LIGHTING FUNDAMENTALS
The two objectives of the lighting designer are:
(i) To provide the right quantity of light,
(ii) Provide the right quality of light.
Lighting Quantity
Lighting quantity is the amount of light
provided to a room
Easily measurable
Units
Lighting quantity is primarily expressed in three
types of units: watts, lumens and foot-candles (fc)
WATT
The watt is the unit for measuring electrical
power.
It defines the rate of energy consumption by
an electrical device when it is in operation.
The amount of watts consumed represents
the electrical input to the lighting system.
LUMENS
The output of a lamp is measured in lumens.
Theamount of lumens can also be used to describe
the output of an entire fixture (comprising several
lamps).
Thus, the number of lumens describes how much
light is being produced by the lighting system.
Foot-candles
Foot-candles shows how much light is actually reaching
the work plane.
Foot-candles are the end result of watts being converted
to lumens
You can measure the amount of foot-candles with a light
meter when it is placed on the work surface where
tasks are performed.
Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) recommends
light levels for specific tasks using foot-candles, not
lumens or watts.
Efficacy similar to efficiency, efficacy describes an
output/input ratio, the higher the output (while input is
kept constant), the greater the efficacy.
Efficacy is the amount of lumens per watt from a
particular energy source.
A common misconception in lighting terminology is that
lamps with greater wattage provide more light.
However, light sources with high efficacy can provide
more light with the same amount of power (watts), when
compared to light sources with low efficacy.
IES Recommended Light Levels
The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) is the
largest organized group of lighting professionals in the
United States
IES has prescribed the appropriate light levels for many
kinds of visual tasks.
Lighting professionals applied the philosophy that
“more light is better,” and light levels recommended by
IES generally increased until the 1970s
Recently found that occupant comfort decreases when a
space has too much light.
Experiments have confirmed that the excessive light
levels worker productivity was decreasing due to poor
visual comfort.
Due to these findings, IES revised their Handbook and
reduced the recommended light levels for many tasks.
The lighting designer must avoid over-illuminating a
space.
LIGHTING QUALITY
Have a dramatic influence on the attitude and
performance of occupants.
Different “moods” can be created by a lighting system.
Occupants can be influenced to work more effectively if
there environment that promotes a “work-like”
atmosphere.
Goal of the lighting designer is to provide the
appropriate quality of light for a particular task.
Employee comfort and performance are worth more than
energy savings
Cost of energy for lighting is relatively small compared to the
cost of labor.
Improvements in lighting quality can yield high dividends for
businesses because gains in worker productivity
Conversely, if a lighting retrofit reduces lighting quality,
occupant performance may decrease
Good energy managers should remember that buildings were
not designed to save energy, they exist to create an
environment where people can work efficiently
Lighting quality
Lighting quality can be divided into four main
considerations:
(i) Uniformity
(ii) Glare
(iii) Color Rendering Index
(iv) Coordinated Color Temperature.
Uniformity
The uniformity of illuminance describes how evenly light
spreads over an area.
Creating uniform illumination requires proper fixture spacing.
Non-uniform illuminance creates bright and dark spots,
which can cause discomfort for some occupants
Uniform lighting applied over large areas can waste large
amounts of energy
Uniform illumination should be applied on specific tasks.
Glare
Glare is a sensation caused by relatively bright objects in
an occupant’s field of view.
The key word is relative, because glare is most probable
when bright objects are located in front of dark
environments.
For example, a car’s high beam headlights cause glare to
oncoming drivers at night, yet create little discomfort
during the day.
Contrast is the relationship between the brightness of an
object and its background.
Visual Comfort Probability (VCP)
Visual Comfort Probability is a rating given to a fixture
which indicates the percent of people who are comfortable
with the glare.
Thus, a fixture with a VCP =80 means that 80% of occupants
are comfortable with the amount of glare from that fixture.
A minimum VCP of 70 is recommended for general interior
spaces.
Fixtures with VCPs exceeding 80 are recommended in
computer areas and high-profile executive office
environments.
Visual Display Terminals (VDTs)
Environment contains a variety of special visual tasks,
including the use of computer monitors or visual display
terminals (VDTs).
Occupants using VDTs are extremely vulnerable to glare and
discomfort.
Reflections of ceiling lights are visible on the VDT screen,
the occupant has difficulty reading the screen.
This phenomena is also called “discomfort glare,” common in
rooms that are uniformly illuminated by fixtures with low a
VCP.
