Indoor Environmental 

Control

Lecture 03
Dr. Ali Sedki
Artificial light

Luminous Flux is the rate at which a light source emits light. Measured in lumens,
luminous flux is a measurement of the amount of light coming from a source per second in
all directions.

Luminous Intensity is a measure of the light intensity and takes into account the
luminous flux (amount of light) and the angle of distribution (amount of coverage). For
instance, a spot light and a flood light may both emit 1000 lumens, but the spot light has a
much higher intensity because the light is focused into a smaller cone. Luminous intensity
is measured in candela or candlepower.

Illuminance is a measure of the amount of light that falls on a specific surface area and is
measured in lux (metric) or foot candles (imperial). A 1000 lumen spot light will illuminate
a small area much more than a 1000 lumen flood light because more of the spot light's
lumens are hitting the small surface. As a rough guide, 1 foot candle (FC) = 10 lux.

Luminance is the measure of an object's brightness or the amount of light that is coming
off an illuminated surface. The unit of measurement is the foot‐lambert. The brightness of
an object has to do with the amount of light that hits it and the amount of light that is
reflected back.
Artificial light

Efficacy:
o The ratio of light produced to
energy consumed.
o It’s measured as the number
of lumens produced divided by
the rate of electricity
consumption (lumens per
watt).

General considerations when design lighting
I. Adequate illumination.
II. Uniform light distribution all over the working plane.
III. Suitable color of light.
IV. Minimum hard shadow and glare
Types of light

Types of Light Distribution for Indoor Luminaires

Types of light

Types of Light Distribution for Indoor Luminaires

Direct lighting luminaires distribute 90 to 100 percent of the emitted light in the general direction of the surface to be
illuminated. The term generally refers to light emitted in a downward direction. Troffers and downlights are two types of
direct lighting luminaires.

Semi-direct lighting luminaires distribute 60 to 90 percent of the emitted light downward and the balance upward. The
shadows generated by semi-direct lighting are diffused and do not cause discomfort. Semi-direct lighting is employed in
applications where strong light is not necessary e.g., stairways, corridors, and storage areas.

General diffuse lighting luminaires distribute 40 to 60 percent of the emitted light downward and the balance upward, in
some cases with a strong component at 90 degrees (horizontal). This type of light distribution integrates the characteristics
of direct lighting and those of indirect lighting.

Direct-indirect lighting is a variant of general diffuse lighting in which the luminaires give off little or no light at angles near
the horizontal. Because this characteristic result in lower luminances in the direct glaze zone, direct-indirect luminaires are
generally more desirable than general-diffuse luminaires that distribute the light about equally in all directions.

Semi-indirect lighting luminaires distribute 60 to 90 percent of the emitted light upward and the balance downward,
similar to those of indirect lighting systems with the exception that the downward component usually creates a luminaire
luminance that closely matches that of the ceiling. Semi-indirect lighting scheme is primarily used for indoor light decoration
purposes.

Indirect lighting luminaires distribute 90 to 100 percent of the emitted light upward. In a well-designed installation, the
entire ceiling becomes the primary source of illumination, and shadows will be virtually eliminated. In this lighting scheme
more than 90% of total luminous flux is thrown upwards to the ceiling for diffuse reflection by using inverted or bowl
reflectors. Since the indirect lighting the ceiling and upper walls must reflect light to the work plane, it is essential that these
surfaces have high reflectances.
Luminaires

Light output ratio of luminaire:
lm %
Lamp output 1000
LOR is divided into upward and 
‐ Up 300 ULOR 30
downward parts (divided by the 
horizontal plane across the center of the  ‐ Down 500 DLOR 50
lamp) Luminaire output 800 LOR 80
o ULOR = Upward light output ratio
o DLOR = Downward light output ratio Absorbed in  200 20
luminaire
Alternatively, the output of a luminaire 
can be taken as the basis (the 100%) and 
the flux fractions can be defined as UFF 
upward and DFF downward, then the 
flux fraction ratio (FFR) can be defined 
as:
Luminaire output 800 100
FFR = UFF/DFF
o UFF = Upward flux fractions ‐ Upward flux 300 UFF 37.5
o DFF = Downward flux fractions ‐ Downward flux 500 DFF 62.5
Polar intensity curve / photometric curve
Polar Intensity Curves This illustrates the distribution of luminous intensity, in cd/1000 
lm, for the transverse (solid line) and axial (dashed line) planes of the luminaire. The 
curve provides a visual guide to the type of distribution expected from the luminaire, 
e.g. wide, narrow, direct, indirect etc, in addition to intensity. 
Polar intensity curve

