Lighting Standards in Romania
— Complete Guide

In Romania, European lighting standards are adopted as national standards with the prefix SR (for example, SR EN 12464-1 is EN 12464-1). Their values are identical to the European originals. They are complemented by national technical regulations issued by the Ministry of Development (MDLPA): NP 061 for lighting in buildings and NP 062 for road and pedestrian lighting. This guide is written for manufacturers, distributors and designers working on projects in Romania.

What is different in Romania?

• Same EN standards, plus national regulations. NP 061 and NP 062 apply alongside the EN standards, not instead of them.
• Independent design review. Building designs are checked by certified design reviewers (verificatori de proiecte), as required by Romanian construction law (Law 10/1995).
• Public tenders specify the lighting class. For roads and public spaces, the M, C or P class is usually set in the tender specification (caiet de sarcini), and a DIALux calculation is often requested with the offer.
• Documentation in Romanian. Reports submitted to Romanian authorities must be in Romanian. We deliver studies in English, Romanian or both.

1. EN 12464-1 — Lighting of indoor workplaces

EN 12464-1 is the reference standard for lighting offices, industrial halls, warehouses, retail spaces, schools, hospitals, hotels and any other indoor space where people carry out activities.

What EN 12464-1 specifies

For each type of space and activity, the standard defines three main parameters:

• Ēm (lx) — maintained average illuminance on the task area: the value below which the average illuminance must not fall during the life of the installation
• UGR — maximum Unified Glare Rating
• Ra — minimum colour rendering index

Key values from EN 12464-1

Space / activity	Ēm (lx)	UGR max	Ra min
Office with computer work, open-plan	500	19	80
Conference room	500	19	80
Technical drawing	750	16	80
Reception / waiting area	300	22	80
Industrial hall, general	300	25	80
Inspection / quality control	1000	19	90
Storage	200	25	60
Picking / sorting	300	25	60
Retail sales area	500	22	80
Classroom	500	19	80
Hospital ward	300	19	90
Operating theatre	1000	19	90
Restaurant / café	200	22	80
Bar / food preparation	300	22	80
Underground car park, traffic lanes	75	28	40
Car park entrance zone (daytime)	300	—	40

2. EN 12464-2 — Lighting of outdoor workplaces

EN 12464-2 complements the first part of the standard for activities carried out outdoors, in particular on construction sites, industrial platforms, port and airport terminals, loading bays and other professional outdoor areas.

Typical EN 12464-2 values

• General outdoor circulation areas: 5–10 lx
• Construction site work areas: 50–200 lx, depending on the visual task
• Loading and unloading areas: 150 lx
• Access control points: 150–200 lx

3. EN 13201 — Road lighting

EN 13201 defines lighting classes based on road type, speed and traffic. For motorised traffic routes, the main parameter is luminance, not illuminance, because drivers perceive the road surface through the light it reflects.

M classes — motorised traffic (EN 13201-2:2015)

Class	Typical application	L̄ min (cd/m²)	Uo min	Ul min	fTI max
M1	Motorway, high-speed road	2.00	0.40	0.70	10%
M2	Main national road	1.50	0.40	0.70	10%
M3	Distributor road, medium speed	1.00	0.40	0.60	15%
M4	Main local street	0.75	0.40	0.60	15%
M5	Residential road with traffic	0.50	0.35	0.40	15%
M6	Low-traffic residential road	0.30	0.35	0.40	20%

C classes — conflict areas (intersections, roundabouts, shopping streets with traffic) are based on illuminance: C0 = 50 lx, C1 = 30 lx, C2 = 20 lx, C3 = 15 lx, C4 = 10 lx, C5 = 7.5 lx, all with Uo ≥ 0.40.

P classes — pedestrian and low-speed areas range from P1 (15 lx average) to P6 (2 lx average).

4. EN 1838 — Emergency lighting

EN 1838 is mandatory for public and industrial buildings in Romania. It defines three types of emergency lighting, each with its own requirements:

1. Escape route lighting

• Minimum illuminance on the centre line of the escape route: 1 lx
• Uniformity: max/min ratio on the centre line not above 40:1
• Response time: 50% within 5 s, 100% within 60 s
• Duration: at least 1 hour (3 hours recommended)

2. Open area (anti-panic) lighting

• Applies to areas larger than 60 m²
• Minimum illuminance: 0.5 lx on the core area
• A 0.5 m border at the perimeter is excluded from the calculation
• Duration: at least 1 hour

3. High-risk task area lighting

• Applies where people or processes are exposed to danger
• Minimum illuminance: 10% of normal maintained illuminance, and at least 15 lx
• Response time: 0.5 s

5. EN 12193 — Sports lighting

EN 12193 defines lighting classes for each sport — football, tennis, basketball, handball, volleyball, athletics, swimming — with specific values for illuminance, uniformity and glare rating (GR).

EN 12193 classes for outdoor football (horizontal illuminance)

Class	Level of competition	Ēh (lx)	Emin / Ēh	GR max
Class I	National and international competition	500	0.7	50
Class II	Regional competition, club matches	200	0.6	50
Class III	Training, recreational play	75	0.5	55

Televised matches need more: vertical illuminance towards the cameras, set by broadcaster and federation requirements (UEFA, FIFA), on top of EN 12193.

6. NP 061 and NP 062 — Romanian national regulations

The main topics covered by NP 061:

• EN 12464-1 is mandatory for interior lighting
• Emergency lighting must follow EN 1838
• Rules for combining daylight and artificial light
• Requirements for lighting controls
• Energy efficiency of lighting installations
• Specific requirements for different building categories

Summary — which standard applies where

Standard	Applies to	Main parameters
SR EN 12464-1	Any indoor workplace	Ēm (lx), UGR, Ra
SR EN 12464-2	Outdoor workplaces	Ēm (lx), Uo, GR, Ra
SR EN 13201	Roads, streets, public spaces	L̄ (cd/m²), Uo, Ul, fTI
SR EN 1838	Emergency and escape lighting, all buildings	Emin (lx), response time, duration
SR EN 12193	Sports facilities	Ēh (lx), uniformity, GR
NP 061	All buildings in Romania	Complements the EN standards
NP 062	Road and pedestrian lighting in Romania	Complements EN 13201

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Published by the proiectareiluminat.ro team — lighting design and DIALux Evo calculations. Citeste in romana.