Color
Color considerations have an incredible influence on
lighting quality.
Light sources are specified based on two color-related
parameters:
the Color Rendering Index
Coordinated Color Temperature
CRI provides an evaluation of how colors appear under
a given light source.
The index range is from 0 to 100. The higher the
number, the easier to distinguish colors.
Generally, sources with a CRI > 75 provide excellent
color rendition.
Sources with a CRI < 55 provide poor color rendition.
High CRI be used with visual tasks that require the
occupant to distinguish colors
Eg: Printing Press
Coordinated Color Temperature (CCT)
The Coordinated Color Temperature (CCT) describes
the color of the light source
On a clear day, the sun appears yellow. On an cloudy
day, sun appears to be gray.
CCT is not related to CRI, but it can influence the
atmosphere of a room
Cool White lamps, which have a CCT = 4100K.
However, a more recent trend has been to specify 3500K
tri-phosphor lamps,
Lighting System Components
After determining the quantity and quality
of illumination required for a particular
task
Lighting designers specify the lamp, then
the ballast, and finally the fixture to meet
the lighting needs
Lamps
First component to consider in the lighting
design process.
The lamp choice determines the light
quantity, CRI, CCT, operational costs of the
lighting system.
Incandescent
The oldest electric lighting technology
Incandescent lamps are the least efficacious (have the
lowest lumens per watt) and have the shortest life.
They produce light by passing a current through a
tungsten filament, causing it to become hot and glow.
As the tungsten emits light, it gradually evaporates,
eventually causing the fi lament to break.
Least efficacious, they are still sold in great quantities
because of economies of scale and market barriers.
Consumers still purchase incandescent bulbs because
they have low initial costs.
if life-cycle cost analyses are used, incandescent lamps
are usually more expensive than other lighting systems
with higher efficacies.
Compact Fluorescent Lamp
Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) are energy
efficient, long lasting replacements for some
incandescent lamps.
CFLs composed of two parts, the lamp and the ballast.
The short tubular lamps can last longer than 8,000
hours. The ballasts usually last longer than 60,000
hours.
CFLs can be purchased as self-ballasted units, which
“screw in” to an existing incandescent socket.
CFLs are excellent replacements for incandescent
lamps.
CFLs provide similar light quantity and quality while
only requiring about 20-30% of the energy of
comparable incandescent lamps.
In addition, CFLs last 7 to 10 times longer than their
incandescent counterparts.
In many cases, it is cost-effective to replace an entire
incandescent fixture with a fixture CFLs.
Fluorescent
Fluorescent lamps are the most common light source for
commercial interiors
They are relatively efficient, have long lamp lives and
are available in a wide variety of styles.
For many years, the conventional fluorescent lamp used
in offices has been the four-foot F40T12 lamp, with a
magnetic ballast.
These lamps are being rapidly replaced by T8 or T5
lamps with electronic ballasts.
Some lamp labels include additional information, indicating
the CRI and CCT.
CRI is indicated with one digit, like “8” meaning CRI = 80.
CCT is indicated by the two digits following, “35” meaning
3500K.
F32T8/841 label indicates a lamp with a CRI = 80 and a CCT
= 4100K
lamp manufacturer might label a lamp with a letter code
referring to a specific lamp color and energy saving
Tri-phosphor lamps have a coating on the inside of the lamp
which improves performance.
Tri-phosphor lamps usually provide greater color rendition.
A bi-phosphor lamp (T12 Cool White) has a CRI= 62. By
upgrading to a tri-phosphor lamp with a CRI = 75,
Tri-phosphor lamps are commonly specified with systems
using electronic ballasts.
Lamp flicker and ballast humming are also significantly
reduced with electronically ballasted systems.
High Intensity Discharge
Similar to fluorescent lamps produces light by
discharging an electric arc through a tube filled with
gases.
Generate much more light, heat and pressure within the
arc tube than fluorescent lamps, hence the title “high
intensity” discharge
HIDs require time to warm up and should not be turned
ON and OFF for short intervals
There are three popular types of HID
sources
◦ Mercury Vapor,
◦ Metal Halide
◦ High Pressure Sodium.
Mercury Vapor
Mercury Vapor systems were the “first generation”
HIDs.
Relatively inefficient, provide poor CRI and have the
most rapid lumen depreciation rate of all HIDs.
HID sources have replaced mercury vapor lamps in
nearly all applications.
