LESSON NO.

1
FUNDAMENTALS OF LIGHT

LESSON OBJECTIVES: AT THE END OF THE LESSON, THE STUDENT

WOULD BE ABLE TO
1. Familiarize with the nature and propagation of light energy
2. State some definition associated with the illumination
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.
Light is emitted through:
a) Incandescence
b) Electric discharge
c) Electro luminescence
d) Photoluminescence
Electrical lighting has 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.
DEFINITION OF TERMS:
1. Light – an electromagnetic phenomenon dealing with the
radiation, refraction, transmission and absorption of
electromagnetic waves. Radiation patterns are similar to those of
various antennas. Light radiation is usually a far field situation,
where the power density falls off as 1/distance2. it differs from that
of electromagnetic spectrum because only the visible spectrum
rather than total electromagnetic power is involved. The human eye
is sensitive to wavelength between 380 nanometers.
The unit of light power is the lumen, which is weighted power within
the visible portion of the spectrum.. For example, a complete
conversion of electromagnetic power to light power will result in
680 lumens per watt if the wavelength is exactly 556 nanometers.
2. Luminous intensity – is the basic standard quantity of a light. All
other quantities are derived from it. The unit of luminous intensity
is the candela (cd). One candela is approximately the intensity of
ordinary wax candle as seen in the horizontal plane.
A lumen is a unit of total light flux. The strength of a light source is
typically given in candle power (cp)
A uniform source of one candela radiates 4π lumens of light flux.
Ion general light sources are quite directional. Candle power
(candelas) is used to descried the apparent strength of a source as
viewed from any particular direction.
3. Luminous flux – defined as one lumen (Lm) when a point source
of one candela illuminates one square foot of a sphere having a
radius of one foot which is centered on the light source. That is, the
flux incident on the one square foot is one lumen.
4. Illumination, E – is the flux density measured in units of lumens
per square foot, or footcandles. Illumination is a point quantity
subject to the law of cosines.
5. Luminance or photometric brightness – the apparent luminous
intensity of a surface, because it is either emitting light or reflecting
light, is called the luminance or photometric brightness.
L(footlamberts) = E(footcandles) x T
Where T = coefficient of transmission
1 footcandle = 10.764 lux
lux = lumens / square meter area
 footcandles = lumens / square foot area
FC = lm / ft2
In short, brightness L is
L = luminous intensity / area
= I/ Acosθ
6. Mean horizontal candle power (MHCP) MHCP is defined as the
mean of the candle power of source in all directions in horizontal
plane.
Mean spherical candle power (MSCP) MSCP is defined as the mean
of the candle power of source in all directions in all planes.
Mean hemispherical candle power (MHSCP) MHSCP is defined as
the mean of the candle power of source in all directions above or
below the horizontal plane.
7. Reduction factor Reduction factor of the source of light is
defined as the ratio of its mean spherical candle power to its mean
horizontal candle power.
Reduction factor = MSCP / MHCP
8. Lamp efficiency - It is defined as the ratio of the total luminous flux
emitting from the source to its electrical power input in watts. It is expressed
in lumen/W.
lamp efficiency = luminous flux / power input
9. Specific consumption It is defined as the ratio of electric power
input to its average candle power.
Space to height ratio It is defined as ratio of horizontal distance
between adjacent lamps to the height of their mountings.
Space to height ratio = horizontal distance between two adjacent
lamps / mounting height of lamps above the working plane
10. Coefficient of utilization or utilization factor It is defined as the
ratio of total number of lumens reaching the working plane to the
total number of lumens emitting from source.
Utilization factor = total lumens reaching the working plane / total
lumens emitting from the source
Maintenance factor It is defined as the ratio of illumination under
normal working conditions to the illumination when everything is
clean
Maintenance factor = illumination under normal condition /
illumination under everything is clean
The value of utilization factor depends upon:
(i) The mounting height of lamps—utilization factor decreases with the
increase in mounting height of lamps
(ii) Area to be illuminated—for given height, proportion of direct light
becomes more and more if floor area increases, i.e., utilization factor
increases with the increase in area to be illuminated
(iii) Type of lighting—more for direct lighting and low for indirect lighting
and
(iv) Colours of surroundings etc.— more for light colours and less for dark
colours. Its value varies from 0.25 to 0.5 and from 0.1 to 0.25 for direct and
indirect lighting schemes respectively
Its value is always less than 1, and it will be around 0.8. This is due
to the accumulation of dust, dirt, and smoke on the lamps that emit
less light than that they emit when they are so clean. Frequent
cleaning of lamp will improve the maintenance factor.

