Light Lines Mar/Apr 16

n A Mexican wave goodbye – the IYL closing ceremony

n Damage limitation: pioneering daylight study

Secretary

Brendan Keely MSLL bkeely@cibse.org

SLL Coordinator

Juliet Rennie

Tel: 020 8675 5211 jrennie@cibse.org

Editor

Jill Entwistle jillentwistle@yahoo.com

Communications committee:

Iain Carlile (chairman) MSLL

Rob Anderson

Jill Entwistle

Chris Fordham MSLL

Wiebke Friedewald

Mark Ingram MSLL

Stewart Langdown MSLL

Gethyn Williams

Linda Salamoun

Bruce Weil

All contributions are the responsibility of the author, and do not necessarily refect the views of the society. All contributions are personal, except where attributed to an organisation represented by the author.

The enormous chasm between the haves and have nots, the West and the developing world, does induce despair at times. To read of some vacuous C-list celebrity spending thousands frst infating and then defating her breasts according to whim and vanity, and then to hear of children dying for want of a cheap mosquito net or clean water makes one wonder how the human race can have got its values so skewed.

Lighting poverty is perhaps yet not fully on the radar, probably because having suffcient light to study by or navigate safely at night has been seen as a lesser priority than staying alive.

However, it seems to be creeping up the agenda thanks to the activities of various organisations, some profle raising through the IYL and technology advances, such as LEDs.

As was evident at the SLL’s recent joint event with the IoP – Safe Lighting for All: Eradicating the Kerosene Lamp – which focused on the subject (see p4), and YLOTY Youmna Abdallah’s winning paper (see p9), introducing something as basic as lighting is, like much in life, more complex than it frst appears.

A safe portable light source could become a commodity to be sold by the desperate, for instance. Maintenance is another issue. But surely it’s not beyond our wit to resolve these diffculties. And presumably requires far less ingenuity than most cosmetic surgery.

Jill Entwistle jillentwistle@yahoo.com

COVER: Lumiere London 2016, organised by creative producer Artichoke, attracted more than one million people in January, writes Linda Salamoun, senior lighting designer at Buro Happold The capital’s frst fully fedged lighting festival featured 30 displays across the city (King’s Cross, Soho, Mayfair, Westminster, Regent Street and Piccadilly) using a wide range of lighting techniques from 3D projection to simple, pure elements of light. Neon bird boxes, a giant light plants in Leicester Square and multiple stick fgures apparently scrambling up the facade of the Liberty Building on Regent Street all allowed the public to view lighting in a different, playful way.

The beauty of illuminating various mediums and playing with refections on surrounding elements and fnishes could be seen in the ‘goldfsh-flled’ phone box (Aquarium by Benedetto Bufalino and Benoit Deseille), Janet Echelman’s net sculpture, 1.8 London, suspended between buildings above Oxford Circus, and the Spectra-3 installation (by FIELD.io) at the back of Granary Square. Installations such as Les Luminéoles, by Porté Par Le Vent, in Piccadilly created a full immersive experience using music, light, helium and the wind to create an enchanting surrealist vision of fying fsh. It wasn’t just about aesthetics though. Mick Stephenson’s Litre of Light at Central St Martin’s, created with students and MyShelter Foundation, featured a dazzlingly colourful tunnel formed by plastic bottles. It demonstrated the possibilities of helping developing countries bring light into spaces using just basic plastic bottles, a small LED light source and a tiny solar panel.

Lighting installations, like all other art, need time and space to be appreciated and absorbed. Unfortunately due to the short exhibition time of Lumiere London (three nights originally, extended by one more due to overcrowding) the smaller displays particularly didn’t have the chance to be viewed in peace. Hopefully this will be one of the lessons learned for the future light festivals to hit the streets of London, as the concept was a brilliant one with a very successful outcome.

For images from the festival go to www.visitlondon.com/lumiere

So that’s it, the Year of Light that was is now over…or is it?

We all did our very best to deliver an incredible Unesco International Year of Light 2015 and I hope you enjoyed it. The international closing ceremony took place in Merida, Mexico, from 4-6 February with 400 delegates celebrating what has truly been a great year for all. Our coordinator Juliet Rennie has produced an initial review of the closing ceremony (see p5) and there will be more reports from her on the issues and topics covered there throughout the year.

We’re all a little more aware of light within our own felds but we have also experienced the specialisms relating to art, science and photonics in general. The biggest success story for me is that we have reached out to the public through events such as the Night of Heritage Light, showcasing the skills and talents of our membership.

The international year has seen the society host events with Arup, the Association of British Theatre Technicians, Philips, the Society of Theatre Lighting Designers, IALD, Electrical Contractors Association, Royal Photographic Society and the Institute of Physics. The latest of our much-cherished Masterclass series, Inside Out: Light and Architecture, has been supported by RIBA, ECA and Select. Our collaboration with like-minded organisations will continue and it will make us a more healthy and rounded society.

In January the Young Lighter of the Year, Youmna Abdallah, presented her winning paper on light poverty (see p9) at the joint SLL event with the Institute of Physics. Youmna was joined at the IoP by representatives from GravityLight, SolarAid and SunnyMoney for the event Safe Lighting for All: Eradicating the Kerosene Lamp.

Looking forward, we are very excited about our visit to Light+Building in Frankfurt to meet with all Sponsors in Partnership and Sustaining Members. We recently welcomed Jake Dyson Light, Ricoman and Wila Lighting to our ranks of Sustaining Members and thank them for their support.

Shortly after we’re back from Frankfurt it’s the Ready Steady Light event with Rose Bruford College on 22 March (and Junior Ready Steady Light on 19 March). Team bookings are coming through thick and fast, and with only 14 sites available this year you need to get in early if you would like to take part.

Talking of competitions, both Young Lighter of the Year and the Jean Heap Bursary are open for application.

We are looking forward to meeting our

The biggest success story for me is that we have reached out to the public through events such as the Night of Heritage Light, showcasing the skills and talents of our membership

members in Abu Dhabi at LuxLive Middle East 13-14 April and, of course, the Lighting Design Awards on 5 May, also my birthday, so hopefully it will be a great event. Good luck to all our members submitting their projects, products and practices for awards, you might even see an entry from the society, fngers crossed.

