Abstract
Energy efficiency is a prime consideration for all lighting professionals with reasons ranging from the threat of climate change through burning fossil fuels to the sustainability and availability of energy supplies as well as rapidly increasing costs. But it must be balanced against the need for well-lit environments to ensure the productivity, well-being, safety and health of the people it serves. A well-lit environment must provide both visual function and visual amenity for the particular application and for the architecture, together with an efficient use of energy. This means considering all the elements that contribute to the design and operation in an all-embracing manner. The challenge now is to address more critically the design, operation and specification of electric lighting in combination with available daylight. This will require new thinking and research to achieve satisfactory, efficient environments that will need investment for optimum results. But the outcome could be a long-term benefit to society with the benefit being greater than the sum of the parts.
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