The Glaringly Obvious

Any good lighting retrofit will deliver a range of benefits to workers and to the bottom line. Leaving aside the significant energy savings and carbon reduction that can be made by an office lighting retrofit, there are some big benefits for the office team and for productivity. 

• Improved lighting.
• Compliant with Lux Levels.
• Improved safety.
• Better working environment. 

One key factor in the office lighting retrofit process is understanding UGR.

What is UGR?

UGR stands for Unified Glare Rating. It is a metric used for calculating the level of glare in certain applications. Glare is a visual sensation when two competing light sources are presented simultaneously in a person’s eye line. For example, in an office environment, it would be the visibility of a computer screen and lighting from a poorly designed or badly planned lighting scheme. Glare is a quantifiable phenomenon, i.e. it can be measured and utilised to predict levels of glare in a lighting scheme before an installation.

UGR is calculated using a precise formula. This formula measures the luminance of a luminaire divided by the background of visible luminance from the room. The UGR ranges from 5 to 40. For example, a low UGR of 8 is very discreet and the glare will go unnoticed whereas a UGR of 35 can cause distraction. As per the EN12464-1:2011 European Lighting Standards, an office space shouldn't exceed a UGR of 19.

Get the full picture

There is far more to planning good office lighting than just UGR. A well though-out system will save energy, improve safety, deliver a better working environment as well as being compliant with EU regulations. To get the full picture on office lighting, talk to us.

Get in touch

Our Solas lighting panels have a UGR under 19 which follows the EU regulation for office lighting. To know more about Solas and all our office lighting solutions, please get in touch with us here at Verde Energy group.

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