Membership of the society stands at more than 3250, the highest in the society’s history dating back to 1909. It demonstrates the benefts of membership, with access to all SLL and CIBSE publications through the Knowledge Portal and the quality of events throughout the regions. In January the new LG6: The Exterior Environment was published on the Knowledge Portal and we have seen a huge number of downloads.

Thank you to all who have renewed their subscriptions for 2016, and if anyone is still in doubt about the benefts of membership, please do get in touch. That’s what we are here for.

bkeely@cibse.org

Photography Matthew Andrews

SLL event focuses on stamping out kerosene lamps

Glimmer of hope for incandescent

Widely reported at the beginning of the year was the news that researchers at MIT may have brreathed new life into the incandescent lamp.

On the lighter side...

In tune with something of a light motif for this issue, along comes a candle-powered LED lamp aimed at developing countries. Currently the subject of a crowd-funding campaign, the Lumir C is inspired by a lighthouse shape.

It needs no batteries or wires, simply a candle underneath, the heat of which provides the energy to power the LED. To switch it on, you simply put it over the burning nightlight. Weighing 220g and around 22cm high, it has an output of 85lm. For the Western market, it will come

The team has used a special crystal structure to surround the flament in the glass. This has allowed them to bounce back the energy which is usually lost in heat, while still allowing the light through.

They refer to the technique as ‘recycling light’ because, rather like the original tungsten halogen principle, the energy that would usually escape into the air is redirected back to the flament where it can create new light.

While traditional incandescent bulbs are only around fve per cent effcient, LEDs or fuorescent lamps are around 14 per cent effcient. The MIT scientists believe that the new bulb could reach effciency levels of 40 per cent. It is, however, early days.

‘This experimental device is a proof-ofconcept, at the low end of performance that could be ultimately achieved by this approach,’ principal research scientist Ivan Celanovic told The Telegraph.

in ‘mood’ and ‘spot’ versions and in different colours. If you want to gussy it up a bit, you can use a scented candle.

www.lumirlight.com

The latest SLL LIGHTTalks: Power of Photonics event, a collaboration with the Institute of Physics, focused on the eradication of the kerosene lamp in the developing world.

More than 1bn people live without an electricity supply and are dependent on burning kerosene fuel for their lighting. Highly dangerous, environmentally damaging and extremely bad for health, kerosene also represents a signifcant fnancial burden for some of the world’s poorest people.

The speakers addressing the topic were Youmna Abdallah, Young Lighter of the Year 2015, whose paper (see p9) addressed light poverty; Richard Turner of SolarAid; Olivia Otieno of SunnyMoney (a social enterprise owned by SolarAid); Jim Reeves, co-inventor of the GravityLight, and Beth Taylor of the Institute of Physics.

GE drops CFLs in the US and Osram rebadges

The recent moves of two major lamp companies indicates the growing supremacy of LEDs.

GE Lighting is to discontinue the manufacture and sale of compact fuorescent lamps (CFLs) for the US residential market by the end of 2016 in favour of LED sources.

One of the reasons GE gave for the move was that LEDs are more compatible with the trend towards smart lighting. The company launched the wireless-networked Link family of lamps in 2014. While CFLs are still cheaper, GE also said that the price of LEDs has dropped dramatically over the past fve years.

According to the company, around 15 per cent of US consumers have used LED sources and it estimates that 50 per cent will be using LED products in 2020.

GE also said it would be diffcult to meet the new 2017 Energy Star lamp requirements with CFL technology.

Meanwhile Osram has rebranded its general lighting lamps business. The newly named Ledvance is part of the carve-out process that will be completed organisationally on 1 April and legally on 1 July.

The sun sets on the Unesco year of light

Juliet Rennie, below, reports on the densely packed agenda of The International Year of Light closing ceremony in Merida, Mexico

After much list writing and a number of planning meetings beforehand, the time had come for SLL president Liz Peck and me to make our way to Merida in Mexico for the Unesco International Year of Light closing ceremony. Travelling via different routes, we met up in Mexico – Liz, who by that point had been awake for more than 24 hours, was waiting to welcome me in the hotel lobby – excited by the prospect of the event, if a little tired from the journey.

We were happy to see that the entire closing ceremony would be streamed live, meaning that SLL members and members of the lighting community (or family) around the globe would be able to tune in. Liz would also be involved in one of the panel discussions, as well as delivering a presentation on the Night of Heritage Light as part of the Cultural Heritage session on the fnal day of the conference.

Thursday 4 February 2016

We were welcomed to the ceremony by John Dudley, chair of the International Year of Light Steering Committee, and Ana Maria Cetto, coordinator for IYL in Mexico. Cetto highlighted the historic heritage of Merida, and the signifcance light played in this ancient civilisation. She also expressed her pleasure at seeing how much had been achieved throughout 2015, with thousands of activities involving millions of people in more than 120 countries worldwide.

The inaugural session began with a variety of high-level messages from senior fgures within the UN, Unesco and representatives of the Yucatan government. The frst message was from Ban Ki-Moon, secretary general of the UN, read by Cetto. He commented on humanity’s historical fascination with light, remarking that in the past year the international community has worked to further an understanding of light, and to harness its potential in the future. With regard to the future, Ban Ki-Moon emphasised the signifcance of the

development of light-based technologies in the face of climate change and a need for sustainable development.

We were then welcomed by Irina Bokova, director general of Unesco. Bokova highlighted the anniversary of the Iraquiborn Ibn Al Haytham, the 10th-century scientist, mathematician, astronomer and philosopher to whom we owe much of the basis of our understanding of photonics (see NL May/June 2015). Bokova also pointed up the relevance of the cultural trip to Chichen Itza, the ancient Mayan City, which would be taking place on the fnal day of the conference, in relation to the understanding of light and astronomy displayed in Mayan architecture.

In his inaugural address, the governor of the State of Yucatan, Rolando Zapata Bello, stressed how crucial education and innovation are as driving forces for social, economic and cultural development. He recognised that in 2015 we celebrated 1000 years of the study of optics and the power of light in reaching sustainable solutions for climate change, medical development and general wellbeing. Commenting on the relevance of having the closing ceremony in Yucatan, where light and shadow demonstrate the cycles of life, he remarked: ‘That duality is always present, and represented in the great Mayan culture. Elements which in essence are contrary but represent unity. Unity within duality will allow us to fnd the answers for commonality throughout humanity.’

