Page 56 - enLIGHTenment Magazine - August 2017

ALA CONFERENCE

QUESTIONS RETAILERS

SHOULD ASK THEMSELVES

 What products and services do I

have for the senior market?

 What are the product features in
my current product line that are
particularly useful or important to

the elderly demographic?

 How can I work with a contractor,
builder, or remodeler who
specializes in adapting existing
homes for those who want to age

in place?

ImprovIng vIsIbILIty
when navigating the top step of a stairway. The data is

“There are two ways to improve visibility: Contrast overwhelming,” he said of the most common scenario
and Light Re ectance,” McGowan noted. Contrast is of when a fall occurs. Pa erns on oors – whether

de ned as the relationship between the luminance wood/parquet or carpet – can also fool the eye.
of an object and its immediate background. Re ec-

tance is de ned as the amount of light re ected WatcH For gLare

from a surface divided by the amount of light inci- Another aspect to be considered is “discomfort
dent on that surface. “To improve visibility, you must glare,” according to McGowan. “People become

improve the contrast by either changing the re ec- more sensitive to glare as they age, and ‘discomfort
tance of the objects being viewed or increasing the glare’ is worse when using high luminance sources

luminance of those objects — or both.
such as bare light bulbs in xtures or uncontrolled

McGowan also covered the importance of as- daylight or sunlight. Light sources that are close to
sessing surface sheen, texture, and pa ern when the line of sight and bright sources seen against a

evaluating a space that will be occupied by the dark background are common culprits in homes.
elderly. For example, he recommended that stairs Note: there are two types of glare — “disability

have enough contrast of texture, value, and sheen to glare” and “discomfort glare.” Either type may be

distinguish the edge of the step from the tread sur- caused by direct light or light re ected from sur-
face. Surfaces with large-scale swirling or geometric faces. McGowan described “disability glare” as glare

pa erns can be confusing for people with visual dif- which makes it impossible to see — think of what
culty and can mask important visual cues such as happens when you try to see the road while driving

the edge of a step or objects in the pathway.
toward someone with their high-beam headlights on.

“Elderly people spend a lot of time way nding,” “Discomfort glare is what you experience most
McGowan recounted. “Most people want to stay o en, perhaps when you enter a room where the

in their homes for as long as possible. The problem ceiling xture is too bright,” he explained, adding,
comes when they fall, which happens most o en
“There’s a simple test for discomfort glare: Block

54 enLIGHTenment Magazine | august 2017
www.enlightenmentmag.com