SBS5312 Lighting Technology

http://ibse.hk/SBS5312/

Lighting Calculations

Ir. Dr. Sam C. M. Hui

Faculty of Science and Technology
E-mail: cmhui@vtc.edu.hk

Sep 2017
Contents

• Design Considerations
• Typical Calculations
• Lumen Method
• Point-by-point Method
• Other Calculations
• Outdoor Lighting
Design Considerations

• Video: Lighting Calculations (5:51)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfbXx13JgeU
• Basic lighting calculations that are required to
carry out a lighting design
• Luminous flux, luminous intensity, illuminance,
luminance, colour rendering, colour temperature
• Glare, working plane, surface reflectances
• Indoor lighting: calculations are done for both the direct
and inter-reflected light; room geometry; maintenance
• Outdoor lighting: light falls directly on the working
plane
Design Considerations

• Lighting design checklist

• Safety (e.g. emergency escape lighting)
• Task requirements
• Lighting scheme to provide suitable quantity and
direction for the task; colour rendering; glare problems
• Lighting appearance
• Architecture/Interior design
• Energy efficiency
• Lighting equipment, controls, daylighting
 Design Considerations

• Lighting equipment checklist

• Lamps
• Operating characteristics, lamp size/shape, colour
• Luminaires
• Size and shape, light distribution, glare control, ballast
• Operating environment (e.g. corrosive, dusty)
• Lighting controls
• Manual switches, time switches, dimming, daylight-
linked controls, occupant sensing
(Examples of the impact on lighting with differing techniques of lighting distribution inside interior spaces:
http://iarc.uncg.edu/elight/learn/design/la.html)
CIE luminaire types and their light distributions
Design Considerations

• Collect information for lighting design

• Room details:
• Room size (length, width, height)
• Horizontal working plane height above floor level
• Room surface reflectance (ceiling, walls, floor)
• Window size/s and position
• Room index
• K = (L x W)/(L + W) H
• Cleanliness of the room/environment
• The regularity of the cleaning
Recommended room reflectances & illuminance ratios
[Source: CIBSE Lighting Code]
Design Considerations

• Collect information for lighting design (cont’d)

• Task details:
• Type of task/application (e.g. office, industrial, retail)
• Task position (e.g. horizontal/vertical, general/local)
• Special task lighting requirement (e.g. critical
inspection, computer use, disabled persons)
• Special hazards (e.g. wet or dusty environment, rotating
machines) --- luminaire thermal and mechanical
protection
 Design Considerations

• Collect information for lighting design (cont’d)

• Task lighting requirements:
• Task illuminance (lux)
• Task illuminance uniformity (e.g. uniform (0.8), non-
uniform (as appropriate))
• Light colour rendering quality and index (Ra)
• Average installed power density target (W/m2), to meet
building energy code
• Light pollution, sustainable lighting design

(Establish design criteria --- lighting concepts: http://iarc.uncg.edu/elight/learn/establish/lc.html)

 Design Considerations

• Collect information for lighting design (cont’d)

• Room lighting requirements:
• Accent lighting (e.g. display lighting, decorative
lighting)
• Wall lighting (e.g. display lighting, lighting to create
room lightness)
• Ceiling lighting (e.g. lighting to create room lightness)
• Light colour appearance (e.g. warm, intermediate, cool)
• Emergency and/or escape lighting requirement

(Examples of the impact on lighting with differing layers of lighting, and material properties of surfaces inside interior spaces:
http://iarc.uncg.edu/elight/learn/determine/la.html)
Typical Calculations

• To calculate the amount of light that will

result from a design
• Critical for commercial & institutional buildings
• Seldom required for residential design
• Basic considerations
• Light sources (lamp lumens)
• Luminaires & light distribution
• Initial vs. maintained light levels (as lamps age
and luminaires get dirty, light level drops)
Typical Calculations

