January 2022 | Vol. 27 No.1

by Ann Brandstadter, Manager, Standards Publishing and Marketing, NEMA

White Paper on Unified Glare Rating (UGR) (NEMA LS 20001-2021) is a new white paper that explains the original intent of Unified Glare Ratio (UGR), its proper uses, and common misuses.

Unified Glare Rating (UGR) is one of the few lighting metrics that practitioners use to model and design appropriate lighting to meet application and task visual needs. In the hands of a competent lighting designer, UGR can provide insight into visual comfort expectations when included as part of a complete lighting design because it incorporates room layout, luminaire layout, the task being performed, and surface reflectance.

“Glare is an important topic for all lighting manufacturers,” said Jeremy Yon, Task Force Chair and Industry Relations Leader at GE Current, a Daintree company. “Through careful research of the historical creation of the UGR calculations, in this paper, we were able to highlight the benefits for lighting professionals to carefully incorporate full-application UGR as a way of approximating visual comfort impacts as part of their overall lighting design.”

The audience for this paper includes lighting designers, luminaire manufacturers, and luminaire specifiers.

NEMA LS 20001-2021 is available for download at no cost on the NEMA website.

Other recently published standards:

• Physical Interface of Luminaire-Integrated Control Devices (NEMA LS 20000-2021) is available at no cost.
• Lithium-Ion Battery Fires Guidance Document (NEMA BS 30000-2021) is available for $53.
• Composite Insulators Guy Insulator Type (Uncoated or Painted Type) (NEMA C29.14b-2021) is available for $56.
• American National Standard for Roadway and Area Lighting Equipment—Metering Performance Requirements for LED Drivers with Integral Energy Measurement (ANSI C136.52-2021) is available for $70.