Glare in buildings
According to BRE’s The essential guide to retail lighting: Glare is; ‘Discomfort experienced when lighting is excessively bright when viewed against the surroundings. Often the result of inadequately shielded lamps.'
The CIBSE SLL Code for Lighting (2012) defines glare as '...the condition of vision in which there is discomfort or a reduction in the ability to see details or objects, caused by an unsuitable distribution or range of luminance, or to extreme contrasts.'
The Illustrated Guide to Electrical Building Services, Third Edition (BG 31/2017), by David Bleicher & Peter Tse, published by BSRIA in 2014, states: ‘Glare is caused by extreme contrasts in luminance – for example extremely bright objects in the same vicinity as extremely dark objects. The problem of glare can take two basic forms: discomfort glare and disability glare.'
'Discomfort glare is likely to occur whenever one area of an internal space is significantly brighter than the surrounding area. Two common causes are excessive daylight entering windows and inappropriate or poorly positioned luminaires.'
'Disability glare can make work tasks difficult, and may occur when a source of bright light exists close to the line of sight. Light sources such as fluorescent lamps have very bright surfaces, however most luminaires are designed so that the lamp is rarely in the field of vision.’
NB PAS 6463:2022, Design for the mind – Neurodiversity and the built environment – Guide, published by BSI Standards Limited 2022, states: ‘Discomfort glare results in an instinctive desire to look away from a bright light source or difficulty in seeing a task. Disability glare impairs the view of objects without necessarily causing discomfort.’
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
- Artificial lighting.
- Aspects of daylighting design covered by EN 17037.
- BREEAM Visual comfort Glare control.
- BREEAM Visual comfort View out.
- Colour appearance.
- Daylight factor.
- Daylight lighting systems.
- Designing daylight solutions for commercial buildings.
- EN 17037 Daylight in buildings.
- General lighting v task lighting.
- Illuminance.
- Light pollution.
- Lighting.
- Lighting of construction sites.
- Natural light.
- Retrofitting solar shading.
- Types of building EN 17037 applies to.
Featured articles and news
Research by construction PR consultancy LMC published.
Roles and responsibilities of domestic clients
ACA Safety in Construction guide for domestic clients.
Plumbing and heating for sustainability in new properties
Technical Engineer runs through changes in regulations, innovations in materials, and product systems.
Awareness of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
What CBAM is and what to do about it.
The new towns and strategic environmental assessments
12 locations of the New Towns Taskforce reduced to 7 within the new towns draft programme and open consultation.
Buildings that changed the future of architecture. Book review.
The Sustainability Pathfinder© Handbook
Built environment agency launches free Pathfinder© tool to help businesses progress sustainability strategies.
Government outcome to the late payment consultation, ECA reacts.
IHBC 2025 Gus Astley Student Award winners
Work on the role of hewing in UK historic conservation a win for Jack Parker of Oxford Brookes University.
Future Homes Building Standards and plug-in solar
Parts F and L amendments, the availability of solar panels and industry responses.
How later living housing can help solve the housing crisis
Unlocking homes, unlocking lives.
Preparing safety case reports for HRBs under the BSA
A new practical guide to preparing structural inputs for safety cases and safety case reports published by IStructE.
Male construction workers and prostate cancer
CIOB and Prostate Cancer UK encourage awareness of prostate cancer risks, and what to do about it.
The changed R&D tax landscape for Architects
Specialist gives a recap on tax changes for Research and Development, via the ACA newsletter.
Structured product data as a competitive advantage
NBS explain why accessible product data that works across digital systems is key.
Welsh retrofit workforce assessment
Welsh Government report confirms Wales faces major electrical skills shortage, warns ECA.
A now architectural practice looks back at its concept project for a sustainable oceanic settlement 25 years on.
Copyright and Artificial Intelligence
Government report and back track on copyright opt out for AI training but no clear preferred alternative as yet.