Mercury Vapor lamps provide a white-colored light
which turns slightly green over time
Metal Halide
Similar to mercury vapor lamps, but contain slightly
different metals in the arc tube,
Provides more lumens per watt with improved color
rendition
Efficacy is twice as compared to Mercury Vapor lamps
Metal Halide lamps provide a white light and are
commonly used in industrial facilities, sports arenas and
other spaces where good color rendition is required.
High Pressure Sodium
Higher efficacy than Metal Halide lamps, produces a golden color
light
Economical choice for most outdoor and some industrial
applications where good color rendition is not required.
HPS lamps do not provide the best color rendition, (or
attractiveness) as “white light”
Adequate for indoor applications at some industrial facilities where
color is not important.
when HPS is installed at a great distance from metal halide lamps or
fluorescent systems, the occupant will have no reference “white
light” and he/she will accept the HPS as “normal.”.
Low Pressure Sodium
Although LPS systems have the highest efficacy of any
commercially available HID
This source produces the poorest color rendition of all lamp types.
With low CCT, the lamp appears to be “pumpkin orange,” and all
objects illuminated by its light appear black and white or shades of
gray.
The lamps are physically long (up to 3 feet) and not considered to
be point sources.
LPS has become popular because of its extremely high efficacy.
With up to 60% greater efficacy than HPS.
LPS is economically attractive
BALLAST
Ballasts are an integral component of the lighting
system, they have a direct impact on light output
Except incandescent systems, nearly all lighting
systems (fluorescent and HID) require a ballast.
A ballast controls the voltage and current that is supplied
to lamps.
The ballast factor is the ratio of a lamp’s light output to a
reference ballast.
General purpose fluorescent ballasts have a ballast factor
that is less than one (typically .88 for most electronic
ballasts).
Special ballasts may have higher ballast factors to
increase light output, or lower ballast factors to reduce
light output.
Ballast with a high ballast factor also consumes more
energy than a general purpose ballast.
Fluorescent Lamp Ballast
Two types of fluorescent ballasts:
Magnetic and
Electronic Ballast.
Magnetic ballasts are available in three primary types.
Standard core and coil
High-efficiency core and coil
Cathode cut-out or Hybrid
Standard magnetic ballasts relatively inefficient at operating
fluorescent lamps
High-efficiency” magnetic ballast can replace the “standard
ballast,” improving the system efficiency by approximately
10%.
Cathode cut-out” or “hybrid” ballasts are high-efficiency core
and coil ballasts that incorporate electronic components
cut off power to the lamp cathodes after the lamps are
operating, resulting in an additional 2-watt savings per lamp
Electronic Ballast
Electronic ballast technology, its reliability and
harmonic distortion problems hampered their success
during initial stage.
However, most electronic ballasts available today have
a failure rate of less than one percent, and less
harmonic current distortion
Electronic ballasts are superior to magnetic ballasts
because they are typically
30% more energy efficient
produce less lamp flicker,
ballast noise, and waste heat.
Electronic ballasts improve fluorescent system efficacy
by converting the standard 60 Hz input frequency to a
higher frequency, usually 25,000 to 40,000 Hz.
Lamps operating on these frequencies produce about the
same amount of light, with 40% less power than a
standard magnetic ballast.
Electronic ballasts are parallel-wired, so that when one
lamp burns out, the remaining lamps in the fixture will
continue to operate.
In a typical magnetic, (series- wired system) when one
component fails, all lamps in the fixture shut OFF.
Before maintenance personnel can relamp, they must
first diagnose which lamp failed.
Thus the electronically ballasted system will reduce time
to diagnose problems
HID Ballast
High Intensity Discharge lamps also require
ballasts to operate.
Although there are not nearly as many specification
options as with fluorescent ballasts,
HID ballasts are available in dimmable and bi-level
light outputs. Instant restrike systems are also
available.
Fixtures
A fixture is a unit consisting of the lamps, ballasts,
reflectors, lenses or louvers and housing.
The main function is to focus or spread light
emanating from the lamp(s).
Without fixtures, lighting systems would appear
very bright and cause glare
Fixture Efficiency
Fixtures block or reflect some of the light exiting
the lamp.
Efficiency of a fixture is the percentage of lamp
lumens produced that actually exit the fixture in the
intended direction
Coefficient of Utilization (CU) is the percent of lumens
produced that actually reach the work plane.
The CU incorporates the fixture efficiency, mounting
height, and reflectances of walls and ceilings.
Therefore, improving the fixture efficiency will improve
the CU.
