In September 2021, DMD staff undertook testing of cobra style luminaires in our warehouse facility with the goal being to assess various LED luminaire products with respect to discomfort glare. Discomfort glare is not well defined and is often the source of complaints from local residents located off the roadway. To this end, the IES has developed the Discomfort Glare in Night-Time Environments Committee of industry experts (of which DMD are a part of) to assess methods to both define and measure discomfort glare. The testing included luminous intensity measurements using a specially designed meter to measure actual candela levels. The point of this testing was to define differences in optical systems for various suppliers’ products as viewed on and off the roadways. Luminaires were mounted at 8m and measurements taken at four locations in a dark area. In addition, luminance and illuminance measurements were taken along with a visual rating from 1 to 7. Results were presented to the IES Discomfort Glare in Night-Time Environments Committee. Results showed some differences in various products and also showed luminous intensity measurements generally correlated with visual rating.
