(Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
(Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
(Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
(Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
(Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

NEMA Voices Comments on AMA Guidelines

June 28, 2016
NEMA raised serious concerns, particularly regarding the AMA recommendation encouraging the use of 3000K correlated color temperature (CCT) or lower.
(Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) said the American Medical Association’s recent community guidance on LED outdoor lighting is generally aligned with lighting manufacturers’ long-standing recommendations on how to safely and efficiently design light for night. Lighting manufacturers support using lighting control options such as motion or dusk-to-dawn sensors, shielding the light source to curtail excessive uplight, sidelight and glare, and designing for the minimum light levels and energy necessary for the task.

However with regard to further recommendations made by the AMA regarding the spectral content of outdoor lighting installations, NEMA raised serious concerns, particularly regarding the AMA recommendation encouraging the use of 3000K correlated color temperature (CCT) or lower, which NEMA says may compromise the ability of the lighting system to meet all critical design criteria for each unique application.

“NEMA agrees that spectral content should be one factor in effective lighting for outdoor installations. However, a single solution is simply not appropriate for all situations,” said an NEMA release. Outdoor lighting systems will vary depending on the application and local conditions.  “Tradeoffs in the considerations of visibility, environmental impacts, energy efficiency, cost, personal safety and security need to be optimized, which cannot be achieved with a single solution.”

NEMA said it will issue additional technical guidance specific to the issues and tradeoffs related to the spectral content of lighting solutions, and offered to work with AMA to further research the complexities of night lighting.

“ We are committed to science-based improvements to night lighting so that people the world over can safely and efficiently enjoy the extension of their living space as well as the beauty of the nighttime natural world,” NEMA said in conclusion.