Energy Efficient Lighting
Electric lighting is a major energy consumer.
Enormous energy savings are possible using energy
efficient equipment, effective controls, and careful
design.
Using less electric lighting reduces heat gain, thus
saving air-conditioning energy and improving thermal
comfort.
There are several types of energy efficient lighting and affordable
lighting technology.
1. INSTALLATION OF COMPACT FLUORESCENT LAMPS
(CFLS) IN PLACE OF INCANDESCENT LAMPS.
CFLs use about 2/3 less energy than standard incandescent bulbs,
Gives same amount of light, and can last 6 to 10 times longer
When looking to purchase CFLs compare the light output, or
Lumens, and not the watts.
If you wish to replace is 60 Watts incandescent bulb, this is equal to
800 Lumens.
To get the same amount of light in a CFL, you should look to find a
CFL that provides 800 Lumens or more
2.ENERGY-EFFICIENT FLUORESCENT LAMPS IN PLACE OF
“CONVENTIONAL” FLUORESCENT LAMPS.
All fluorescent lamps are energy efficient and cost effective.
Several types of fluorescent lamps that vary depending on
Duration of their lamp life,
Energy efficiency,
Quality of color it transmits.
T-8 lights are the most cost effective, and are 30% to 40% more efficient
than T-12 lamps, which have poor color rendition and cause eye strain.
T-8 lamps provide more illumination, better color, and don't flicker
T-5 lamps are the most energy efficient and also tend to transmit the best
color
Using Electronic ballast in place of Magnetic ballast
3.INSTALLATION OF OCCUPANCY/MOTION
SENSORS TO CONTROL LIGHTS
Lighting can be controlled by occupancy sensors
Whenever someone is within the area being scanned the
lights will on.
When motion can no longer be detected, the lights shut off.
Occupancy sensors are produced in two primary types:
◦ Ultrasonic technology
◦ Passive Infrared
◦ Dual-Technology (DT) sensors
Ultrasonic Sensors (US)
Ultrasonic sensors transmit and receive high-frequency sound
waves above the range of human hearing.
The sound waves bounce around the room and return to the
sensor.
Any motion within the room distorts the sound waves, the sensor
detects this distortion and signals the lights to turn ON.
When no motion has been detected over a user-specified time,
the sensor sends a signal to turn the lights OFF.
Ultrasonic sensors need enclosed spaces they can only be used
indoors and perform better if room surfaces are hard, where
sound wave absorption is minimized
Passive infrared sensors
Passive infrared sensors react to changes in heat, such as
the pattern created by a moving person.
When a person moves, the sensor “sees” a heat source
move from one zone to the next.
PIR sensors require an unobstructed view, and as
distance from the sensor increases, larger motions are
necessary to trigger the sensor.
Applications include open plan offices (without
partitions), classrooms and other areas that allow a clear
line of sight from the sensor
Dual-Technology (DT) sensors
Dual-Technology (DT) sensors combine both US
and PIR sensing technologies.
DT sensors can improve sensor reliability and
minimize false switching.
Costlier
ADD LIGHTING CONTROLS SUCH AS PHOTO
SENSORS OR TIME CLOCKS
Photo sensor controls monitor daylight conditions and allow
fixtures to operate only when needed.
Photo sensors detect the quantity of light and send a signal to
a main controller to adjust the lighting.
Photo sensors are commonly used with outdoor lighting to
automatically turn lights
This helps to lower energy costs by ensuring that unnecessary
lighting is not left on during daytime hours.
4. KEY TAG SYSTEM, TO REGULATE THE
ELECTRIC POWER IN A ROOM
The key tag system uses a master switch at the
entrance of each guest room
requiring the use of a room key-card to activate
them.
only occupied rooms consume energy because
electrical appliances are switched off
5. LIGHT EMITTING DIODE (LED) SIGN BOARDS
Produce equivalent lighting and consume 95% and 75%
less electricity than incandescent bulbs and CFL
In series wired LED circuit, when one LED light burns
out, the whole sign loses its light. Look for LED exit
signs that are wired in a parallel circuit
6. USE HIGH EFFICIENCY (HID) EXTERIOR
LIGHTING
Metal halide and high pressure sodium are excellent outdoor
lighting systems.
High pressure sodium has a pink-orange glow and is used
when good color rendition isn’t critical.
Metal halide, though less efficient, provides clean white light
and good color rendition.
HID lighting is mostly utilized in outdoors.
