What’s the Unified Glare Rating (UGR)?

If you want to know how likely a luminaire is to cause discomfort to those around it, UGR rating will help you to do it. UGR or Unified Glare Rating is a method used to calculate the glare caused by luminaires. The classification ranges from 5 to 14 with the lower numbers indicating lower levels of glare.

The UGR calculation method helps lighting designers create lighting schemes in a way so that they avoid any discomfort of misplaced light. Unified Glare Rating is an indicative rating for glare based on direct sets of circumstances in lit environments. For example, offices, businesses, and streets.

Why UGR is an important factor in the lighting industry?

Lighting can have a big impact on employee comfort and health, particularly when it comes to glare stemming from more than one competing light source. Glare is a common problem in workplaces. Inappropriate lighting causes excessive brightness which reflects in surfaces such as computer screens, whiteboards, windows, etc. It may cause disruption for people like headaches and eye trouble. Calculating the UGR and designing the lighting with it in mind, helps reduce these glare-related troubles.

How can you get the correct UGR?

There are two methods to reduce the glare: use luminaires with UGR< 19 ratings, to ensure that the lighting design is appropriate for the environment in which they are going to be used, and the correct number and position of luminaires.

The wrong luminaires can cause excessive brightness emitting from the light fitting itself or from reflective surfaces. It is essential to have the correct balance in brightness and glare when designing the lighting. By selecting the right luminaire, the reflector and degree beam options, angling, as well as the correct wattage, we are able to keep glare at a minimum and create the right environment.

Unified Glare Rating is calculated by using an equation that takes into account a number of factors. Here are three factors that must be taken into account:

1. The beam angle of the luminaires
2. The luminance value (lumen output)
3. The viewpoint at which the user is located

What determines UGR?

There are a number of factors that determine UGR value including shape and size of space, surface brightness of the walls, ceiling, floor, and large areas. It is important to choose the correct luminaire for your environment to avoid discomfort.

In conclusion: We can eliminate side effects of annoying glare from the lighting with the methods explained above. When we are choosing the lights it is very important that we know where we will put them and how much illumination we need in the room and working places. At RLUX our designers and engineers have upgraded our products to DLC 5.1 standards and qualifying the latest UGR levels to give you an amazing experience with our LED light products. Take a look at our products for your current project requirements from the link https://rlux.in/product and contact us on info@rlux.in for more details.