INTRODUCTION TO LIGHT LEVELS

THOMAS EDISON - He is the inventor of incandescent light bulb.

JOSEPH WILSON SWAN - He received the first patent for a complete incandescent light bulb with a carbon filament in 1879. Swan’s
house was the first in the world to be lit by lightbulb, last for 40 hours.

THIS ARTICLE WILL COVER A FEW BASIC PRINCIPLES RELATED TO LIGHT INTENSITY:

Lumens (lm) - are the unit of measurement we use to quantify the amount of visible light the human eye can see. The luminous flux
of a particular light source is measured in lumens.
Lux - is simply the unit of measure used to describe the number of lumens falling on a square foot (footcandles) or square meter
(lux) of a surface.
Footcandle – is a measure of light intensity – it’s the number of lumen per square foot.
Luminous Flux - is how to measure the perceived power or total amount of light output from a light source. When the number of
lumens – the unit-amount of visible light a human eye can see, is used to measure the intensity of a light source.

DAYLIGHT-RESPONSIVE LIGHTING CONTROL

Daylighting - is a dynamic source of lighting.

DAYLIGHT VS. SUNLIGHT

Daylight is desirable, but direct sunlight is not.

Daylight itself must be controlled using glazing, shading, and other manual or automatic devices.
control zone is one or more light sources in a group.

DETERMINE AUTOMATIC CONTROL METHOD

DETERMINE SENSING METHOD

 Zonal Cavity Method

zonal cavity method is the currently accepted method for calculating average illuminance levels for indoor
areas unless the light distribution is extremely asymmetric.

Methods of Calculating Illuminance:

1. Determine cavity ratio (CR)
2. Determine effective cavity reflectances
3. Select coefficient of utilization
4. Compute average illuminance level

Lumen output (LM) - It is generally based on the number of lumens initially output by each lamp.
The light loss factor (LLF) - It is the product of all considered factors that contribute to a lighting installation’s
reduced light output over a period of time.
The number of lamps in luminaire (n) - It is the quantity of lamps found in the specified or existing luminaire.
The coefficient of utilization (CU) - It is the ratio of the amount of light (lumens) illuminating the work plane to
the output of the lamp(s) in a fixture.

Important terms to know:

cavities A room is made up of three spaces.
room cavity The space between the luminaires and the work plane.
floor cavity The space between the work plane and the floor.
ceiling cavity The space between the ceiling and the luminaires (if they are suspended).

Reflectance (ρ) is the ratio of reflected light versus the light striking the surface (illuminance).
Cavity Ratio (CR) is a number indicating cavity proportions from length, width, and height.

WHERE:
MH: distance between the plane of the luminaires and reference work plane, in inches, feet, or meters.
W: width of the space, in feet or meters.
L: length of the space, in feet or meters.
P: perimeter of space, in feet or meters
A: area of the space to be illuminated, in square feet or square meters

DIRECT LIGHT – direct sunlight. Which travels straight from the sun. more intense than diffuse and reflected
sunlight.
REFLECTED LIGHT – reflected sunlight. Which absorbs some sunlight before reflecting. Less intense than direct
sunlight.
DIFFUSED LIGHT – diffused light. Reflected or refracted by clouds or objects.
WINDOWS - the most common lighting source. To bring in daylight and fresh air and introduce a view of the outdoors.
FENESTRATION – is a design term that describes window size. Arrangement, and glazing type.
CLERESTORY WINDOW SYSTEM – is a fenestration arrangement in upper story wall that extends above one
roof surface; it introduces daylight into the ceiling area of the space.
ATRIUM – an interior courtyard covered with glazing. Is an open air of a building that provides light and
ventilation into the home and connects the indoors to the outdoors.
SKYLIGHT – is a transparent panel located in a roof opening that allows direct and diffuse sunlight into the
building.
ROOF MONITOR – is a type of skylight system that is a raised, typically triangular shaped, extension of a roof,
and that has at least one glaze surface.