• Design calculations for simple situations

• The number and layout of luminaires needed for
general lighting
• What additional luminaires are needed to provide
local emphasis or accents
• Energy efficiency of the installation and financial
benefits
• Calculation methods:
• Manual, data sheets/tables, graphical, spreadsheet,
computer software
Typical Calculations

• Determine illuminance level

• Horizontal (most common)
• Average illumination on the work plane (lux)
• Sitting 0.75 to 0.9 m; Standing 0.85 to 1.2m
• Vertical (e.g. on wall surface)
• Inclined
• Analyse light distribution
• Using light distribution curves, illumination and
isolux diagrams
• Illuminance (lux) or luminance (cd/m2)
 Light distribution curves, illumination and isolux diagrams*

Light distribution curves Illumination diagrams

Isolux diagrams

(* See also: http://www.bega.de/en/knowledge/about-light-and-illumination/2-information-about-light-and-illumination/2-06-light-distribution-

curves-illumination-and-isolux-diagrams/)
 Example: Determination of the luminaire spacing a for pathway
illumination of Emin = 1 lx on the basis of the isolux diagram

(* See also: http://www.bega.de/en/knowledge/about-light-and-illumination/2-information-about-light-and-illumination/2-06-light-distribution-

curves-illumination-and-isolux-diagrams/)
Typical Calculations

• Predict general & ambient light levels

• Rough estimation based on a Watts/sq.m method
• Not very accurate, but good for prelim. planning
• Lumen method calculations (light flux method)
• Determines average illuminance in large open areas
• Good for general lighting
• Point-by-point computer calculations
• Determines light levels at a specific point on an object
or surface; complicated, start from fundamental laws
• Can be used for outdoor lighting
 Rough estimation based on a Watts/sq.m method
Average light level desired & Watts/sq.m of Watts/sq.m of
typical application fluorescent, CFL or incandescent or
HID lights halogen lamps
25-50 lux
1-2 3-7
Hotel corridors, stair towers
50-100 lux
Office corridors, parking garages, 2-4 7-10
theatres (house lights)
100-200 lux
Building lobbies, waiting areas, 4-8 10-20
malls, hotel function spaces
200-500 lux
Office areas, classrooms, lecture
15-25 Not recommended
halls, conference rooms, ambient
retail lighting, workshops
500-1000 lux
Grocery stores, laboratories, work 12-20 Not recommended
areas, big box retail stores
[Source: Adapted from Karlen and Benya, 2004. Lighting Design Basics]
Typical Calculations

• Predict task lighting & focal lighting levels

• Difficult to predict accurately
• Methods commonly used
• Use data/guide of the luminaire’s manufacturer
• Use the inverse-square law to estimate
• Use a display lighting software program
Lumen Method

• Lumen Method: average illuminance (E) is

F × n × N × UF × MF
E=
A
• F = initial bare lamp luminous flux (lumens)
• n = number of lamps per luminaire
• N = number of luminaires
• UF = utilisation factor
• MF = maintenance factor
• A = area of the surface (m2)
Lumen Method

• Room index (K): a measure of the proportions of the

room, for rectangular room
• K = (L x W)/(L + W) hm
• L = length of the room
• W = width of the room
• hm = height of luminaire above horiz. reference plane
• Effective reflectances of ceiling, walls & floor
• Cavity index (CI) = (L x W)/(L + W) h = K x hm/h
• h = depth of the cavity (ceiling or floor)
• Determine effective reflectance from tables or formulae
(see examples in CIBSE or SLL Lighting Code)
Lumen Method

• Utilisation factor (UF)

• Ratio of total flux received by the surface to the
total lamp flux of the installation
• Indicates the effectiveness of the lighting scheme
• UF depends upon: the efficiency of luminaire,
luminaire distribution, geometry of the space,
room reflectance, polar curve
• Usually, UF tables are prepared for general
lighting with regular arrays of luminaires, for 3
main room surfaces: ceiling cavity, walls, and
floor cavity or horizontal reference plane
Example of luminaire photometric data and utilisation factor
Lumen Method

