How to: light with wall luminaires

This article takes you through general considerations when using a wall luminaire (sometimes called a wall pack), the subtle differences between wall luminaires and bulkheads and provides a quick checklist on when you should use each one.

Let’s take a closer look at wall mounted luminaires in general. The position of a wall luminaire means that by their nature lighting designs should be more human-centric and closely follow the principles of design for people. Key factors that need to be considered include; colour temperature (CCT), mounting height, glare, addressing the lighting task and vandalism.

Colour temperature

Due to the types of applications and lower mounting heights wall luminaires are installed in, including - perimeter walls around buildings, footpaths and pathways, railways stations and car parks, wherever possible, human centric lighting with a colour temperature of 3000K or lower is recommended.

Which mounting height?

In a typical lighting scheme, a wall product is generally mounted at 3m high, however, mounting heights can range from 3m to 6m.

Managing glare

In all schemes, luminaires should be selected carefully. Bulkheads have little to no optical control, whereas wall mounted luminaires generally have a choice of application-specific optics.

Ensure that products are installed in a location that will reduce spill light and keep glare to a minimum.  For environmentally sensitive areas or areas where neighbouring properties are a consideration, precision optics will minimise the upward spread of light near to and above the horizontal. A ULOR of 0% is recommended.

Meeting the demands of the task

Consider light levels and spacing. Unlike street lighting there are a different set of criteria which govern the light levels required and spacings. These can be subjective and open to the scheme’s interpretation, building design and lighting task.

Vandalism

Wall luminaires are accessible and let’s face it, even the nicest of areas can be prone to acts of vandalism. Specifying a product with a high IK rating is therefore advisable.

So far both a bulkhead and wall luminaire can tick these boxes to varying degrees. A noticeable differentiator is if they can meet the BREEAM criteria.

BREEAM

The Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), published by the Building Research Establishment (BRE), is the world’s first sustainability assessment method for buildings. A credit-based system is used to arrive at a level of certification ranging from pass to outstanding. This considers internal and external lighting, which is measured on efficacy and lack of light pollution – here a wall luminaire can tick more boxes than your average bulkhead.

BREEAM New Construction 2018 (UK)

2 External light fittings within the construction zone with:

2.a: Average initial luminous efficacy of not less than 70 luminaire lumens per circuit Watt

2.b: Automatic control to prevent operation during daylight hours

2.c: Presence detection in areas of intermittent pedestrian traffic

So how do you choose between a bulkhead and a wall luminaire? See how you score against the criteria below: