Lux Level Chart: Recommended Illuminance by Application

This chart answers the first question in almost every lighting project: how many lux does each space need? The values follow EN 12464-1 practice (indoor workplaces) as commonly applied in export quotations, rounded to the levels buyers and consultants actually write into tenders. Use it to set a maintained illuminance target per room, then convert that target into fixture quantities with the lumen method shown below. Treat every figure as a typical planning value — the standard itself allows ranges depending on task detail, occupant age and safety requirements.

Recommended lux levels by application

Values follow EN 12464-1 as commonly quoted in export tenders; they are typical planning figures, not a substitute for the standard or a project-specific design. Roads and outdoor areas follow EN 13201 luminance classes instead — see our street light spacing guide.

How to read the table

Maintained lux is the average illuminance the installation must still deliver at the end of the maintenance cycle — after lumen depreciation, dirt and lamp failures. Quoting a brand-new reading against a maintained target is the most common way layouts fail acceptance two years later. Uniformity U0 is minimum-to-average illuminance; a space can hit its average and still read patchy if U0 collapses. Both numbers belong in the tender, together with the measurement height: working plane 0.75 m for offices, floor level for circulation and storage.

From lux target to fixture count

The lumen method converts a target into quantities: N = (E x A) / (F x UF x MF), where E is target lux, A the area, F the lumen output per fixture, UF the utilisation factor (typically 0.6-0.85 depending on room geometry and optics) and MF the maintenance factor (typically 0.8). Worked example: a 500 m² warehouse zone at 200 lx using 15,000 lm high bays with UF 0.8 and MF 0.8 needs (200 x 500) / (15,000 x 0.64) = 10.4, rounded up to 12 fixtures in a 4 x 3 grid — then checked for spacing against mounting height, as covered in our high bay spacing guide.

Practical cautions

• Do not design to the top of every range. Overspecified lux wastes energy and can breach the project's own lighting-power-density limits; 300 lx done well often reads better than 500 lx done flat.
• Lux and CCT are independent. A 500 lx office at 6500K is not "more correct" than at 4000K — colour temperature follows mood and branding, not the illuminance target.
• Verify with a meter after installation. Grid measurements every 1-2 m on the working plane, averaged, are what consultants accept as proof of maintained lux.
• Sensors change the numbers. Daylight harvesting and occupancy dimming are commissioned against the maintained target, so the full-output reading should sit 10-20% above it.
• Emergency modes differ. Escape routes follow their own minimums (typically 1 lx along the centre line) — a normal-layout chart does not cover them.

Fixtures that hit these targets

Most of the table is covered by three product families. Office, school and healthcare values map to panels and low-glare downlights in our office lighting range; warehouse and workshop values map to UFO and linear high bays under warehouse lighting; retail and hospitality values are delivered by track spots and downlights from the retail lighting line. Send the lux targets per room and the layout team returns a dialux-verified fixture schedule with quantities and a FOB quotation.