Lighting for Homes and Communities

Communities are shaped by the balance between human needs—such as safety, comfort, and identity—and natural resources, including plants, animals, and the night sky. Different spaces, from homes and parks to roadways and commercial properties, require tailored lighting solutions. The IES provides a range of resources, including webinars, recommendations, and standards, to support both professional designers and the public in making informed lighting decisions. Below are some of those resources.

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Section Directory - IES

Residential Environments
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Lighting is an important part of a home's function and character - and impacts families, work, and play. A residential design guide for lighting methods, equipment, energy use, and code considerations: Recommended Practice: Lighting for Interior and Exterior Residential Environments

Lighting Exterior Applications
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A guide for pedestrian-oriented illumination recommendations for the reassurance, safety, comfort, amenity, and enjoyment of people in outdoor environments. Recommended Practice: Lighting Exterior Applications

Lighting Roadways
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A design guideline for lighting roadways and parking lots considering visibility and safety for vehicles and pedestrians. Recommended Practice: Lighting for Roadway and Parking Facilities

Landscape Lighting
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Well-designed outdoor spaces of any size can serve as gathering space. Learn ways lighting enhances our enjoyment of the textures, colors, and depth within landscapes. Recommended Practice: Landscape Lighting

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How much light we need to complete tasks, enjoy hobbies, and navigate spaces varies. Through IES committees, lighting professionals have accumulated thousands of lighting recommendations. The Illuminance Selector provides light levels, uniformity goals, details to consider for application-specific lighting. With a quick search function, find info easily:
The Illuminance Selector

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The IES believes in the Five Principles to light communities responsibly, with a balance of necessary darkness and thoughtful lighting design. Care can be taken to mitigate the negative impacts of light at night at night including skyglow, glare, and excess energy use. Refer to IES standards for more information. 

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When Security Is an Issue

Security lighting is intended to protect people, property, and vital infrastructure from criminal and terroristic activities. Lighting for safety is intended to provide secure working conditions, secure passage, and identification of hazards or obstructions. This document addresses security illumination but does not give advice on technical construction practices. The objective is to provide guidance for designing security lighting systems for new facilities and for evaluation and retrofitting of existing facilities and systems in response to known or perceived threats. This publication is for the use of property owners and managers, crime prevention specialists, law enforcement and security professionals, risk managers, lighting specifiers, contractors, homeowners, and those responsible for the protection of critical infrastructure who are concerned about security and the detection of crime. Guide for Security Lighting for People, Property and Critical Infrastructure

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Our eyes change as we age. In this guide learn about lighting exterior pathways, making house numbers easy to read, lighting your garage - then head indoors for family rooms, kitchens, bathrooms and more. 
Free download!

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