Depreciation factor It is defined as the ratio of initial illumination to

the ultimate maintained illumination on the working plane.
Depreciation factor = 1/maintenance factor
The maintenance factor is based on how often the lights are cleaned
and replaced. It takes into account such factors as decreased
efficiency with age, accumulation of dust within the fitting itself and
the depreciation of reflectance as walls and ceilings age. For
convenience, it is usually given as three options: 
• Good = 0.70
• Medium = 0.65
• Poor = 0.55
11. Waste light factor - When a surface is illuminated by a number of
lamps, there is certain amount of wastage due to overlapping of light
waves. Its value will be between 1.2 to 1.5
Reflection factor - It may be defined as “the ratio of luminous flux
leaving the surface to the luminous flux incident on it”. It’s value will
be always less than 1
Absorption factor - When the atmosphere is full of snow or smoke
fumes, it absorbs some light. Hence absorption factor may be
defined as “the ratio of net lumens available on the working plane
after absorption to the total lumens emitted by the lamp”. It’s value
varies from 0.5 to 1
12. Room index – it is a ratio describing how the room’s height
compare to its length and width
RI = LW / Hm(L+W)
Where L = length of the room
W = width of the room
Hm = mounting height above the work plane
Lighting units conversion factors
Unit multiply by to obtain
Illuminance (E) lux 0.0929 footcandle
footcandle 10.764 lux
Luminance(L) cd/m2 0.2919 footlambert
cd/in2 1550 cd/m 2
millilambert 3.183 cd/m 2
footlambert 3.4263 cd/m 2
Intensity(I) candela 1.0 candlepower
 EXAMPLE NO. 1
1. A lamp is moved from 30 cm to 90 cm above the pages of a
book. Compare the illumination on the book before and after the
lamp is moved.
2. A 64 cd point source is 3 m away from the painting what is the
illumination of the painting in lux?
3. A screen is placed between two lamps so that they illuminate the
screen equally, as shown. The first lamp emits a luminous flux of
1445 lm and is 2.5 m from the screen. What is the distance of the
second lamp from the screen if the luminous flux is 2375 lm?
4. What is the illumination on a surface that is 3.0 m below a 150-W
incandescent lamp that emits a luminous flux of 2275 lm?
5. A public school law requires a minimum illuminance of 160 lx at
the surface of each student’s desk. An architect’s specifications call
for classroom lights to be located 2.0 m above the desks. What is
the minimum luminous flux that the lights must produce
6. Your local public library is planning to remodel the computer lab.
The contractors have purchased fluorescent lamps with a rated
luminous flux of 1750 lm. The desired illumination on the keyboard
surfaces is 175 lx. Assume a single lamp illuminate each keyboard.
What distance above the surface should the lights be placed to
achieve the desired illumination? If the contractors had also already
purchased fixtures to hold the lights that when installed would be
1.5 m above the keyboard surface, would the desired illuminance be
achieved? If not, would the illuminance be greater or less than
desired? What change in the lamp’s luminous flux would be required
to achieve the desired illuminance?
7. Luminous Intensity Two lamps illuminate a screene qually from
distances shown in figure. If lamp A is rated 75 cd, what is lamp B
rated?
8. A 200-V lamp takes a current of 1.2 A, it produces a total flux of
2,860 lumens. Calculate: 1. the MSCPofthe lamp and 2. the
efficiency of the lamp.
9. A room with an area of 6 × 9 m is illustrated by ten 80-W lamps.
The luminous efficiency of the lamp is 80 lumens/W and the
coefficient of utilization is 0.65. Find the average illumination.
10. The flux emitted by 100-W lamp is 1,400 lumens placed in a
frosted globe of 40 cm diameter and gives uniform brightness of
250 milli-lumens/m2 in all directions. Calculate the candel power
of the globe and the percentage of light absorbed by the globe
11. A surface inclined at an angle 40° to the rays is kept 6 m away
from 150 candle power lamp. Find the average intensity of
illumination on the surface.
12. A lamp having a candle power of 300 in all directions is
provided with a reflector that directs 70% of total light uniformly on
a circular area 40-m diameter. The lamp is hung at 15 m above the
area
1. Calculate the illumination.
2. Also calculate the illumination at the center.
3. The illumination at the edge of the surface without reflector
13. Two sources of candle power or luminous intensity 200 candela
and 250 candela are mounted at 8 and 10 m, respectively. The
