This is a legacy version of the WELL Building Standard. Please check the latest version here.

Light

Light

The WELL Building Standard™ (WELL) provides guidelines that minimize disruption to the body’s circadian system, enhance productivity, support good sleep quality and provide appropriate visual acuity.

Background

Light is a visible form of electromagnetic radiation, bordered in the spectrum by ultraviolet radiation at smaller wavelengths and infrared at larger wavelengths. Current lighting codes and guidelines provide illuminance recommendations for different room types, derived from usual lighting requirements for typical activities per room. These standards, created by technical groups such as Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), ensure good visual acuity in a variety of tasks to avoid eyestrain and to minimize productivity losses and headaches.

Light enters the eye and hits photoreceptors on the retina: rods, cones and intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs). All of these cells absorb light and...read more