• Maintenance factor (MF)

• Ratio of maintained illuminance to initial
illuminance (losses for lamp lumen maintenance)
• MF = LLMF x LSF x LMF x RSMF
• Lamp lumen maintenance factor (LLMF)
• Lamp survival factor (LSF)
• Luminaire maintenance factor (LMF)
• Room surface maintenance factor (RSMF)
• See CIBSE/SLL Code of Lighting for description
Maintenance factor and light depreciation
Lumen Method

• The number of luminaires required for a

required illuminance level E (lux) is:

• Planning the luminaire layout

• Work out a regular layout of luminaires with an
acceptable uniformity
• Rounding the number found to a whole number
that will divide into a regular grid
• Check on the spacing to height ratio
 Luminaire
layout and
spacing
Lumen Method

• Spacing to height ratio (SHR)

• Ratio of distance between adjacent luminaires
(centre to centre) to their height above the working
plane

• where Hm = mounting height; A = total floor area;

N = number of luminaires
• Maximum spacing to height ratio (SHRmax)
• Luminaire spacing shall not exceed the max.
(provided by manufacturer) to ensure uniformity
Lumen Method
• Lumen method: calculation procedure --- a summary
• Calculate room index K, floor/ceiling cavity index
• Calculate effective reflectances of ceiling cavity, walls &
floor cavity
• Determine utilisation factor (UF) from manufacturer's data,
using the room index and effective reflectances
• Determine maintenance factor (MF)
• Obtain nos. of luminaires required
• Determine a suitable layout
• Check that the geometric mean spacing-to-height ratio
• Check the layout does not exceed SHRmax
• Calculate illuminance achieved by the final layout
Lumen Method

• Basic assumptions underlying the lumen method

• Rectangular room
• Ratio of length to width = 1.6 : 1, with a max. of 4 : 1
• Completely empty room
• Uniform reflectance and completely diffuse reflection
properties of the perimeter surfaces
• Uniform distribution of luminous flux over all areas
• Regular luminaire configuration throughout the room
• In the case of fluorescent lamps, luminaire axis = room
axis
Lumen Method

• Examples of lumen method calculations:

• Lighting Design Calculation in a Building – Step by Step
• http://www.electricaltechnology.org/2017/03/lighting-design-
calculation-in-building.html
• Lumen method calculations
• http://www.arca53.dsl.pipex.com/index_files/lummethd.htm
• The installer’s guide to lighting design, Good Practice
Guide 300 (page 22-26)
• http://www.cibse.org/getmedia/0276ac78-dc41-4694-9378-
8f984ef924f2/GPG300-The-Installers-Guide-to-Lighting-
Design.pdf.aspx
Point-by-point Method

• Predict direct illuminance at each point on a

plane, using measured data of luminous
intensity distribution of a source or a luminaire
• Based on the inverse square law and cosine law
• Three factors must be considered:
• Luminous intensity
• Distance
• Orientation of the surface
Inverse Square Law for lighting calculations
Cosine Law for lighting calculations
Point-by-point Method

• Video:
• Lighting Point by Point (5:08)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8ZKNOvDmCQ

• Limits for using point by point method:

• Maximum physical dimension of the surface under
design is not larger than 1/5th the mounting height
above the evaluation point
• Does not apply to a surface of infinite length
Point-by-point Method

• Computer software can be used to perform

numerical point-by-point calculations of direct
or reflected light incident on any real surface
or imaginary plane
• The results can be used to predict or quantify the
distribution of artificial or natural light in any
environment (lighting simulation)
• Brightness of room surfaces and patterns of light on the
ceiling, walls, and floor
• Also lighting quality & visual performance
Point-by-point Method

