ALD Releases Explanatory Guide To Make Clear Devastating Consequences Of New Lighting Regulations For All Show Lighting

The UK’s Association of Lighting Designers (ALD), as part of its Save Stage Lighting Campaign that is warning of the devastating effects the proposed EU 2020 Lighting regulations would have on production lighting, has today released a clear, concise guide to those regulations.

 

‘The Proposed 2020 EU Lighting Regulations - A Primer’ collects a great deal of relevant information about the existing regulations (EU1194/2012), the regulations proposed for September 2020 as part of the EU’s Ecodesign Working Plan 2016-2019, and the key differences between them together in one place. It can be found online here:

https://www.ald.org.uk/resources/the-proposed-2020-eu-lighting-regulations-a-primer

 

In particular the Primer makes it clear that the effects of these new regulations will not just be on tungsten lighting, as was supposed early on and still seems to be assumed by many, but rather on practically all specialist lighting fixtures used for show lighting, whether tungsten, arc or LED. Worse, manufacturers do not expect to be able to make many types of fixtures that do meet the new standards in time, if at all, because of limitations imposed by physics and optical design.

 

“The deeper you read into these proposed regulations, the more alarming the threat becomes,” comments multiple award winning lighting designer Paule Constable, a member of the ALD’s Save Stage Lighting campaign. “The new rules are clearly written for domestic and industrial lighting, and while the goal of reduced energy consumption is of course laudable, they show no understanding of the tools we use or the way we work. If implemented as written, the effect will be devastating for show lighting not just in the UK but across Europe, not just for new shows but for existing shows and shows that return  in rep, not just for big theatres but for venues and performances of all types, scales and sizes. We thought this was about tungsten; it’s not about tungsten. It’s about an imminent threat to every tool we use. You should know about it, and you should start doing something about it. This Primer will give you the information to let you do both.”

 

ALD members will receive a paper copy of the Primer with the forthcoming issue of the ALD’s Focus magazine. But everyone, ALD members or not, can read more about the Save Stage Lighting Campaign and immediately download the Primer from the ALD website:
https://www.ald.org.uk/resources/savestagelighting

 

The ALD is also encouraging everyone to read the ‘Call to Arms’ that trade association PLASA has issued to its members explaining the situation here:

 http://www.plasa.org/img/ECO-Design-regulations-call-to-arms.pdf

 

The ALD website also includes information about further action individuals can take, including contacting their MP and MEP to ensure that they are aware of the situation and also calling for the EU to exempt stage and performance lighting equipment from these regulations.