ILLUMINATION

AKSHAY BHALERAO
2016UAR1246
LIGHTING CONCEPTS AND UNIT
 LUMINOUS FLUX  

• LUMINOUS FLUX IS THE MEASURE OF

BRIGHTNESS OF A LIGHT SOURCE IN TERMS
OF ENERGY BEING EMITTED. LUMINOUS
FLUX, IN SI UNITS, IS MEASURED IN THE
LUMEN (LM).
 LUMINOUS INTENSITY

• THE VISIBLE RADIANT INTENSITY IN A

PARTICULAR DIRECTION. THE UNIT OF
MEASUREMENT IS THE CANDELA ( CD )
 ILLUMINANCE

IT IS A MEASURE OF THE AMOUNT OF LIGHT FALLING

ON A SURFACE. UNIT OF MEASUREMENT IS LUX (LX)
 LUM INANCE

• LUMINANCE IS APPARENT BRIGHTNESS, HOW BRIGHT

AN OBJECT APPEARS TO THE HUMAN EYE.
 LIGHT LEVEL/LUX LEVEL

Light Level or illuminance is the total luminous flux incident on a surface per
unit area. The area - the work plane - is where the most important tasks in the
room or space are performed.
Illuminance can be expressed as,

E = Φ / A                                
where
E = illuminance (lm/m2, lux)
Φ = luminous flux - the quantity of light emitted by a light source (lumen, lm)
A = area (m2)    
 HOW MUCH LUX DO WE NEED?

IF YOU LOOK AT THE VARIOUS RECOMMENDATIONS

WHEN IT COMES TO LIGHTING LEVELS, THERE ARE
DIFFERENT RECOMMENDED INTENSITY LEVELS
DEPENDING ON THE ROOM AND THE PURPOSE OF
THE SPACE. A ROOM WHICH IS USED FOR STORAGE,
FOR EXAMPLE, NEEDS RELATIVELY LOW LIGHT
LEVELS; WHILST A WORKSHOP WHERE FINE DETAIL
IS REQUIRED WILL NEED MUCH BRIGHTER LIGHT
LEVELS.
 HOW TO CALCULATE LUX LEVEL?

THE LUX LEVEL IN A ROOM IS CALCULATED FROM THE

FOLLOWING FORMULA
E(LUX) = F(LM) X UF X MF
A
WHERE,
E IS THE THE LUX LEVEL ACHIEVED
F IS THE AVERAGE LUMENS VALUE FORM THE LIGHT
SOURCE
UF -UTILISATION FACTOR FOR THE SPACE WHICH TAKES
INTO ACCOUNT THE COLOURING OF THE SURFACES IN
THE SPACE TOGETHER WITH THE GEOMETRY
MF -MAINTENANCE FACTOR FOR THE LAMP WHICH
ALLOWS FOR A LEVEL OF LIGHT DEPRECIATION OVER
TIME.
 C A L C U L AT I O N O F H O W M A N Y L I G H T S A R E N E E D E D
IN A ROOM?

SIMPLY BY TURNING THE FORMULA AROUND IT IS POSSIBLE TO

WORK OUT HOW MANY LIGHTS ARE NEEDED FOR A ROOM. THIS
IS PARTICULARLY USEFUL WHEN WORKING OUR HOW MANY
SPOT LIGHTS OR CEILING LIGHTS ARE NEEDED IN A SPACE.

N= EX A
FXUFXMF

SO BE EXAMPLE FOR A LARGE SPACE WHICH IS 10X 10M WITH

700 LUMENS CEILING LIGHTS , TAKING A MAINTENANCE
FACTOR OF 0.9 AND A UTILISATION FACTOR OF 0.7 THEN 45
LIGHTS WOULD BE NEEDED TO PROVIDE A LUX LEVEL OF 200.
 ILLUMINANCE
ACTIVITY
(LX, LUMEN/M2)
Public areas with dark surroundings 20 - 50
Simple orientation for short visits 50 - 100
Areas with traffic and corridors - stairways, escalators and
100
travellators - lifts - storage spaces
Working areas where visual tasks are only occasionally
100 - 150
performed

Warehouses, homes, theatres, archives, loading bays 150

Coffee break room, technical facilities, ball-mill areas,

200
pulp plants, waiting rooms, 
Easy office work 250
Class rooms 300

Normal office work, PC work, study library, groceries,

show rooms, laboratories, check-out areas, kitchens, 500
auditoriums
 ILLUMINANCE
ACTIVITY
(LX, LUMEN/M2)

Supermarkets, mechanical workshops, office landscapes 750

Normal drawing work, detailed mechanical workshops,

1000
operation theaters

Detailed drawing work, very detailed mechanical works,

1500 - 2000
electronic workshops, testing and adjustments

Performance of visual tasks of low contrast  and very

2000 - 5000
small size for prolonged periods of time

Performance of very prolonged and exacting visual tasks  5000 - 10000

Performance of very special visual tasks of extremely

10000 - 20000
low contrast and small size