John Dudley then gave a short review of the International Year of Light, beginning with the conception of the idea in 2009 among a small group of scientifc societies to its culmination as an international effort that involved hundreds of partners. While he would be looking back over the year during this session, Dudley said that the point of the ceremony overall was not to refect on what has already happened but to look to the future and how the achievements of the past year could be built upon.

‘Over the course of the IYL, more than 5000 distinct events were held in 148 countries, with 15,000 press mentions and 70 videos and flms’

Allowing numbers to tell the story of how IYL became a global phenomenon, Dudley confrmed that over the course of the year more than 5000 distinct events were held in 148 countries, and there were 15,000 mentions of IYL in international press from more than 4500 sources. With regard to coverage in social media, there were more than 3000 tweets, with 3.8m impressions on Twitter, covering all of the continents.

There were also 70 videos and flms made in relation to IYL.

Drawing his review to a close, Dudley urged everyone who had been involved in IYL to continue to work together in the way that they have over the past year, and to avoid the somewhat fragmentary approach that has been adopted in the past.

Following his presentation and in recognition of all that he has done for IYL, 1001 Inventions, an international science and cultural heritage organisation that promotes the golden age of Muslim civilisation, presented John Dudley with the Ibn al Haytham Award for Public Engagement with Science.

The frst of two Nobel Laureates to speak at the closing ceremony was Shuji Nakamura, inventor of the blue LED, which resulted in the viability of LEDs as a white light source. During the 1970s and 1980s, effcient blue and green LEDs were yet to be developed due to a lack of suitable materials. Nakamura’s PhD application focused on gallium nitride alloys, which were regarded to be the least likely candidate for the development of effcient blue LEDs in comparison to zinc selenide. Following a breakthrough in the early 1990s, Nakamura developed the frst high-brightness InGaN LED and the following year, development of the quantum well structure made more effcient blue, red and green LEDs possible.

Nakamura described the diffculties he encountered in securing funding prior to completing his PhD, as well as further developments leading to the second generation GaN-on-GaN LEDs, producing safe white light. He subsequently formed the company Soraa, which manufactures GaN-on-GaN white LED sources with full visible colour spectrum.

In concluding, Nakamura commented that in light of the developments in LED technology, it would be diffcult to fnd a better example of how photonics has changed the world.

The frst plenary session was entitled Light, Health and the Life Sciences, with speakers Vanderlei Bagnato, professor of

physics at the University of Sao Paulo, and Susana Marcos, professor of research and director of the Visual Optics and Biophotonics Lab at Schepens Eye Institute, Harvard University. They looked at how light can transform the treatment of cancer and degenerative eye conditions.

Bagnato described developments in biophotonics for the treatment of cancer and micro-organisms, referring to current research in Brazil into how the spread of the zica virus could be treated with light-based technologies.

As other illnesses are decreasing, cancer is increasing beyond linearity and humanity also faces a big challenge as viruses are now developing resistance to current antibiotics. Bagnato believes that light could be the solution. As well as treating illnesses and infections, Bagnato also highlighted the effcacy of using light to ensure that treatments have been successful in the removal of cancerous cells. So far, there is a 95 per cent success rate in the use of this detection method following treatment of skin cancer, according to Bagnato, and many medical companies in Latin America are now adopting this technology.

Developments in optical imaging technologies enable us to quantify the optical system of a normal eye and draw comparisons following optical or surgical treatments. Susana Marcos explained how some of these technologies are transcending the realm of the laboratory, to be used in clinical trials. Specifcally, she mentioned the Quicksee, a low-cost handheld device that has the potential to facilitate prescription of refractive errors for those in the developing world by using wave-front autofractometry. To give perspective to the number of people that this currently affects, there are 153m people in the world who are visually impaired due to refractive errors.

Marcos went on to outline developing treatments for the correction of both presbyopia and cateracts, both of which

SLL president Liz Peck (second right) at the colloquium on artifical light chaired by Mark Burton-Page and Gustavo Aviles (centre)

affect 100 per cent of the aged population, using optical coherence tomography and adaptive optics visual simulators. In the concluding section of her presentation, Marcos commented that with cateract operations being the most common type of surgery in the world, these developments are one of the most important interventions that the medicine has ever seen, adding that this was, ‘just one example of the importance of light in medicine’.

A panel session looked at the history of optics. This began with a presentation from Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan, professor of vision science and electrical and computer engineering at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Lakshminarayanan gave an overview of the signifcant work of Ibn al Haytham who succeeded in succeeded in combining optics with the anatomy and physiology of vision.

Following this, Dr Noureddine Melikechi, professor of physics and founding director of the Optical Science Centre for Applied Research at Delaware University, also spoke about the application of laser technologies in the early detection of cancers that do not present specifc symptoms. He then moved on to discuss how light could be used to detect the presence of extraterrestrial life on other planets.

The fnal presentation before the panel session was from Ling An-Wu, an emeritus professor at the Institute of Physics, who spoke about early records of the study of optics in China with specifc reference to Mo Zi. Mo Zi was born in 470BC and as well as being a philosopher as renowned as Confucius, he also made great contributions to science and engineering. His work included descriptions of straight line propagation of light and evidence of the pinhole camera.

The fnal sessions of the day were a selection of parallel workshops, each covering a different topic. In light of the recent publication of the new LG7: Offce Lighting and LG6: The Exterior Environment, and in relation to this year’s Masterclass series, Inside Out: Light and Architecture, Liz and I attended Light in the Built Environment, Light and Architecture. Over the course of the following two and a half hours, we received presentations from Gustavo Aviles, general director and founder of Lighteam and member of the IALD board of directors; Mark Burton-Page, general director of LUCI; Jose Cardona, interior designer and lighting designer, and Victor Palacio, lighting designer and current president of the IALD.

That evening, delegates were invited on a tour of the Gran

Museo del Mundo Maya, followed by a drinks reception, during which delegates were treated to a fantastic light show, portraying Mayan history through projected animations on the side of the museum.

