A duo of new standards and recommended practices pertaining to roadway and area lighting has been published by the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA).
The first of these recent releases is the IES’s RP-8-14, Recommended Practice for Roadway Lighting. A revision to the exiting RP document, the update, which addresses design issues only, not construction processes, focuses on “fixed lighting for roadways, and streets, including pedestrian and adjacent bikeways when associated with the public right-of-way.” The document was authored by the IES Roadway Committee in order to respond to the changing nature of how we use public roadways at night, the increase in volume and speed of traffic, and nighttime lighting safety issues. The document is available for purchase online from the IES store.
Another document offering technical guidance is NEMA’s ANSI C136.40-2014, American National Standard for Roadway and Area Lighting Equipment – Solar Lighting Systems. This document, also a revision to an existing reference, sets forth the electrical and mechanical requirements for standalone solar-type lighting systems used for roadway and area lighting applications. ANSI C136.40-2014 specifically addresses “the relationship between the energy produced by the solar module(s), stored by the battery(s), and consumed by the lighting.” The document also reflects additional updates as they pertain to industry practices in solar lighting systems. The document is available for purchase on the NEMA website.