horizontal distance between the lamp posts is 40 m, calculate the
illumination in the middle of the posts.
Methods of lighting calculations:
1. Watts per Square Metre Method:
• This is principally a “rule of thumb” method, very handy for rough
calculation or checking. It consists in making an allowance of watts per
square metre of area to be illuminated according to the illumination
desired on the assumption of an average figure of overall efficiency of the
system.
2. Lumen or Light Flux Method:
This method is applicable to those cases where the sources of light are such
as to produce an approximate uniform illumination over the working plane
or where an average value is required.
From the size of lamp or lamps employed and from their efficiency total
lumens output are determined. Multiplying the total lumens output from the
source by coefficient of utilization, the lumens received on the working
plane are determined. If the lamps and surroundings are not perfectly clean,
then in determination of lumens received on working plane, the depreciation
factor or maintenance factor should be included, i.e.,
Also Lumens received on working plane = Number of lamps x wattage of
each lamp x efficiency of each lamp in terms of lumens per watt x
coefficient of utilization x maintenance factor.
3. Point to Point or Inverse-Square Law Method:
• This method is applicable where the illumination at a point due to
one or more sources of light is required, the candle powers of the
sources in the particular direction under consideration being known.
• If a polar curve of lamp and its reflector giving candle powers of
the lamp in different directions is known, the illumination at any
point within the range of the lamp can be calculated from the
inverse square law. If two and more than two lamps are illuminating
the same working plane, the illumination due to each can be
calculated and added. This method is not much used because of its
complicated and cumbersome applications. It is employed only in
some special problems, such as flood lighting, yard lighting etc.
Lumen method
1. Total wattage of fixture = number of lamps x each lamp’s watt
2. Lumen per fixtures = lumen efficiency (lumen per watt) x each
fixture’s watts
3. Number of fixtures = required lux x room area / MF x UF x lumen
per fixture
4. Minimum spacing between each fixtures
The ceiling to desk height is 2 meters and space height ratio is 1.25
so
Maximum spcaing between fixtures = 2 x 1.25 = 2.25 m
5. Number of required rows of fixture along the width of the room
Number of rows required = width of room x max spacing
6. Number of fixtures required in each row
Number of fixtures required in each row = total fixtures/number of
rows
7. Axial spacing between each fixtures = length of room / number
of fixtures in each row
8. Transverse spacing between each fixture = width of room /
number of fixture in each row
Lumen method steps
1. Find required lux level
2. Select luminaire
3. Determine room index
4. Determine number of fixtures
N = E x A / F x UF x MF
E = illuminance level required, lux
A = area at working plane height, m2
F = average luminous flux from each lamp, lumen
UF = utilization factor
MF = maintenance factor
5. Determine the minimum spacing between luminaire
Minimum spacing = SHR x Hm
6. Determine the number of required rows of luminaire along width
of the room
Number of required rows= width of the room/ Minimum spacing
7. Determine Number of luminaire in each row
Number of luminaire in each row= Total luminaire / Number of rows
8. Axial spacing along luminaire
Axial spacing= Length of the room/ Number of luminaire in each row
9. Transverse spacing between luminaire
Transverse spacing = Width of the room/ Number of luminaire in
each row
 EXAMPLE NO. 2
An office has a dimension of 20m length, 10m wide and 4m height
The ceiling to desk has a height of 2m
Area to be illuminated is 250 lux using twin lamp 32 watt CFL
luminaire with SHR of 1.25
Each lamp has an initial output of 85 lumen per watt
Maintenance factor is 0.7
Room reflectance = 0.7, 0.3, 0.2
Design a lighting system of this office
 ASSIGNMENT NO.
It is proposed to illuminate a class room of dimensions 6 x 8 x 2.85
m to an illuminance (E) of 400 lx at the bench level(height of table
is 0.85m). The specification calls for luminaires having one 1050
mm 40 W fluorescent natural tube with an initial output of 3200
lumens with white metal base and prismatic plastic diffuser (its UF
is given in Table -2) . Determine the number of luminaires required
for this installation when the MF is 0.7, respectively. The reflection
coefficients are: (C= 0.70, W= 0.3, F=0.2)