Chapter Two

Illumination
 Introduction
Light
Electromagnetic radiation that the unaided human eye
can perceive, having a wavelength in the range from about
370 to 800 nanometres (nm) and propagating at the
speed of 299,792.5 km/sec.

Light is just one portion of the various electromagnetic

waves flying through space. These waves have both a
frequency and a length, the values of which distinguish
light from other forms of energy on the electromagnetic
spectrum.
Light is emitted from a body due to any of the following
phenomenon.
Incandescence

Electric Discharge

Electro luminescence

Photoluminescence
Human eye can sense – 380nm (violet) to 700nm (red)
 Introduction
As we know that almost all human activities
depends on light. Sun is a prime natural source of light
but artificial lighting plays almost main role in our daily
life. These artificial lights are produced by mechanical
lamps and electrical lamps.

But due to poor performance the mechanical light

are totally replaced by electrical lights. The electrical
lighting are mainly used for decorative purpose,
advertising, traffic control , medical field and street
lighting etc
 Electrical Lighting
Electrical lighting have the following advantages :
1. Cleanliness
2. Easy to control
3. Economical
4. Easy to handle
5. Steady output
6. Better reliability
7. Suitable for almost all purposes etc.
Electrical Lighting
Three primary considerations to ensure energy
efficiency in lighting systems are:
1. Selection of the most efficient light source possible
in order to minimize power costs and energy
consumption.

2. Matching the proper lamp type, to the intended

work task or aesthetic application, consistent with
color, brightness control and other requirements.

3. Establishing adequate light levels to maintain

productivity improve security and increase safety.
 Lighting schemes
types of illumination schemes
Lighting schemes are classified according to the location,
requirement and purpose etc. are as under :

1. Direct lighting

2. Indirect lighting

3. Semi direct lighting

4. Semi indirect lighting

5. General lighting
Fitting for lighting may be considered in three categories.

1. General utility – designed to be effective, functional

and economic.

2. Special – usually provided with optical arrangements

such us lenses or reflector to give directional lighting.

3. Decorative – designed to be uesthetially pleasing or to

provide a feature rather than to be functional.
 Terminology in illumination
luminous intensity(I) - is the flow rate of light energy per
solid Angle or the strength of the light along a path of a
light emitted from source. Measured in candela (cd).

luminous flux (φ) - is the flow rate of light energy (total

amount of light produced by the source) and the unit is
lumen (lm).

Illumination) (E) - The luminous intensity of a surface in a

given direction per unit area of that surface as viewed from
that direction (density of light shining onto a surface). lux
(lx)- The SI unit of illuminance equal to one lumen
persquare meter.
Luminous Intensity
 laws of Illuminations
There are two laws of Illuminations
A. Law of Inverse Squares
B. Lambert’s Cosine Law
Inverse Square Law
Intensity of Illumination produced by a point source varies
Inversely proportional as square of the distance from the
source.
As light radiates from a point source, the intensity of
Light (I) is inversely proportional to the square of the
distance (d) from the source.
E α I/d2
As intensity is the power per unit area (W/m2), it
naturally decreses with the square of the distance as the
size of the radiative spherical wavefront increses with
distance.
Illumination of a surface is inversely proportional to the
square of the distance between the surface and the light
source provided that the distance between the surface
and the source is sufficiently large so that the source can
be regarded as a point source.
A Source of light which emits light equally in all direction,
For Center of hollow sphere,
Light spreads uniformly means light spreads same at
each direction. For Center of hollow large radius,
Light spreads over a large area proportional to the
square of the radius.
Conclusion:- As radius increases, it will be inversely
proportional to the square of the distance.
For Parallel Surface, (Cone or Pyramids)
Light spreads over a surface inversely proportional to the
square of the source.
Example
A light source of 900cd is situated 3m above a working
surface. a) calculate the illuminance directly below the
source. B) what would be the illuminance if the lamp were
moved to a position 4m from the surface?
 Lambert’s Cosine Law
Sometime surface is not normal to the direction of Light.

But, inclined by some angle.

The area over which the light is spread is then increased

in the ratio

The illumination decreases in the ratio Cosθ/1.

According to this law, Illumination at any point on a

surface is proportional to the cosine of the angle between
the normal at that point and the direction of luminous flux.
Lambert’s Cosine Law of Incidence
The variation of Illuminance on arbitrary surface inclined at
an angle of α.

Fig. shows a lamp placed at A, bm above the floor. For this scheme Fig .
Shows the variation of Illuminance on the floor. It is well known that
Illuminance is maximum under the lamp at ‘B’.
 Design of Lighting Schemes

While designing a good lighting schemes, the following

points must be kept in mind :

1. It should provide adequate illumination.

2. It should provides uniformly distributed light all over

working plane.

3. It should avoid glare and shadows as far as possible.

4. It should provide light of suitable colors.

The problem of the lighting designer at the
functional level

To determine how many lights and

Where to place them to get the correct level of

illumination for a given activity.
The following factors are required to be considered while
designing the lighting scheme :
1. Illumination level

2. Quality of light

3. Co - efficient of utilization

4. Depreciation factor

5. Space height ratio

 Illumination Level

This is the most vital factor in deciding the number and

wattage of luminaries so that we are able to see and
recognize the object properly.