Friday 5 February 2016

The frst talk of the day was from the second Nobel Laureate, Dr John Mather, senior astrophysicist and senior project scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope at Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Centre.

Dr Mather began by inviting the audience to look back at astronomical discoveries that have been made using existing telescoping technologies, such as when the Hubble discovered the expansion of the universe and how we saw the primeval freball with the COBSE satellite. He then outlined plans for four new telescopes that are currently in development. By using light in its many wavelengths, we can study space and the unknown aspects of the universe in ever-increasing depth.

From exploring the depths of space, we then ventured slightly closer to home as Sir John Pendry explained the science behind creating a real invisibility cloak. Strangely, this was not the only time that Harry Potter would be a topic of debate during the ceremony. Sir John Pendry researches electromagnetic metamaterials in his role at Imperial College London. Pendry explained that the ability to create an invisibility cloak hinges on our being able to deploy materials that can control components of electric and magnetic felds, by no means a straightforward task.

The next panel session centred on Research in Optics and Photonics. The frst presentation was delivered by Andrew Forbes, focusing on laser research in South Africa. Forbes highlighted South Africa’s active role in laser research, a programme that initially began with a nuclear enrichment agenda but has since become the focus of scientifc research throughout the country. Forbes opened a new laboratory for Structured Light in the region and, as a result, received a national award for his contributions to photonics.

With fbre optic communication and mobile phones, the 21st century has seen the emergence of a global network. Sir Peter Knight delivered the next presentation on quantum technology for a networked world. Knight commented that these technological developments have been the biggest change in human life since the industrial revolution.

Liz Peck, seen with fellow presenters Jose Luis Ruvalcaba, Austin Nevin and Henry Nii-Adziri Wellington, gave a presentation on NoHL t

‘Nakamura commented that in light of the developments in LED technology, it would be diffcult to fnd a better example of how photonics has changed the world’

The fnal presentation for this section was by Lluis Turner, considering a European perspective on photonics research. Turner discussed the possible development of a new research council, based on the European Innovation Council, which would offer opportunities to young researchers in the felds of optics and photonics.

Luckily, we were able to watch an additional panel session focusing on light and the arts, before having to head into the city centre, where Liz was due to take part in a colloquium. The panel included Tania Aedo, from Photon.ArtLab, an organisation that runs outreach events that encourage young people to be creative, while also teaching them about the power and applications of light and light-based technologies.

The second presentation was delivered by the striking Mery Crystal Ra, also known as Meeli Koiva. Koiva is an award-winning Estonian-born artist who works with both glass and light. Koiva explained her creative process and her drive to reshape spaces with light and glass, achieving surreal and positive transformations.

Moving from the ethereal to attempts to affect social and cultural understanding through light and art, artist and cultural activist Marcus Neustetter of the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, detailed his efforts in trying to elicit change where the disciplines of art, science and technology meet.

We joined the other speakers who were taking part in the colloquium and travelled into the centre of Merida. It was moderated by Gustavo Aviles and Mark Burton-Page, and the speakers were presented with three quotes to consider. The panel was asked to consider the current position of the lighting industry and how they felt it was going to develop.

Liz chose to work with a quote from Albus Dumbledore, fctional headmaster of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter books: ‘There are dark times ahead and we will have to choose between the easy way and the right way.’ Liz used this as an opportunity to discuss examples of good lighting design and also the responsibility of lighting designers to ensure that their work is carefully planned so as not to have a negative impact on the surrounding environment.

The other speakers included Victor Palacio, president of the IALD; Antonio Garza, president of the IES in Mexico; Maurizio Dimartina, who worked for the government in Mexico City on the preservation of historical and cultural sites; Richard Distl, who’s background is in the development of light technologies, and Hector Solano, who specialises in the environmental impact of artifcial lighting. The variety of speakers meant that the debate covered a range of issues from light pollution to a feeling of security provided by the right lighting.

Saturday 6 February 2016

The last day of the conference had arrived but by no means were we winding down as Liz was due to deliver her presentation on the Night of Heritage Light during the opening session on cultural heritage. It is safe to say that

Liz’s presentation was incredibly well received, with people remarking on NoHL throughout the day. Their interest was also confrmed when we laid out some of the NoHL postcards for people to take away. Liz presented alongside Austin Nevin, specialist in analysing paintings and the study of ancient and modern cultural heritage using light-based technologies. Jose Luis Rubalcava, who also spoke about the non-destructive analyses of cultural artefacts using x-ray techniques, and fnally, Henry Nii-Adziri Wellington from the Kwame University of Science and Technology in Ghana, who spoke about the current drive to establish a museum of light in Ghana.

The next and fnal panel session focused on the topic of light poverty and providing safe lighting solutions for all. Jorge Avila Trevino, representing the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association (GOGLA), began by outlining the aims of the organisation, which provides lighting solutions for the beneft of society and businesses in the developing world.

Olivia Otieno then spoke about her work with SunnyMoney, whose aim is to provide opportunities for people in Kenya to purchase solar-powered lighting, providing entrepreneurial opportunities within developing communities.

The fnal presentation was from Rodrigo Limon Chavez who discussed the aims of a Lights for Learning programme currently taking place in Ibero-American states.

With the offcial ceremony brought to a close, delegates were then taken to the site of the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza. Fittingly enough, the evening then concluded with another light show, featuring projections on to the side of the Temple of Kulkukan. A truly magnifcent experience. n

Some 400 delegates from around the world attended the event

Benighted existence

Based on her winning paper, Young Lighter of the Year Youmna Abdallah examines lighting poverty in developing countries and looks at how it could be resolved

‘We all take light far too much for granted,’ wrote former SLL president John Aston in the Newsletter last year (Jan/Feb 2015). ‘The sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening on a completely reliable and predictable basis. When there is no daylight we click a switch and – voilà – we get artifcial light. So we never think about how we get it, what it does for us and how life could not exist without it.’

Few people know that, even 25 years after the end of the Civil War that ravaged Lebanon, my home country, most Lebanese continue to suffer daily from long hours of power cuts. As a child, I have also experienced the everlasting darkness of summer evenings, blind family dinners around candles, or studying in an outdoor space, following the sun and holding on to the last ray of sunset. Power cuts are on the rise even more now that around 1.1m Syrian refugees have poured into the country.

