access to light and energy infrastructure in sustainable development, and for improving quality of life in the developing world”.

In collaboration with the International Commission on Illumination (CIE), a key member of the Steering Committee of the IDL, ISO has recently published two new documents that directly contribute to this goal:

ISO/CIE 20086, Light and lighting – Energy performance of lighting in buildings, provides a method for effectively calculating lighting use for the estimation of the total energy performance of a building.
ISO/CIE TS 22012, Light and lighting – Maintenance factor determination – Way of working, contributes to the safe and efficient use of light energy by helping organizations to ensure the continuous maintenance of lighting installations.

Ad de Visser, Chair of the ISO technical committee in charge of their development, said these documents are a key tool for organizations to improve their energy performance and help new technologies to evolve, both of which play a key role in sustainable development.

“By being able to effectively calculate the energy performance of lighting systems in a building, organizations can make more informed decisions on how to improve it,” he said.

“Continuous maintenance is equally important to this goal as it prevents faults in lighting, improving safety and efficiencies.”

ISO/CIE 20086 and ISO/CIE TS 22012 were developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 274, Light and lighting, whose secretariat is held by DIN, ISO’s member for Germany, in collaboration with the CIE, a key ISO partner. The ISO committee and CIE have worked together for over 30 years on a wide range of standards and standards-type documents related to lighting and have many more in the pipeline.

By Clare Naden