9/22/2014

Human Factors Engineering

Dr. Osama Al Meanazel

Lecture 4
(Illumination, Luminance and Glare)

Photometry

 Light: is radiant energy that is capable of exciting the retina of the eye
and producing a visual sensation

 Photometry: is defined as the measurement of light energy

 Related terminology
1. Luminous Intensity
2. Luminous Flux
3. Illumination/Illuminancy
4. Luminance

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1) Luminous Intensity

 Luminous intensity - The intensity of light source measured in

lumens emitted from a source per unit solid angle.
Unit is Candela (cd) - The basic unit of photometric measurement.

 Candlepower (cp) - Luminous intensity of a light source expressed in

candela

 Candela is lumen/sr (Steradian)

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2) Luminous Flux

 Luminous flux - The (time) rate of flow of light emitted from a source

 Unit is Lumen (lm) - The flux emitted from a uniform point light source
of one candles through a solid angle of one squared radian

3) Illumination / Illuminance

 Illumination / Illuminance - amount of light energy striking a

surface, measured in terms of luminous flux per unit area
• In SI system, lux (lx) - lumen/m2
• USCS system, lumen/ft2 = fc (footcandle).

 Footcandle (fc) - The illumination produced by one lumen of light

incident on one ft2 of surface area (1 fc = 1 lumen/ft2), (1 fc = 10.76 lux).
 Troland - The measure of illumination on the retina: 1 troland is the
amount of light falling on the retina from a source of candela/m2
luminance viewed through a 1 cm2 artificial pupil.

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4) Luminance

 Luminance - measurement of the amount emitted from a surface or a

source
• SI - candela/m2
• USCS – lumens/ft2 = foot lamberts.

 Foot Lambert- (fL) 1/π2 candela/ft2

 Lambert - (L) candela /cm2
 Apostilb - 1/ π candela/m2

Illumination Concept – Inverse Square Law

 Inverse square law, says that for point sources: Illuminance is inversely
proportional to the (distance)2

 Illuminance (lx) = Candlepower (cd) / D2 (meters)

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Illumination Concept – Required Illumination

 Reflectance: ratio of reflected light to received light; white paper has

85%
 SI system

Reflectance (%) = Luminance (cd/m2) × π

Illuminance (lx)

 US system

Reflectance (%) = Luminance (fl)

Illuminance (fc)

Lighting Methods

1. Direct radiant. In this form of lighting, 90% or more of the light is

directed toward the viewed object, and is illustrated by the placement of
an incandescent or fluorescent light fixture on the ceiling

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Lighting Methods

2. Indirect lighting. Rather than directing light toward the viewed

object, 90% or more of the light is directed upward toward the ceiling

Lighting Methods

3. Mixed direct radiant and indirect lighting. In this approach,

around 40% of the light is directed downward, while the remainder is
directed upward toward the ceiling

4. Supplemental task lighting. Lamps or other fixtures often located

close to the viewed object are used to provide a high level of light in a
localized area.

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Light Sources

1. Light Bulbs
2. Fluorescent Tubes
3. Mercury Lamps
4. Metal Halide Lamps
5. High-Pressure Sodium Lamps
6. Low-Pressure Sodium Lamps

Light Sources – Light Bulbs

 Incandescent bulbs
• Inexpensive
• Least energy-efficient option (providing up to 20lm of light/W of energy used)
• Burn out in less than a year
• Give off significant amounts of heat

 Tungsten–halogen filament bulbs

• Last longer
• More efficient
• Provide a higher quality of light than
regular tungsten filament bulbs

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Light Sources – Fluorescent tubes

 Fluorescent tubes
• 3–5 Times more efficient than incandescent bulbs
• Longer life
• Cheap, highly efficient replacement for incandescent bulbs
• Produce less light with age or at cold temperatures
• Have a tendency to flicker when they are old or defective.

 Some modern fluorescent tubes

• Produce light with an energy spectrum matches that of natural light
• Provide good color rendering

Light Sources – Mercury lamps

 Advantages
• long life
• produce around 50lm of light/W of energy used

 Disadvantages
• the light produced is very weak in the yellow–red end
• Their efficiency also drops significantly with age
• Many people find their light to be unpleasant

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Light Sources – Metal Halide Lamps

 Advantages
• More efficient than mercury lamps
• Fairly long rated life

 Disadvantages
• They tend to produce only about 50% of their rated
output toward the end of their rated life

Light Sources – High-Pressure Sodium Lamps

 Advantages
• Very efficient, producing around 100lm or more of light per watt of energy used
• Lamp life can be around 5 years at average burning rates of 12h/day

 Disadvantages
• Color rendering is fair

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Light Sources – Low-Pressure Sodium Lamps

 Advantages
• Most efficient
• Producing up to 190lm of light/W of energy used
• Lamp life is 4–5 years at average burning rates of 12h/day

 Disadvantages
• Produce a yellow light perceived to be unpleasant by many people
• Very poor color-rendering properties

Illuminating Engineering Society of North

America (IESNA)
 Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA)
• Step1: Identify the type of activity to be performed
• Step 2: Determine the total weighting factor (TWF)
• Step 3: Find the corresponding value of illumination from the standard table
according to TWF (lx or fc)

 Average weighted room reflectance value (AWRF)

• Ai is the area of the ith surface of the room (i.e., ceiling, floor, walls)
• r is the reflectance of the corresponding surface

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Illuminating Engineering Society of North

America (IESNA)

IESNA

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IESNA – Example

 The activity involves a 45 years-old woman reading printed material

wherein speed is very critical and the reflectance of the printed material
to that of the background is 75%. What should be the recommended
illumination level?

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