Nowadays, the privileged class can afford private electricity generators in their homes, but this remains a luxury – slums and refugee camps still experience daily an additional aspect of poverty: light poverty. This makes it diffcult for children to study at night, which threatens their sight and education, and for mothers to take care of their families. Violence and robbery can develop more freely. Poverty is felt more acutely.

Despite the fact that 2015 was the International Year of Light, 18 per cent of the world’s population still does not have access to electricity. Almost 1 bn people live in slums and some 50m in makeshift camps. Around 1.2bn people lack electricity altogether, resulting in millions of premature deaths yearly and seriously affecting children’s education and health.

My study aims to raise awareness about light poverty in the precarious environments of developing countries. With today’s endless wars in numerous areas of the world and the rising number of refugees and slum dwellers, what is the lighting situation in which these populations are living and how can we improve their access to a good quality of light?

n Lighting in a refugee camp of Lebanon

I decided to investigate this in a Syrian refugee camp in Kobbet el-Shamra, North Lebanon. Such settlements are usually not connected to the national power grid. They rely on private generators that are operated informally. During my visit, I noticed that most of the tents, made of clinkstone without openings, hardly allowed the makeshift homes to receive daylight. A ceiling-suspended incandescent lamp is invariably the only source of illumination.

Abu Ali, the refugee camp manager, claims they get electricity for only four hours throughout the day. ‘Children cannot read or study in the evening,’ says Ali. ‘They fear walking outside their tents in the dark to use the common facilities. Women struggle breastfeeding their babies and fear being abused in the dark.’

Just a few weeks before my visit, a short circuit occurred in one of the tents and the fre spread quickly to the other structures due to their highly fammable walls. ‘A good quality of light would not only be a tool for our sight,’ concluded Abu Ali, ‘it is a matter of safety.’

To get a practical idea of the quantity of daylight within the households, I carried out illuminance measurements (when the power was off) in one of the tents (Fig 1). Daylight was coming from the entrance door and a few holes at the edge of the walls.

Top: the ceiling-suspended 30W incandescent lamp in a tent at Kobbet el-Shamra refugee camp, North Lebanon (seen above)

Fig 1: Floor plan of a standard tent in the refugee camp with calculation points A, B, C, D and E (dimension values are in millimetres)

Considering that the 30W incandescent lamp is the only light source used during night-time, I then carried out further illuminance measurements after dark by reproducing the scene on Dialux (see Fig 2 below).

Table 2 (below) shows that most of the daily home activities require a minimum illuminance of 200 lux. However, the calculations show that current light levels inside the tents do not even reach 20 lux, the minimum required to move around.

n How effcient are the current lighting alternatives?

Provided with minimal alternatives for lighting, slum dwellers and refugees often resort to kerosene lamps which are, in fact, ‘more harmful than darkness itself,’ according to Evan Mills of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. ‘Typical kerosene lamps deliver between 1lm and 6lm per square meter of useful light, compared to typical Western standards of 300 lux for tasks such as reading,’ Mills continues.

‘Kerosene lamps also have undesirable effects on indoor air quality, safety, and rely on a fuel with high price volatility and uncertain availability in many areas,’ he concludes. In fact, each year around 2.5m people in India suffer from serious burns primarily due to overturned kerosene lamps, according to the US charity organisation Lights for Life (The Impact of Light Poverty on Children).

n Are there promising products on the market?

As LED products become more affordable, a small, versatile solar-powered LED lamp seems to be the adequate response – to high-priced traditional sources, to the dangers linked to informal power infrastructures and to fuel-based lighting.

In May 2015, as a frst trial, I distributed solar-powered LED bollards in the Kobbet el-Shamra camp. The bollards were spike-mounted in the streets of the camp and also happily taken by the households for use as torches during their daily activities (Fig 3).

Following this successful initial response, I continued my research for an ideal product. This led me to the manufacturer d.light, which has developed a small range of solar-powered LED lanterns, mainly targeting populations lacking access to electricity. One specifc product caught my attention, the d.light S2 (Fig 4). This solar-powered adjustable lantern costs £3.89 ex-factory. Using its adjustable handle, it can be hung on the ceiling or walls, or placed on a table for activities such as reading, studying and cooking. Table 3 summarises the light levels obtained on various surfaces for the different tasks the lantern can be used for.

As the tests conducted show, the relatively low output makes it a product to use individually, since the light levels at the task surface when mounting it on a table or carrying it are satisfactory. However, it does not meet the recommendations if used for general ambient lighting.

The most worrying aspect, however, is that my research brought me to the conclusion that no manufacturers have yet developed solar-powered LED luminaires that are both affordable and effcient for average informal houses in the developing world.

n Limits and challenges for the implementation phase

„ Market trading

When introducing a new resource into a deprived environment, it can easily create unexpected behaviours. In particular, when offering for free an object such as a solar-powered lantern to impoverished households, there is a high chance that they will only see it in terms of market value. For example, if a household suddenly needs to pay for healthcare for one of its members, it might sell the lamp to meet the cost.

Price is therefore a key factor because of the risk that these products would be considered as an expensive possession by their recipients, and could subsequently be sold or exchanged for other goods.

„ Lack of maintenance and damage

In theory, the d.light S2 battery lasts more than fve years and the LED itself has an average life of 60,000 hours but, according to Adel Mortada, a Lebanese international energy expert and founder of the Association Libanaise pour la Maitrise de l’Energie, ‘most batteries last less than 50 per cent of their actual lifetime, since people are not taught to use them properly’.

„ Possible threat to power generators owners

In many cases, power generators are the only solution to the daily power cuts. Their owners are taking advantage of this situation by selling electricity at high prices. As solar electricity could be a global solution for impoverished areas, this alternative might be a threat for this lucrative business. Attempts to sabotage the lamps should be considered.

„ Theft of electricity

In many developing countries, there are poor areas that manage to escape state control. In these areas, electricity is sometimes stolen through illegal connections to the

Fig 2: Isoline plot of the illuminance levels at the foor surface in a standard tent, using 30W incandescent lamp (values in lux)

Table 1: Illuminance at the calculations points of fgure 3 (values in lux)

Table 2: Light level recommendations in homes (values in lux)

national power grid. In such cases, the population will not be interested in solar-powered LED lamps since the electricity it uses is free of charge.

n Practical solutions

A cheap and reliable product

The more expensive the product, the greater the chance it will be resold. Conversely, if the product is cheap, the beneft from reselling diminishes.

