NC ENERGY CONSERVATION CODE CHAPTER 805 INTERIOR LIGHTING CONTROLS CHANGE UPDATE

On January 1, 2007, the NC Building Code enacted some rather startling lighting changes.  The changes effect both the lighting levels as well as the controls for light fixtures.  The code changes effect every type of building with the exception of dwelling units (apartments, condos, residences, and the guest rooms in a hotel).  The changes that affect lighting controls (switching) can be summarized as follows:

All rooms will require two lighting levels (i.e. two switches), unless there is only one light fixture in the room.  This has been a standard design practice for a long time,  but now it is a requirement for all rooms.  In addition to this, the real item you need to watch out for is that if a building area (the size of the area being renovated) exceeds 5,000 square feet, then an automatic control system has to be provided to shut off all lighting on a scheduled basis.  Along with this control system a user override switch has to be provided for each area of lighting, with the override not lasting more than 2 hours.  To simplify this, if you have a 6,000 square foot building (or an equivalent size upfit in a much larger building), then a control system has to be in place to turn on the lights at, say 7:00am and turn them off at 7:00pm on weekdays.  If an employee comes back at 9:00pm, then he or she needs to have a switch going into the open office area which will turn on the lights for up to 2 hours.  They will then walk to their own individual office and turn on the light switch in their office.  After 2 hours, the lights go out and the individual has to get up and go turn them on again.

The exception to this requirement is the addition of motion, or occupancy sensors.  If occupancy sensors are installed in an individual room, then the multiple lighting level requirement is not needed (although we recommend it as a good design practive).  If occupancy sensors are located in all areas of the building, then the lighting control system is not required.  There are exceptions to these requirements, but they are mostly common sense.  You do not need controls to meet these requirements in common corridors, stairways, toilets, security areas, patient care areas, or storage type rooms.

One additional thing that the design community needs to be aware of: there are more items on a ceiling than ever before:  motion sensors, daylight sensors, fire alarm audio/visual devices, lights, diffusers, smoke detectors, etc.  Care must be taken to coordinate all these devices between the different engineering disciplines and the architect.  There are more ways than ever to make a design mistake!