ABSTRACT
Even though codes can sometimes seem unnecessary or too complicated, they’re not an impediment to good lighting design. Lighting energy use is now a much smaller part of total energy use, but it has one unique characteristic – it’s the most visible use of energy. Successfully meeting the challenges of climate change starts in the home, where we can control our energy use and carbon emissions. Choose lighting first for beauty, health, functional reasons, then meet code. Understanding energy code requirements in residential lighting (even if you’re not always strictly required to meet certain efficiency standards) will allow you to design with both energy efficiency and high quality of light in mind. For the informed designer these are entirely compatible goals.