On the other hand, making the recipients pay for a product also makes the reselling less attractive: it will diminish the margin of beneft to the reseller because his price cannot be pushed up by the same amount given the limited fnancial resources of these populations.

However, whatever the distribution modality, the recipients should be informed of the market price of the product: this will prevent them from reselling it at a much lower price; it will also discourage independent traders from selling similar products at infated prices.

According to Kristin Verstrheim, camp management advisor at the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) offce in Beirut, a similar project has been implemented by the NRC in the Syrian camps of the Beqaa valley, in Lebanon. She says that no trading or theft was observed within the camps, since the NRC made sure all inhabitants were provided equally with the same amount of lamps.

A lighting service rather than a lamp

According to Adel Mortada, the sustainability of the solution can be increased by providing simultaneously a free-ofcharge maintenance service that includes regular visits, and the replacement of the defective material. Missing material, however, would not be replaced.

Another advantage of this solution is that it deters traders or traffckers from trying to control such a new market as they are

usually not interested in providing these services and cannot compete with an institution that does.

Another possible long-term solution could involve setting up workshops to train vulnerable populations on how to use and maintain these lamps.

Television: a guarantee for power generator owners

Although the solar-powered LED lamp is a cost-effective solution, those who can afford it will continue to pay for generators, because television will remain a key product for which these people rely on electricity. In some tents of Kobbet el-Shamra, I was surprised to see fat screen televisions. I believe the underprivileged consider television as almost more important than any other goods as it is their main connection to the outside world, and a major source of leisure. Consequently, it is not expected that the introduction of solar lamps will necessarily provoke attempts by the generator owners to sabotage them.

Conclusion

Light remains a luxury for millions of people around the globe. We tend to take it for granted. I believe that our task today, as lighting designers, is to raise awareness within international institutions on how important a good quality of light is to our daily lives. These institutions could become important purchasers. Since manufacturers follow market signals, this would favour the development of lighting products that could consistently improve the living conditions of those experiencing lighting poverty.

At the Barefoot College, in India, more than 100 women each year learn how to build solar-systems to provide light to their houses, which are not connected to power structures. This smart initiative by the Indian government should be given great attention as a viable long-term solution to light poverty in the developing world. Instead of providing the women with a product, they are taught how to build it. Progressively, these vulnerable populations will emerge, by their own means, from life without light.

Youmna Abdallah was with lighting consultant MBLD when she won Young Lighter of the Year in November 2015. She is now with Speirs and Major. Her paper, Life Without Light: Light Poverty in Precarious Environments of Developing Countries, can be read in full at www.cibse. org/getmedia/2c8217ca-a4cc-41be-8336-079e8a116971/ Youmna-Abdallah-YLOTY-2015-Paper.pdf.aspx

Fig 3: The author with the children of the Syrian refugee camp in Kobbet el-Shamra holding the solar-powered LED bollards she introduced as a trial light source

Table 3: Illuminance at task surfaces using the d.light S2 LED lantern (values in lux)

Fig 4: d.light S2 solar-powered 0.5W LED lantern

Damage limitation

John Mardaljevic and Stephen Cannon-Brookes outline a pioneering daylight study at the National Trust’s Ickworth House

Since the 1960s, when the quantifcation of damage to light-sensitive materials became an issue of concern in the management of historic properties and museums, understanding of actual daylight performance in interiors has progressed relatively slowly. Advice from the conservation profession on material sensitivity and the use of handheld illuminance meters has led to changes in practice, with most highly light-sensitive objects in museums being placed in non-daylit interiors.

This precipitated the abandonment of daylighting in the majority of sidelit galleries, and the development of top-lit buildings with elaborate systems to provide ‘controlled’ daylight to less sensitive objects, notably oil paintings. Inevitably this placed owners of historic buildings in a dilemma, since much of the atmosphere of such buildings comes from their use of daylight. In many, notably those owned by the National Trust, there is no widespread provision of electric lighting to illuminate all the areas of signifcance, in the interests of suggesting a historic atmosphere that in many cases predates electrifciation.

Through practice and a large amount of monitoring, as well as reference to historic patterns of house management, the National Trust and other heritage building owners have generated site-specifc regimes for the opening and closing of shutters and blinds, not only to make use of the daylight for viewing, but also to control light exposure. Compared to other environmental factors, such as temperature and relative humidity, acquisition of illuminance data for daylight in interiors is challenging as the variation across room surfaces can be substantial, and levels also need to be monitored continuously over long periods.

Few institutions have the resources for monitoring more than a few locations in each room and so illuminance performance data is patchy and much has to be estimated, relying on observation and experience. The placement of data loggers or light dosimeters to evaluate exposure is often based on risk analysis, with meters located adjacent to the light-sensitive objects in areas likely to receive the highest exposures, typically close to windows. As a consequence, our understanding of how much daylight is incident across areas such as walls is slight, and while we are increasingly familiar with isolux contours superimposed on these and other surfaces as a product of building simulations, we have little or no assurance that these are what actually occur.

A few large feld surveys, such as that recently of the Great Hall at Hampton Court, by Historic Royal Palaces, have been

Ickworth House: few institutions have the resources to monitor more than a few locations in each room and so data is patchy

made using tens of data loggers, but the cost of such exercises and their presence in visually sensitive interiors has proved a major disincentive to undertake more widespread assessments. It is perhaps curious that we have been ready to accept such a lack of understanding for so long. In part this is due to a persistent reliance on the prediction, largely without validation, of relative measures of daylight illuminance through the proxy of the daylight factor. Such an approach is of little service to buildings with light-sensitive collections and fabric where it is absolute measures of illumination over long periods that are required.

The growing use of climate-based daylight modelling (CBDM) and the search for new metrics for daylight illumination has brought a fresh perspective to how daylight exposure may be used in display environments. Work undertaken by the authors on the extension to the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg drew attention to the potential for predicting annual daylight exposure in rooms used for displaying light-sensitive collections. This further emphasised the dichotomy between predicted performance, presented in false colour plots, and the piecemeal monitoring of actual daylighting performance.

