Recommended light levels - illuminance - for some common types of working activities
Sponsored Links Light Level or Illuminance, is the total luminous flux incident on a surface, per unit area. The work plane is where the most important tasks in the room or space are performed.
1 lux = 1 lumen / sq meter = 0.0001 phot = 0.0929 foot candle (ftcd, fcd) 1 phot = 1 lumen / sq centimeter = 10000 lumens / sq meter = 10000 lux 1 foot candle (ftcd, fcd) = 1 lumen / sq ft = 10.752 lux
(lux) 107,527 10,752 1,075 107 10.8 1.08 .108 .0108 .0011 .0001
Activity Public areas with dark surroundings Simple orientation for short visits Working areas where visual tasks are only occasionally performed Warehouses, Homes, Theaters, Archives Easy Office Work, Classes Normal Office Work, PC Work, Study Library, Groceries, Show Rooms, Laboratories Supermarkets, Mechanical Workshops, Office Landscapes Normal Drawing Work, Detailed Mechanical Workshops, Operation Theatres Detailed Drawing Work, Very Detailed Mechanical Works Performance of visual tasks of low contrast and very small size for prolonged periods of time Performance of very prolonged and exacting visual tasks Performance of very special visual tasks of extremely low contrast and small size
Illumination (lux, lumen/m2) 20 - 50 50 - 100 100 - 150 150 250 500 750 1,000 1500 - 2000 2000 - 5000 5000 - 10000 10000 - 20000
Calculating Illumination
Illumination can be calculated as I = Ll Cu LLF / Al where I = illumination (lux, lumen/m2) Ll = lumens per lamp (lumen) Cu = coefficient of utilation LLF = light loss factor Al = area per lamp (m2) Example - Illumination 10 incandencent lamps of 500 W (10600 lumens per lamp) are used in an area of 50 m2. With Cu = 0.6 and LLF = 0.8 illumination can be calculated as I = 10 (10600 lumens) (0.6) (0.8) / (50 m2) = 1018 lux (1)
Type of Building/Room Restaurants School Classrooms Shops Supermarkets Taverns Town Halls
Light Power (Watts/Sq.Ft.) 1.5 - 3.0 2.0 - 6.0 1.0 - 3.0 1.0 - 3.0 1.5 - 2.0 2.0 - 5.0
preferred light level in the room type of lights and their construction location of the light equipment
Illuminance is the total luminous flux incident on a surface - per unit area.
The preferred light level in a room depends primarily on the type of activity. For common office work the level may be in the range of 500 - 1000 lux.
b = recommended light level (lux, lumen/m2) e = light equipment efficiency r = room lighting efficiency ls = emitted light from the source (lumen/W)
Emitted Light from The Source (lumen/Watt) 10 - 15 20 40 - 60 50 - 90 70 - 90 80+ 90 - 125 120 - 200
Lifetime (hours) 1,000 2,000 - 5,000 22,000 more than 7,000 more than 12,000 25,000 20,000
A typical incandescent GLS light bulb emit approximately 10 lumen/Watt A typical fluorescent tube emits up to approximately 60 lumen/Watt
= 200 W/m2 Using standard fluorescent tubes - the electric power for lightning can be calculated P = (1,000 lumen/m2) / (0.5 (60 lumen/W)) = 33.3 W/m2 Due to the high energy consumption and the major impact on air condition heat loads, standard GLS bulbs is not an alternative in high illuminance applications. The table below indicates typically installed electrical effect with different light levels Installed effect (W) Incandescent GLS bulb lamp Fluorescent tubes Illumination - Light Level (lux) 200 400 600 40 6.7 80 13.3 120 20
Note! Datasheets from manufacturers should always be consulted before detailed engineering. The numbers above do for rough preliminary calculations.