Basic Concepts of Lighting Design | Electrical Engineer | MEP Design |
Lighting system design is a very important aspect of construction projects, and the best performance is achieved when lighting is specified through detailed calculations and not “rules of thumb”. However, lighting has a key difference with other building systems like HVAC and plumbing: there is a subjective and artistic factor involved. Lighting systems must provide adequate visibility, but they also set the ambiance of built environments. Effective communication is important in any engineering design process, and this is only possible if the parties involved are familiarized with key technical concepts. This article will provide an overview of the main terms used when specifying lighting systems.
Lighting system design is a very important aspect of construction projects, and the best performance is achieved when lighting is specified through detailed calculations and not “rules of thumb”. However, lighting has a key difference with other building systems like HVAC and plumbing: there is a subjective and artistic factor involved. Lighting systems must provide adequate visibility, but they also set the ambiance of built environments.
Effective communication is important in any engineering design process, and this is only possible if the parties involved are familiarized with key technical concepts. This article will provide an overview of the main terms used when specifying lighting systems.
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Illuminance: Lumens per Unit <strong>of</strong> Area<br />
The concept <strong>of</strong> illuminance is used to describe the lighting required for a<br />
given occupancy, regardless <strong>of</strong> size. There are two common measurement<br />
units:<br />
Lux, or lumens per square meter.<br />
Foot-candle (fc), or lumens per square foot.<br />
1 fc = 10.7639 lux<br />
Since illuminance is specified per unit <strong>of</strong> area, room size does not matter.<br />
For example, an illuminance <strong>of</strong> 50 fc has the same meaning for a 500 sq.<br />
ft. <strong>of</strong>fice and for a 2500 sq. ft. <strong>of</strong>fice, with the difference that more lighting<br />
fixtures are required for the larger <strong>of</strong>fice.<br />
In actual lighting design, the illuminance level varies due to the spacing <strong>of</strong><br />
fixtures and their beam shapes. However, slight variations are acceptable<br />
as long as no areas are too dark or too bright.
Change language