Colors of the body have the property of reflecting the

light in different proportions, degree of illumination, its
distance from the viewer, contrast between the object to
be seen and its surroundings.
 Illumination Level
Type of work recommended illumination level
Offices 100-400 lumens/ meter square
Schools 250-400 lumens/ meter square
Industry 1000 lumens/ meter square
Shops 250-500 lumens/ meter square
Hotels 80-100 lumens/ meter square
Hospitals 250-3500 lumens/ meter square
Degree of illumination, to give necessary brightness to
objects, depends upon:
I. the size of the object and distance of the observer.

II. contrast between the object and background. Greater the

contrast will be the illumination required to distinguish the
object properly.

III. speed of object - Speedy object require more

illumination.

IV. duration of gazing - Object seen for long duration of time

require more illumination
 Quality of Light
This means that the illumination should not be
harmful to the viewers.
It should be glare free, shadow less and contrast
free.
Direct glare from the source of light is most
common factor.
Presence of polished and glassy surface will cause
indirect glare unless diffused light is used.
Hard and long shadows can be avoided by using a
large number of lamps and adjusting the mounting
height.
 Utilization factor or Coefficient of Utilization

 it is the ratio of the lumens actually received by a

particular surface to the total lumens emitted by a
luminous source.

 It is an indication of the effect of the lighting

equipment and the interior combined in producing
horizontal illuminance.

For example UF of 0.3 means that the lumen reaching

horizontal plane is 30% of the lumens of the lamp
operated bare under standard conditions.
Is the ratio of effective luminous flux to the total
luminous flux of light sources.
Always less than one

Usually it varies from 0.5 to 0.8.

U.F.= Fn /F = Effective luminous flux / Total luminous

flux of all the sources

Effective Luminous Flux (Fn)

The luminous flux incident on the working area.

Rest luminous flux is used for lighting the walls and

ceilings and is partly absorbed by the fittings.
The value of this factor varies widely and depends on the
following factors:

Type of lighting system, whether direct, indirect etc.

The type and mounting height of fittings

The colour and surface of walls and ceiling

To some extent the shape and dimensions of the room.

 Depreciation factor/ Maintenance factor

Light emitted by source reduces due to dust or dust

decomposition on light.

 So, quantity of light reflected from ceiling also get

reduced.

 This reduction of light can be minimized by cleaning the

light fittings or white washing.

 But absolute cleanliness is not possible hence we

need to consider depreciation factor.
D. F. = 1/ M. F.
D.F. = Illumination under ideally clean condition /
Illumination under normal working condition

Usually it varies from 1.3 to 1.6.

Space Height Ratio
The ratio of space (horizontal distance ) between the
two adjacent lamps to the vertical height of the lamps
above the working plane is called space height ratio.

So the distance between the lamps is not too much.

An ideal scheme could be when there is large number of

small size lamps are used also it increases the cost of
installation. So the space height ratio is 1 to 1.5.
Methods of lightning calculation
In order to estimate the number and the type of light
fittings required to suit a particular environment, it is
necessary to know what level of luminance is required,
the area to be illuminated, the maintenance factor and
the coefficient of utilization, and the efficiency of the
lamps to be used. A number of methods have been
employed for lighting calculations among which may be
mentioned:
A. Watts per square metre method
B. Lumen or Light flux method
Watts per Square Meter method: - applicable for rough
calculations. It consists in making an allowance of watts
per square meter of area to be illuminated accordingly to
the illumination desired on the assumption of the average
figure of an overall efficiency of the system.

Example: - A house has an external dimension of 30ft by

50ft. If an 80w fluorescent
lamps, and 220V supply is used, determine the size of the
service wire and the
number of lamps required.
Solution:
A = 30ft X 50ft
= 1500ft
Total wattage required = 1500 X 3w
= 4500w ⇒ 4.5Kw
No of lamps required = 4.5Kw/80w = 56.1
⇒ 56 lamps - each 80w
Current carrying capacity = 4.5Kw/220V = 20.5A
Therefore, the size of the cable will be conductor if there
is no any correction factor.
Room index
No. of lamps required
Uniformly distribution of lighting layout
Example: The illumination in a drawing office 30 m x 10 m
is to have a value of 250 lux and is to be provided by a
number of 300-Watts filament lamps. If the coefficient of
utilization is 0.4 and depreciation factor is 0.9, determine
the number of lamps required. The luminous efficiency of
each lamp is 14 lm/W.
Solution: Given E= 250 lm/sqm, A=30x10= 300 sq m, D.F.
= 0.9, U.F. = 0.4.

Total lumens= (250*300)/(0.9*04)= 208333lm

Flux emitted per lamp= 300w*14lm/w= 4200lm
Number of lamp required= 208333lm/4200lm= 50 lamps
Exercise
1. A small workshop 6m by 4m is to have average
illumination on the working plane of 110lx. The lamp
fittings have luminance flux of 1200lumen; uf = 0.5 and
mf = 0.7
a) Calculate the number of lamps.
b) Sketch the lighting layout.
2. A hall measuring 40 m x 16 m is illuminated by certain
number of tube light fixtures of 80 W each. Th
illumination efficiency of each fixture is 80 lumens/ W.
Allow depreciation factor of 0.65 and coefficient of
utilization of 0.75. Determine the total number of
fixtures required to achieve an average illumination of
175 lux on the floor.
Thank you