On one hand, hospitals are places of care, intervention, and emergency; on the other, they are workplaces hosting professionals with specific needs. Hospital lighting, therefore, requires solutions that can meet the necessities of both patients and staff, while ensuring maximum efficiency at the same time.

To regulate such a complex context, legislators have established precise requirements that technological innovations are now able to meet, while also supporting the goal of reducing energy consumption.

What characteristics must hospital lighting have?

As mentioned above, hospital lighting must meet the necessities and requests of three types of users:

  • hospital staff – doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants, administrative personnel, management, and more
  • patients under treatment;
  • visitors, including patients’ relatives and friends.

Just as the population that frequents a hospital is diverse, so too are their lighting needs. This is why the list of requirements included in the regulations for hospital lighting is extensive:

  • prevent visual fatigue and promote concentration;
  • ensure fast and comfortable reading speed;
  • allow all users – staff, patients, and visitors – to move safely within the facility;
  • reduce patient disorientation or delirium;
  • in certain settings, luminaires design must ensure hygiene, washability, and resistance to cleaners and disinfectants;
  • prevent glare;
  • guarantee accurate colour rendering, essential in areas such as operating rooms or diagnostic facilities where precise tissue identification is critical;
  • ensure optimal and sustainable use of energy, with a focus on reducing consumption.

No longer merely places where patients’ illnesses are treated, hospitals are increasingly becoming environments that offer patients something beyond disease management: well-being. High-quality lighting is one of the key elements that contribute to creating it.

As highlighted in a valuable study on hospital lighting comfort and well-being, research has shown that “light affects not only the visual system but the entire state of health, meaning the complete physical, mental, and social well-being”. It is with this goal in mind that hospital lighting should be designed, adopting a holistic approach with the needs of everyone who uses healthcare facilities at its core.

Regulatory framework for hospital lighting

The reference regulation for hospital lighting is UNI EN 12464-1:2021 – already cited in our articles on school and office lighting – which covers indoor workplace lighting requirements. It specifies technical lighting standards for each individual area within healthcare facilities, from corridors to operating theaters.

UNI EN 12464-1:2021 defines, for each space:

  • the average illuminance (Em), expressed in lux (lx).  
  • the discomfort glare, assessed using the CIE Unified Glare Rating (UGR) method.  
  • the colour rendering index (Ra), indicating how accurately a lighting device reproduces colours in the environment.

In some cases, regulations on hospital lighting also address correlated colour temperature (CCT) – the apparent colour of light expressed in kelvin (K). It indicates whether a light has a warmer (with values ​​below 3000 K), neutral (from 3300 to 5300 K) or cold (over 5300 K) tone.

For example, in rooms where activities involve color assessment for diagnostic or analytical purposes – such as dental clinics where patients’ tooth color is examined, or autopsy rooms – the color temperature should exceed 6,000 K, producing a very bright, almost pure white light.

Technology supporting hospital lighting

With new lighting solutions that are increasingly efficient, versatile, and connected, today market offers technologies that are capable of fully meeting legal requirements for hospital lighting, as well as the needs of patients, staff, and visitors.

Healthcare lighting now embodies a human-centric approach that prioritizes people’s well-being and supports medical staff performances, offering tailored solutions based on expert lighting consultancy to determine the best options for each environment.

With the support of technology, hospital lighting can be designed to be sustainable, energy-efficient, and supportive of work, rest, and recovery within the care facilities.