Lighting Design In An Accessible Dwelling

Most dwellings are lit to look good in photographs. A supported dwelling is lit so somebody can move through it safely at three in the morning.

Those two briefs produce different plans, and the difference is set long before the fitout.

Even light, not bright light

The problem in most homes is contrast rather than quantity. A bright pool of light beside a dark corner is harder to navigate than a lower, consistent level across the whole room.

For a resident with low vision, that contrast is a trip hazard. For a resident with a sensory sensitivity, a bright downlight in the field of view is distressing.

So the plan spreads the light. More fittings at lower output, positioned away from the direct line of sight when seated and when lying in bed, and diffused rather than pointed.

Task areas get their own light

Even general lighting is the base. The places where somebody does something precise need more.

The kitchen bench, under the overhead cupboards rather than above the person's head so they are not working in their own shadow. The bathroom mirror, lit from both sides rather than from directly above. A desk or a hobby area. A laundry bench.

Which means the lighting plan follows the joinery plan, and the two are drawn together rather than in sequence. The kitchen layout decides where the light goes, as set out in [kitchens and joinery in a factory build](/blog/kitchens-and-joinery-in-a-factory-build).

Night orientation

The route from the bed to the bathroom is the single highest risk path in the dwelling, and it is travelled in the dark by somebody half awake.

Low level lighting along that path, either permanently on at a very low output or triggered by motion, removes most of the risk. It has to be low enough not to wake the resident fully and bright enough to define the floor, the doorway and the threshold.

The alternative, which is what happens without a plan, is a resident reaching for a main light switch that floods the room and then walking back into darkness.

Controls that can actually be used

A light is only accessible if the switch is.

Which means height within the reach range, position beside the doorway on the approach side rather than behind the door swing, a plate large enough to be operated with a closed hand or an elbow, and a contrast between the plate and the wall so it can be seen.

Two way switching on any path somebody travels in both directions, so they are never walking into a dark room or leaving a lit one behind them. The detail on this sits with [switches, outlets and reach ranges](/blog/switches-outlets-and-reach-ranges).

Where the resident uses assistive technology, the lighting is a controllable circuit rather than only a manual switch, which connects to [assistive technology in supported accommodation](/blog/assistive-technology-in-supported-accommodation).

Colour temperature and flicker

Two specifications that are rarely written down and matter here.

A warmer colour temperature in living and sleeping spaces supports a normal sleep pattern. A neutral temperature in bathrooms and task areas gives better colour rendering for grooming and medication.

And flicker, which is invisible to most people and is a genuine trigger for some residents with neurological conditions. Driver quality is a specification rather than a cost item, and a cheap dimmable fitting at low output is where flicker usually appears.

Emergency and support staff needs

A supported dwelling has people in it who are not the resident.

Which means light at the entry for arrival at night, light in any plant or services area that staff access, and light levels in corridors and egress paths that satisfy the requirements covered in [emergency egress in supported accommodation](/blog/emergency-egress-in-supported-accommodation).

Why it is a factory decision

Lighting is wired before the linings go on. A fitting moved after that is a lining removed, a ceiling patched and a finish that no longer matches.

Which is why the lighting plan is resolved in the design stages rather than on site, and why the resident's specific needs have to be known before fabrication begins. Changing it later is the situation described in [changing a design after fabrication starts](/blog/changing-a-design-after-fabrication-starts).

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MADEmodular / MADEbetter.