Cibse releases lighting version of TM65
A special lighting version of Cibse’s Technical Memorandum 65 has been released.
The lighting edition of TM65 – a widely-accepted metric for measuring embodied carbon – includse new materials, special definitions and acronyms from the lighting sector and product case studies from 18 luminaire manufacturers.
CIBSE TM65.2 ‘Embodied carbon in Lighting Equipment’ makes it easier and quicker do measure the embodied carbon in lighting equipment. There will also be a web-based calculator tool.
It will complement TM66, the CIbse standard for measuring the circularity of a luminaire.
Although both TM65 and TM66 are self-certification standards, a number of organisations are believed to be planning independent verification services.
TM66 itself will be expanded in the coming months to include information for facility managers, and more details on emergency lighting and control equipment.
TM66 co-author Kristina Allison of Cibse’s Society of Light and Lighting says the new TM65 for lighting will help designers, specifiers, engineers and manufacturers better understand embodied carbon in lighting equipment.
Allison says the publication ’speaks to the lighting industry.
‘It focuses on embodied carbon from a lighting perspective,’ says Allison. ‘It includes product construction, the use phase and its end of life.
‘Remember, it’s not a life cycle analysis but gives a very reasonable assumption of the amount of embodied carbon equivalent within a luminaire or lighting equipment.’
The document is designed to enable lighting designers, specifiers, lighting engineers and manufacturers to understand the amount of embodied carbon that a light fitting contains.
Lighting designers and engineers need to understand the embodied carbon within the systems they design and the products they specify, so that informed choices can be made beyond just operational carbon emissions. This information can then be used to guide the choice of lights used for a project or independently for product analysis.
The luminaire data generated by using this tool can be used to inform the lighting design’s contribution of embodied CO2 equivalent (ECO2e) emissions for buildings.
This information is also of use to architects and sustainability teams during key construction stages — from early design, to construction and closing-out — to demonstrate and confirm that project objectives and targets are being met with a clear line of sight to delivering strategic requirements.
TM65.2 does not aim to replace Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), but rather it allows initial conservative embodied carbon estimations for luminaires and lighting equipment to be made while waiting for EPDs to become available.
The document was written by Kristina Allison (Atkins Global) (project lead), Dr Irene Mazzei (Stoane Lighting/Edinburgh Napier University) (technical lead), Jonathan Rush (Hoare Lea Lighting) and Simon Fisher (F Mark/Recolight).
• Don’t miss Circular Lighting Live 2023, Recolight’s flagship conference and exhibition taking place on Thursday 21 September 2023 at the Royal College of Physicians in London. Free to specifiers, Circular Lighting Live 2023 will feature leading experts, specifiers and policy makers who will share their insights into forthcoming standards and legislation, emerging technologies and new business models. For 2023, the organisers have moved to a bigger venue with more expansive exhibition floor and included a dedicated track for lighting designers. More info: www.circularlighting.live
