PRINCIPLES OF ILLUMINATION

INTRODUCTION
Illumination is defined as the intensity of light per unit area. When we talk of illumination, or simply lighting, we are referring to man made lighting. Daylight being excellent is not included, thus, we assume a night time condition. Electric Illumination is the production of light by means of electricity and its application to provide efficient, comfortable and safe vision. Specifically, when one speaks of lighting design, he refers to only two things. 1. The quantity of light 2. The quality of light Quality of Light refers to the amount of illumination or luminous flux per unit area. Quantity of light ca be measured and easily handled because it deals with the number of light fixtures required for a certain area. Quality of Light refers to the distribution of brightness in the lighting installation. It deals with the essential nature of characteristics of light. In short, quality of light is the mixture of all items related to illumination other then the quality of light which includes several elements such as: 1. Brightness 2. Glare 3. Color 4. Psychological reaction 5.Psychological reaction to color and fixture brightness 6. Diffuseness 7. Aesthetics 8. Economics to color and fixtures Perfect Diffusion is an equal intensities of light chasing from all direction producing no shows. A single lamp will cast sharp and deep shadows. A luminous ceiling provides a satisfactory diffuse illumination and less shadows. The color of lighting and the corresponding color of the object within a space is an important consideration in producing a quality of light. There are three characteristics that define a particular coloration. They are: a.Hue is the quality attribute by which we recognize and describe colors as red, blue, yellow, green, violet and so on. b.Brilliance or Value is the difference between the resultant colors of the same hue, such as : white is the most brilliant of the neutral colors while black is the least. c.Saturation or Chroma is the difference from the purity of the colors. Colors of high saturation must used in well lit space

ESTIMATING ILLUMINATION AND BRIGHTNESS

In many respect, it is more important to know luminance measurements than illumination because the eye is more sensitive to brightness than simple illumination. However, it is more difficult to measure luminance than illumination. There are three types of illumination meter, namely: 1.The Comparator type requires the operator to make a brightness Equivalent judgment between the target and the background. 2. The direct Reading type is basically an illumination meter equipped with a hooded cell arranged to block oblique light. 3. The Accurate Laboratory Instrument which is unsuitable for the Filed work. The quality of light or level of illumination can be easily measured or calculated with the aid of a portable foot-candle meter. Footcandle (fc) is the amount of light flux density. It is the unit of measure used when describing the amount of light in a roo and is expressed in lumens per square foot. Footlambert (fl) is defined as the luminance of a surface reflecting, transmitting or emitting one lumen (lm) of illumination per square foot of area in the direction being viewed or the conventional unit of brightness or luminance. In the same manner, the lumens (lm) is the light output generated continuously by a standard wax candle. In our study of light, we are interested in the amount of light that falls on the area we want to illuminate. We also want to know the lumens per square foot or square meter in a space. This quantity called Light Flux Density is the common term Foot-candle (fc) represented by the formula: Footcandle = Lumens Area A 40-watt fluorescent lamp 120 centimeters long produces 3,200 lumens of light in a room having a general dimensions of 10 x 20 ft. Find the illumination on the floor. SOLUTION 1. Footcandle (fc) = Lumens Area fc = 3,200 lm. = 16 footcandle 10 x 20 ft. The footcandle is an important unit of measure in calculating the desired illumination and layout of fixtures. In the absence of Tables of equivalent footcandles for a particular fixture, a rule of thumb of 10-30-50 illumination level is here presented. 10 - footcandle is adequate for halls and corridors 30 - footcandle is s sufficient for areas between work stations such as in offices other than desk areas 50 footcandle is satisfactory on spaces where office work is done.

However, providing an adequate quantity of light alone is not a guarantee for an efficient and comfortable vision. In fact, the quality of light is very important especially where difficult visual needs are required. The luminance or brightness of a diffusely reflecting surface is equal to the product of the illumination and the reflectance. Thus; Luminance = Illumination x reflectance factor or Footlambert = Footcandle x Reflectance factor From illustration 5-1, find the luminance if the reflectance factor of the wall is 40%. SOLUTION: 1) Footlambert = Footcandle x reflectance factor = 16 x 40% = 6.4 Metric Lighting Units In English System of measure, the distance is expressed in feet and the area is in square feet. Under the Metric System (SI) the distance and area are expressed in meters and square meters respectively. Meanwhile, Lumens flux remains in L ume ns butillumina tio n of light flux is expressed in L ux. Thus: Lux = Lumens Area (sq.m.)

APPROXIMATE REFLECTANCE FACTOR

Medium Value Color White Light gray Dark gray Ivory white Ivory Pearl gray Buff Tan Brown Green Percent 80-85 45-70 20-25 70-85 60-70 70-75 40-70 30-50 20-40 25-50

Olive Azure blue Sky blue Pink Cardinal red Red

20-30 35-40 35-40 50-70 20-25 20-25

In the metric system, Luminance or Brightness is expressed in Lambert which is defined as the Luminance or brightness of a surface reflecting, transmitting or emitting one lumens per square centimeter. Millilambert is more conveniently used than the lambert because the value of lambers is greater than what is usually encountered. TABLE OF COMPARISON English Metric (SI) Length Feet Meter Area Square foot Square meter Luminous Flux Lumens Lumens Illumination Flux Density Footcandles Lux

Luminance Footlamberts Lambert or Milli-Lambert