Facility Design and Build,Lighting

Animal facility lighting must consider both animal and personnel health and safety.

Is the lighting in your animal facility functioning the way you want it to? Was the system well thought out when it was originally designed? Has it been evaluated recently? The lighting industry is constantly changing and bringing new products to market. With so many new products available, there may be an easy way to remedy existing shortcomings, or to improve the lighting system flexibility.

The best lighting schemes are developed when the husbandry staff and an experienced lighting designer with a thorough understanding of animal facilities work together as a team. This is important. A lighting designer who is familiar with vivaria will know what questions to ask. By asking questions, the lighting designer should not only discover how your facility is currently operating, but also discover any existing difficulties you are experiencing, or plans you have for the future. You bring to the table the knowledge of how your facility needs to operate, and the lighting designer will bring knowledge of lighting principles, illumination calculation methods, and lighting equipment. Your lighting designer should be able to explain what options are available, and how the choices you make will affect the finished space. Lighting designers should also have a thorough understanding of how the human eye responds to light. This is helpful in trying to better predict how various animal species will react to light. Why is this so important? Illumination levels need to be adequate for vision and for the neuro-endocrine regulation of diurnal and circadian cycles.

There are illumination level standards established by the IESNA (Illuminating Engineering Society of North America) and the NIH, using research and collaboration for almost all room types, including rodent holding rooms. However, rodents are not the only animals that research facilities house. Research that set the standards for rodent illumination was conducted using albino rats, as they are the most susceptible to phototoxic retinopathy.¹ The NIH animal facility guidelines and AAALAC standards for lighting illumination levels are based on this research. It found that rodent holding rooms should have an average maintained illumination level of 30 footcandles, as measured one meter above finished floor in an empty room. Up to 37 footcandles is acceptable with proper cage management. If your facility houses other animal species, then you are the expert the lighting designer needs to meet with in order to develop the lighting performance criteria.

Spectral sensitivity of human rods and cones
(Source: Bowmaker & Dartnell, 1980 as provided by New Buildings Institute)