With a large number of properties where daylight is the principal source of light for visitors to see the interiors and contents, the National Trust initiated a research programme in 2013 to better understand daylight performance. The programme seeks to bring together the latest in illuminance capture techniques with climate-based simulation to refne and develop its systems of daylight management, typically relying on the manipulation of shutters and blinds by both in-house staff and volunteers.

Simulation is being used to explore the consequence of changes in the opening hours on the patterns of cumulative

annual daylight exposure experienced by surfaces in the Smoking Room at Ickworth House in Suffolk. For sidelit spaces the prevailing daylight exposure is particularly sensitive to the window orientation and the opening schedule, in other words the periods when the shutters are opened. For example, increasing the opening period from, say, fve to six hours a day could result in a signifcantly greater than 20 per cent increase in cumulative daylight exposure due to the increased propensity for the ingress of low angle sunlight.

The Smoking Room is also used as an exemplar space to explore the effect of glazing aspect on cumulative daylight exposure, for example, for eight window orientations at 45-degree increments. This generates an ‘atlas’ of daylighting performance that can be used to inform the management of daylight exposure for similarly proportioned spaces with any arbitrary orientation. A highly detailed 3D model of the Smoking Room was created specially for this study.

For any space subject to the operation of blinds or, as is the case with many heritage buildings, a combination of shutters, blinds and curtains, the cumulative daylight exposure will be very sensitive to the precise schedule of their operation. While the room-specifc operational schedule in National Trust properties is adhered to, in the main, with enviable rigour, any mechanism dependent on human agency will invariably fall short of the ideal.

The prediction of relative performance indicators (for example, the effect of extending opening hours) does not necessarily require an absolutely faithful representation of reality in the simulation model. In contrast, the prediction of absolute measures, such as the cumulative annual daylight exposure, requires a highly accurate model of building properties (3D geometry and surface refectance/ transmittance values), together with a reliable operational schedule for blinds/shutters. The creation of a faithful simulation model for a modern, rectilinear offce space presents a reasonable challenge. For a heritage space the challenge is signifcantly greater.

It is unlikely, therefore, that the necessary resources will become available to, say, model in 3D all of the rooms at Ickworth House to the same degree of faithfulness achieved for the Smoking Room. Given these practicalities, this study has pioneered the use of high dynamic range (HDR) imaging as a measurement tool to derive the daylight illumination feld across wall surfaces in the Smoking Room. The illumination feld is something that previously could only have been determined using simulation or, at considerable expense and disruption, a large array of illuminance loggers – at present impractical for the majority of spaces, except those of singular signifcance, such as the Great Hall at Hampton Court.

The DSLR camera installed in the Smoking Room is tethered to a ‘headless’ Mac Mini computer (no screen or keyboard). Every 10 minutes the computer initiates a controlled sequence of exposures taken with progressively longer shutter duration (with a fxed aperture). Following each capture sequence the computer ‘compiles’ an HDR image from the multiple exposures. Each pixel now contains a measure of scene luminance in cd/sqm.

The accuracy of the luminance values in an HDR image is typically better than ±20 per cent, often in the range ±10 per cent, with calibration against a spot measurement with a luminance meter. Additionally, with wide-angle lenses, vignetting correction is applied to compensate for light fall-off away from the image centre. The photograph of the Smoking Room shown is one of the actual HDR image captures.

Knowing the luminance and refectance of a surface, it is

then possible to derive the incident illuminance, provided that the surface fnish largely approximates a Lambertian refector. The wallpaper in the Smoking Room matches this criterion, however it does contain two distinct shades in an elaborate pattern. Image analysis carried out on a section of wallpaper was used to determine the minimum sample dimension which, when positioned randomly, always returned the overall average refectance for the wallpaper.

This information was used to inform the size of wallpaper ‘patches’ distributed across the HDR image that would behave as homogeneous (diffuse) refectors for the interpolation of the incident illumination feld across the two main walls. The accompanying image shows the derived daylight illumination feld (in lux) for one moment in time – the electric light contribution has been subtracted. Cumulative daylight illumination felds will be compiled from multiple HDR exposures taken over several weeks/months.

The Ickworth House project is believed to be the frst use of the HDR technique to measure the long-term light exposure in historic buildings, and is managed by Katy Lithgow (head conservator) and Dr Nigel Blades (preventive conservation adviser) of the National Trust.

John Mardaljevic, FSLL, is professor of Building Daylight Modelling at the School of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University. Dr Stephen Cannon-Brookes, FSLL, is principal of Cannon-Brookes Lighting and Design, and lecturer at the Bartlett, UCL

The Smoking Room (top), and image showing the derived daylight illumination feld for one moment in time

Eye of the beholder

Iain Carlile singles out lighting appearance and circadian rhythms as key topics in the current crop of LR&T papers online

We begin with the museum lighting environment, and the investigation carried out by Chen et al into the relationship between correlated colour temperature (CCT) and illuminance levels. They performed two experiments: the frst to investigate the impact of illumination conditions on visual perception in a light cabinet, the second a repeat of the frst, but in a museum environment. From their results two emotional response models were developed, the visibility model and the warmth model. Analysis showed that the pleasant zone found in the study partially agrees with Kruithof’s rule.

Barati et al have examined the appearance of textiles under different lighting conditions, looking at both the optical aspects and subjective qualities. From the results of two experiments, the authors have created a lighting probe set as an aid to lighting designers when considering the illumination of different textiles and visual fabric qualities such as shiny, silky, glittery, metallic, soft and textured.

Light is the major regulator of circadian rhythms, and in absence of daylight, or access to electric lighting that provides a comparable amount, spectrum, distribution, duration and timing, human wellbeing and health may be compromised. Acosta et al consider this in relation to people confned indoors such as hospital patients and residents of care homes.

Circadian stimulus levels can be affected by architectural and design features such as window size, surface refectance and furniture position. A simulation was conducted to identify the percentage of days that patients would receive a minimum level of circadian stimulation as a function of different windowto-facade ratios, surface refectances and latitudes.

