18/07/2010

How Much Illuminance is Necessary?

How Many Footcandles Do I Need?

Recommended levels for lighting have dropped dramatically in the past 25 years. Here you will find some IESNA (Illuminating Engineering Society of North America) recommendations for outdoor and indoor lighting levels. The outdoor lighting tables contain valuable information that could be helpful in all your calculations. Read on for indoor lighting calculations and tabular information. Click here for outdoor lighting tables. Today, the IESNA maintains that 30-50 fc will fit the bill for most modern offices. By following an organized, step-by-step process, it is relatively simple to determine the appropriate amount of light for your workspace. Lower illumination levels, such as those specified in Office Lighting (ANSI/IESNA RP-1), are more suited for the demands of VDT viewing, which include good control of surrounding and reflected luminances and luminance ratios. Task lighting can provide an additional boost in specific locations where difficult tasks are performed. Remember that the recommended illumination levels are "maintained." This means that in spite of all conditions, such as dirt accumulation and lamp lumen depreciation, the recommended illumination level is the minimum for proper work conditions.

Cost and Energy Savings

Savings go hand in hand with the aesthetic and functional benefits of lower overall ambient illumination levels. Direct savings from lower lighting energy use are supplemented by reduced air conditioning costs: because lights are producing less heat, air conditioners don't have to work as hard. These air conditioning savings are typically equivalent to 10-30% of the lighting energy savings.

The Basis for Recommended Illumination Levels

Illumination levels recommended by IESNA represent a consensus of expert opinion on the quantity of illuminance required to perform specific tasks with comfort and accuracy. Some standard activities in established locations have known lighting criteria, such as those shown in this table for Gymnasium Lighting.

Gymnasium Lighting
Basketball: High School Elementary School C lub Recreational Gymnastics Volleyball

Horizontal Footcandles Maintained 75 50 50 30 30 30

Uniformity: Max/Min 2.1 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.5 3.5

The following table is a quick reference for example. You should consult the calculation tables later in this guide to confirm adequate lighting and to avoid unnecessary excessive energy consumption. Activity
Public areas with dark surroundings Simple orientation for short visits

Illumination

footcandles
2-5 5 - 10

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10 - 15 15 25 50 75 100 150 - 200 200 - 500 500 - 1000 1000 - 2000

Working areas where visual tasks are only occasionally performed Warehouses, Homes, Theaters, Archives Easy Office Work, C lasses 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 (Operation of Machinery) Performance of very prolonged and exacting visual tasks (Watchmaking, Quality C ontrol) Performance of very special visual tasks of extremely low contrast and small size (Microelectronic Assembly)

Establishing Proper Illumination Levels

To guide the process of establishing the proper illumination level for your workplace, IESNA has established an illuminance specification procedure. This procedure, outlined in chapter 11 of its Lighting Handbook, recommends adjusting the illumination level according to the many factors that can affect visual performance. In this Guide: Table 1 defines the nine illuminance categories (A through I) Table 1a shows some common tasks and appropriate illuminance categories Each category then recommends a range of three appropriate illumination levels, expressed in footcandles Table 2 selects footcandles See Tables 1 and 1a To choose the appropriate level for a particular application, several situational variables (weighting factors) are considered. Table 2 applies these weighting factors. For categories A-C, Table 2a selects a footcandle range for general lighting throughout the room using factors of occupant age and surface reflectance. For categories D-I, Table 2b selects illuminance on the task using a third factor for speed and accuracy along with background reflectance. See Table 2 Tables 1 & 2 directly evaluate lighting without your calculating any weighting factors; lighting requirements are derived simply by selecting those factors as rows in the tables. For example, try lighting the work space of an editor working for a busy daily newspaper. The first step involves defining variables: The editor is over 55, works in an office, is under constant daily deadline pressure, and works alternately between a VDT terminal and printed pages with 10-point type and handwritten corrections. Next, the physical work space should be evaluated. Table 1a places typical office tasks in illuminance category D (reading good copies, soft pencil, keyboard). Weighting factors in Table 2 (over 55 years old, critical speed and accuracy, 75% task background reflectance) indicate that this work area needs 30 footcandles illuminance on the task. For a more precise description and detailed discussion of these and other areas, see the Lighting Handbook.

Checking Existing Illumination Levels

To check how closely existing illumination levels meet recommended levels, a lighting survey should be performed. Chapter 2 of the Lighting Handbook provides guidance. A calibrated light meter (with cosine and photopic

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How Much Illuminance is Necessary?

response correction) should be used for consistently accurate measurements.

Technical Terms
Illumination level or illuminance: density of luminous flux incident on a surface. This basic
lighting parameter is expressed in footcandles or lux (a number about 10 times as large as the equivalent footcandle measurement). Illuminance category: One of a set of categories developed by IESNA to group tasks according to illuminance requirements. Each category is designated by one of nine letters. Workplane: the location where a task is performed; usually related to the distance from a light source(s). Luminance: the luminous intensity of a source per unit area in a given direction; often mistakenly called "brightness." Cosine response: correction to a photo detector that simulates the human eye's response to the angular location of a light source from the "straight ahead" position. Photopic response: correction to a photo detector that simulates the human eye's response to colors and colored light combinations. Luminance ratio: the ratio between the luminances of any two areas in the visual field.

References
Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), Lighting Handbook, Eighth Edition, New York, NY, 1993. IESNA, Office Lighting, ANSI/IESNA RP-1-1993, New York, NY, 1993. EPRI, Lighting Fundamentals Handbook, TR-10710, Palo Alto, CA, 1993. EPRI, Advanced Lighting Guidelines: 1993, TR-101022R1, Palo Alto, CA, 1993. IESNA, Nomenclature and Definitions for Illuminating Engineering, ANSI/IESNA RP-16-1986, New York, NY, 1986. Home
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