A concrete example might

explain better the concept
of C-Plane. If mounted
inside a room, you could
put the C0 plane pointing
north, then the C180 would
point south, and so on. The
3D view below should help
you orient yourself.
Remember though that this
is the default positioning,
the luminaire can be rotated
and tilted in real life.
Polar intensity curve
Polar intensity curve

The images below show you two different sorts of luminaires in a polar C-
Gamma diagram. The first luminaire shoots all of its flux upwards,
presumably it is used for indoor indirect lighting, when the light is first
reflected by the ceiling before arriving at the worksurface. All the light is in
the gamma = 90 to 180 degrees. The second luminaire shoots some of its
flux upwards and some downwards, a “direct-indirect” method of lighting an
indoor environment.
Lighting – Calculations of Artificial lighting

Utilisation Factor (UF):

• The ratio of the flux falling on the surface to flux emitted by the lamps is called
the utilisation factor, UF, or the coefficient of utilisation, CU. It depends on :
• How much light is absorbed within the luminaire
• The directionality of the light emitted by the luminaire
• The proportions of the room
• The reflectance of room surfaces.

Maintenance Factor (MF):

• An electric lighting installation loses efficiency as it gets older.
• Lamps emit less light, because of dust and dirt accumulated upon.
• To take this loss into account, a maintenance factor, MF ( or light loss factor, LLF) is
built in to the calculation.
• A value of 1.0 indicates a perfectly clean room; a value of 0.8 implies that 20% of
the emitted light is lost.
Room proportion – Utlisation factor

Room index (RI) is the ratio of room plan area to

half the wall area between the working and
luminaire planes.

where L = length of room

W = width of room
Hm = mounting height, i.e. the vertical distance
between the working plane and the luminaire.

Room Reflectance
The room is considered to consist of three main
surfaces:
(a) the ceiling cavity,
(b) the walls, and
(c) the floor cavity (or the horizontal working
plane).
The effective reflectances of the above three
surfaces affect the quantity of reflected light
received by the working plane.
Lighting – Calculations of Artificial lighting
• Lumen method
• How many electrical lights are needed in a room?
• This method comes directly from the definition of illuminance:
• Illuminance (lux)= flux falling on surface (lumens) / area of surface
(square meters)
• It is used when a room is uniformly illuminated by a regular array of
ceiling‐mounted luminaires‐ an arrangement found in countless offices or
schools.

• Instead of considering individual desks, imagine a continuous horizontal

surface stretching across the room at desktop level. This is called “the
working plane” and the aim is to achieve a uniform distribution of light
onto it.

• If there are n luminaires, with lamps emitting F lumens in each, and A is the plan
area of the working plane, the formula of the average working plane illuminance
is:
Lighting – Calculations of Artificial lighting

• The same formula could be inverted to

calculate the number of luminaires as
follow:
Lighting – Calculations of Artificial lighting

Desk‐ based 
Workplaces
• Lumen Method 
Calculation
Lighting – Calculations of Artificial lighting

A room 20 × 10 m is illuminated by 60 W incandescent lamps of lumen output of 1,600

lumens. The average illumination required at the workplace is 300 lux. Calculate the
number of lamps required to be fitted in the room. Assume utilization and depreciation
factors as 0.5 and 1, respectively.
Lighting – Calculations of Artificial lighting

A room 20 × 10 m is illuminated by 60 W incandescent lamps of lumen output of 1,600

lumens. The average illumination required at the workplace is 300 lux. Calculate the
number of lamps required to be fitted in the room. Assume utilization and depreciation
factors as 0.5 and 1, respectively.

Online fast calculator
http://www.ledstuff.co.nz/data_calculators.php