With the widespread night-time use of self-illuminating devices (mobile telephones, tablets and computers), Escofet and Bara investigate the effect of these devices on human physiology. Light at night, particularly short wavelengths, is

known to cause circadian disruption. The authors suggest, therefore, that an ability to tailor the spectral radiance of selfilluminating displays may be advisable.

Two strategies to achieve this were investigated: hardware flters and software applications. From their investigations, software applications provided the best method for controlling the light spectra emitted. The authors therefore suggest that software tools should be included as a standard feature on selfilluminating devices and pre-set with default settings based on the best knowledge of circadian effects of light available.

Lighting Research and Technology: OnlineFirst

Prior to print publication, all papers accepted for Lighting Research and Technology (LR&T), are available online. SLL members can gain access to these papers via the SLL website

Museum lighting environment: designing a perception zone map and emotional response models H-S Chen, C-J Chou, H-W Luo and MR Luo

Retail lighting and textiles: designing a lighting probe set

B Barati, E Karana, D Sekulovski and SC Pont

Analysis of circadian stimulus allowed by daylighting in hospital rooms I Acosta, RP Leslie and MG Figueiro

Reducing the circadian input from self-luminous devices using hardware flters and software applications J Escofet, S Bará and K Ramamurthy

Correspondence: In support of the IES method of evaluating light source colour rendition

Iain Carlile, MSLL, is an associate of DPA Lighting

A derivative of seersucker (left) and a synthetic satin (right) show how changing the direction and diffuseness of illumination infuences the textiles’ appearance (B Barati et al)

Howard Brandston to head Lighting Design Awards judging panel

US architectural lighting design pioneer and SLL fellow Howard Brandston is to head up the Lighting Design Awards judging panel for 2016, the LDA’s 40th year. Brandston, also a CIBSE fellow, will be the judge emeritus and keynote speaker at the awards presentation. His fellow judges include light artist Steven Scott, architectural academic Margaret Maile Petty, University of Victoria, and architects Ben Adams and Phil Coffey.

For the frst time, all categories have been opened up to international entries. ‘Whether you are in London or New York or Dubai, lighting design is now a global business and your clients can be anywhere in the world,’ said Ray Molony, director of the organising team. ‘The Lighting Design Awards has to refect that reality and what better way to mark its 40th year than to open the categories up to celebrate and reward the world’s best creative talent.’

The Lighting Design Awards will feature 14 categories, including the prestigious Lighting Designer of the Year, which in 2015 was won by Tim Downey of StudioFRACTAL, winner of the Public Buildings and Exterior categories with Heathrow T2 and King’s Cross respectively.

New categories for 2016 include Light Art Project of the Year, Integration Project of the Year, Lighting Design Practice of the Year and Architect of the Year.

Organisers are expecting 900 designers, suppliers and lighting professionals to attend the awards ceremony at the London Hilton Park Lane on Thursday 5 May.

The Lighting Design Awards is supported by the SLL, the ILP

and the IALD. Sponsors include Anolis (Community and Public Realm), Robe (International Project of the Year – Exterior), Precision Lighting (Hotels and Restaurants), Lumenpulse (aftershow party) and Linea Light. iGuzzini is sponsor of the social media relating to the event.

For more information or to book a place or table, please visit www.lightingawards.com

Phil Coffey

Ben Adams

Steven Scott

Heathrow T2, the 2015 Public Buildings award winner by lighting designer of the year Tim Downey of StudioFRACTAL

Margaret Maile Petty

2016

13-18 March

Light and Building

Venue: Messe Frankfurt

http://light-building.messefrankfurt.com

19 March

Junior Ready Steady Light (SLL event)

Venue: Rose Bruford College, Sidcup, Kent www.sll.org.uk

22 March

Ready Steady Light (SLL event)

Venue: Rose Bruford College, Sidcup, Kent www.sll.org.uk

31 March

SLL Masterclass

Inside Out: Lighting and Architecture

Location: Belfast

6-9 April

Hong Kong International Lighting Fair

Venue: Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre www.hktdc.com

13 April

SLL Masterclass

Inside Out: Lighting and Architecture

Location: Edinburgh www.sll.org.uk

13-14 April

LuxLive Middle East

Venue: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre http://luxlive.ae

14-15 April

CIBSE Technical Symposium

Venue: Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh www.cibse.org/Technical-Symposium-2016

21 April

Lightscene: Smart Cities and the Internet of Things (Organised by the ILP)

Venue: Stadium of Light, Sunderland jo@theilp.org.uk

5 May

Lighting Design Awards

Venue: London Hilton, Park Lane http://awards.lighting.co.uk

19 May

SLL AGM and Awards

Venue: TBC www.sll.org.uk

24-26 May

Smart Lighting 2016

Venue: Milan Marriott Hotel, Milan www.smartlighting.org

13-18 March: Light and Building, Frankfurt

26 May

SLL Masterclass

Inside Out: Lighting and Architecture

Location: The Royal Society, London www.sll.org.uk

9-12 June

Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition

Venue: China Import and Export Fair Complex

www.lightstrade.com/exhibition/

15-16 June

Professional Lighting Summit

(Organised by the ILP)

Venue: The Waterfront Hotel, Brighton jess@theilp.org.uk

13-15 October

IALD Enlighten Americas

Venue: Sheraton Buganvilias Resort and Convention Center, Puerto Vallarta Jalisco, Mexico www.iald.org

9 November

Fundamental Lighting Course

(Organised by the ILP)

Venue: Regent House, Rugby jo@theilp.org.uk

13-15 November

IALD Enlighten Europe

Venue: Prague Marriott Hotel, Prague www.iald.org

23-24 November

LuxLive and lightspace dot London

Venue: ExCel, London http://luxlive.co.uk

Lighting Masterclasses: Masterclasses are kindly sponsored by Philips, Thorn, Trilux and Xicato. For venues and booking details : www.sll.cibse.org

LET Diploma: advanced qualifcation by distance learning. Details from www.lightingeducationtrust.org or email LET@cibse.org

Mid Career College: the college runs various courses across the whole spectrum of lighting and at sites across the UK. Full details at www.cibsetraining.co.uk/mcc

LIA courses: details from Sarah Lavell, 01952 290905, or email training@thelia.org.uk

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