Aged care lighting is more complicated than most commercial work. You’re dealing with vulnerable residents, 24-hour operations, strict regulations, and an emerging evidence base about how light affects elderly health.

I’ve worked on several aged care LED upgrades. Here’s what I’ve learned about doing them well.

The Regulatory Framework

Aged care facilities in Australia must meet the Aged Care Quality Standards. Standard 5 covers the service environment, including lighting adequacy.

Beyond the quality standards, you’re typically dealing with:

• AS/NZS 1680 series for interior lighting
• AS/NZS 2293 for emergency lighting
• Building Code of Australia requirements
• State-specific regulations for residential care

But the quality standards go beyond minimum lux levels. They expect environments that support independence, safety, and wellbeing. That’s where lighting design becomes more nuanced.

Vision Changes With Age

Before specifying anything, understand how vision changes for elderly residents:

Reduced light reaching the retina: By age 70, most people need 2-3 times more light than at age 20 for the same visual task.

Increased glare sensitivity: Cataracts and other age-related changes make glare more problematic, even while needing more light overall.

Reduced contrast sensitivity: Distinguishing objects from backgrounds becomes harder. Colour contrast and lighting uniformity matter more.

Slower adaptation: Moving between light and dark areas causes prolonged visual difficulties.

Reduced blue light sensitivity: This affects circadian rhythm response (more on this later).

These factors mean aged care lighting must be simultaneously brighter, more glare-controlled, and more uniform than typical commercial lighting.

Practical Illumination Levels

I typically recommend significantly higher levels than standard commercial:

Corridors and circulation: 200-300 lux at floor level (versus 100-150 in typical commercial)

Common areas and dining: 400-500 lux at table height

Resident rooms: 300+ lux for general, 500+ lux for reading tasks

Bathrooms: 400+ lux, carefully designed for low glare

Staff work areas: Standard commercial levels (but with excellent colour rendering for clinical tasks)

These levels sound high. They are. But the evidence supports higher light levels for elderly vision.

Glare Control Is Essential

Here’s the tension: elderly residents need more light but are more sensitive to glare. You can’t just add lumens without attention to glare.

Fitting selection: Choose fittings with good glare control—diffused panels, indirect lighting, proper shielding. Avoid exposed lamps.

UGR specifications: Aim for UGR below 19 in living areas. Below 16 is better if achievable.

Vertical surfaces: Illuminate walls and ceilings to reduce contrast with fittings. This softens the overall visual environment.

Avoid extremes: No very bright areas next to very dark areas. Uniformity matters.

Window treatment: Consider how daylight enters and how artificial lighting interacts with windows. Glare from windows is also an issue.

Circadian Lighting: The Evidence

There’s growing evidence that light affects elderly residents’ sleep quality, mood, and cognitive function through circadian pathways—the body’s internal clock.

The basic principle: bright, blue-enriched light during the day signals “daytime” to the body. Warm, dimmer light in the evening signals “nighttime.”

For elderly residents, especially those with dementia, this natural signalling can be disrupted. Spending time indoors with inadequate daytime light and bright evening light confuses the circadian system.

Emerging best practice:

• High light levels (500+ lux) with cooler colour temperatures (4000-5000K) in common areas during daytime
• Transition to warmer, dimmer lighting in evening (2700-3000K, reduced levels)
• Minimal disturbance lighting at night for safety without stimulation

Tunable White Implementation

Tunable white LED systems allow colour temperature adjustment. This enables circadian-aligned lighting—cool and bright during the day, warm and dim in the evening.

The appeal: One fitting handles both conditions. Scheduling can automate the transition.

The reality: Tunable white fittings cost more. Control complexity increases. Not all products deliver adequate output at both extremes of their range.

I’ve specified tunable white in common areas and corridors of several aged care facilities. Resident rooms are more variable—some use it, some stay with fixed 3000K for simplicity.

Key advice: If using tunable white, test the actual products. Some deliver beautiful warm light at 2700K but look terrible at 5000K. Some have good output at 4000K but dim unacceptably at warmer temperatures.

Night Lighting Strategy

Falls at night are a significant risk in aged care. Residents get up to use the bathroom, become disoriented in the dark, and fall.

Solution approach:

• Low-level pathway lighting activated by motion
• Enough light to see safely (20-50 lux at floor level)
• Warm colour temperature to minimise circadian disruption
• Red or amber is even better for circadian preservation

Practical implementation often uses dedicated night mode on existing fittings (dimmed to minimum with warm CCT) or separate low-level LED strips.

Corridor night lighting should guide residents without fully waking them. It’s a balance.

Dementia-Specific Considerations

Residents with dementia have additional needs:

Consistency: Familiar lighting patterns reduce confusion. Avoid dramatic changes.

Enhanced visual cues: Good contrast lighting at doorways, bathrooms, and key navigation points.

Circadian support: Evidence suggests circadian-aligned lighting can reduce “sundowning” behaviours and improve sleep.

Reduced stimulus at night: Minimise lighting that could encourage wandering while maintaining safety.

Some facilities use coloured lighting to identify zones—blue for bathroom doors, for instance. The evidence for this is mixed, but anecdotally some staff find it helps.

Control System Requirements

Aged care facilities need sophisticated controls:

• Scheduled transitions for circadian lighting
• After-hours modes for reduced overnight lighting
• Manual overrides for staff (emergencies, cleaning, clinical needs)
• Individual room control (residents should be able to adjust their own spaces)
• Integration with nurse call and safety systems

For facilities integrating lighting with broader building management—including emergency systems, access control, and resident monitoring—that’s where building technology specialists add value. Team400 and similar firms work on intelligent building systems that connect these pieces together.

But the lighting contractor needs to provide control infrastructure that can integrate.

Emergency Lighting Compliance

AS/NZS 2293 applies as usual, but aged care has additional considerations:

24-hour occupancy: Emergency lighting needs to account for sleeping residents who need to evacuate in the dark.

Mobility challenges: Longer evacuation times mean emergency lighting duration matters more.

Cognitive challenges: Clear, logical emergency lighting paths matter for confused residents.

I recommend exceeding minimum requirements in aged care. Brighter emergency levels, longer duration, more comprehensive coverage.

Practical Installation Advice

Minimise disruption: Aged care facilities operate 24/7 with vulnerable residents. Plan work carefully. Noise, dust, and unfamiliar workers can be distressing.

Relocate if necessary: For major works in resident areas, consider temporarily relocating residents. The short-term disruption is less than prolonged construction trauma.

Test thoroughly: Commission carefully. A flickering fitting that’s merely annoying in an office can be deeply distressing for a resident with dementia.

Train staff: Ensure staff understand the lighting controls. Circadian scheduling is useless if no one knows how to operate it or resets it incorrectly.

The Investment Perspective

Good aged care lighting costs more than standard commercial lighting. Higher lux levels, better glare control, tunable white capability, sophisticated controls—none of this is cheap.

But the benefits are real:

• Reduced fall risk (fewer injuries, lower liability, lower staffing costs)
• Improved sleep quality (better resident wellbeing, potentially fewer medications)
• Enhanced visual function (more independence, less care required)
• Energy efficiency versus old technology (offsetting the premium)

The operators I’ve worked with who invest in good lighting believe it pays off in resident outcomes and operational efficiency. The challenge is that the capital budget and operational benefits sit in different pockets.

Moving Forward

Aged care lighting is evolving. The circadian evidence is strengthening. Product technology is improving. Best practices are developing.

If you’re planning an aged care LED project, engage early with someone who understands both the lighting requirements and the care environment. This isn’t standard commercial work.

James Thornton has been working in commercial lighting for 18 years and is based in Australia.