• Two calculation techniques when simulating a

lighting application
• Direct Calculation Method
• A simplified technique when reflected light need not be
considered in the results; often used in exterior lighting
applications e.g. road and sports lighting
• It cannot be rendered
• Full Radiosity Method
• Accurate computation of interreflected light; for interior
lighting applications or when rendering is desired
Two calculation techniques for simulating a lighting application

Direct calculation Full Radiosity calculation

 Lighting calculations and simulation in Revit BIM using ElumTools

(Source: http://www.elumtools.com/)
 Using isolines and spatial maps to evaluate the gradient of light across a
workplane or surface

(Source: http://www.elumtools.com/)
Other Calculations

• Lighting to provide local emphasis

• Emphasis or accent lighting is used to draw
attention to an area or an object, e.g. a reception
desk in an entrance area or a display in a shop
• The amount of light needed to emphasise or draw
attention to an object depends on the level of
general lighting
• Ratio of display light to general lighting:
• ‘Subtle’ effect --- 5 : 1
• ‘Moderate’ emphasis --- 15 : 1
• ‘Strong’ emphasis --- 30 : 1
Other Calculations

• Example: Use spotlight for local emphasis

• Manufacturers usually provide information in a
diagrammatic form showing the effect of a
particular spotlamp at various distances
• Width of the beam and either the illuminance at the
beam centre or the average illuminance across the beam
• Calculate the illuminance from a spotlight or any other
small source using the ‘point source formula’
• Wall washing: This uses luminaires that usually
have an asymmetric beam shape. The
manufacturers usually provide details of the
luminaire layout and illuminance performance
Typical performance data for spotlight and wall-washing luminaire

Spotlight Wall-washing luminaire

Other Calculations

• Outdoor area lighting design, such as

floodlighting, sports and road lighting
• Area lighting Design Calculations - Part One
• http://www.electrical-knowhow.com/2013/01/area-
lighting-design-calculations-part.html

• Daylighting and daylight factor

• http://personal.cityu.edu.hk/~bsapplec/methods.htm
Other Calculations

• Other lighting system related calculations:

• Checking for energy efficiency
• Local building/lighting energy efficiency code
• Average installed power density (W/m2)
• Energy-saving payback calculations
• Demonstrate to a client that the additional cost of
installing efficient equipment is worthwhile is by
calculating payback period – the length of time before
the savings match the extra initial cost
• Payback = (the extra initial cost) / (annual cost savings)
• After this period, the user has saved more than he has
spent and continues to save money
Outdoor Lighting

• Outdoor (or exterior) lighting

• Floodlighting: flooding a surface with light
• Achieve illumination on vertical or horizontal surfaces
• Design issues
• Appearance during daytime
• Glare from the installation
• Decorative lighting
• Lighting for specific outdoor activities e.g. sports
• Applications:
• Building façade, sports, road lighting
Legislative Council Building (now Court of Final Appeal)
at daytime and night-time
Outdoor Lighting

• Outdoor lighting (cont’d)

• Floodlighting a building
• Requires a sense of drama and colour
• Select locations for putting floodlights & aiming points
• Peak intensity & beam angle
• Usually all the beams from each floodlight shall overlap
• Uniformity ratio (max : average) about 5:1
• Floodlighting a horizontal open area
• Use isolux diagram (horizontal illumination plots)
• Or isocandela and zonal flux diagram
• Calculate using inverse square law and cosine law
Floodlight design data
[Source: Thorn Lighting, UK]
Sample floodlight design for a tennis court
[Source: Thorn Lighting, UK]
[Source: Thorn Lighting, UK]
Further Reading

• e-light: LEARN: the different stages of the lighting design

process http://iarc.uncg.edu/elight/learn/learn.html
• Establish design criteria
http://iarc.uncg.edu/elight/learn/establish/est.html
• Record architectural constraints
http://iarc.uncg.edu/elight/learn/record/record.html
• Determine visual functions and tasks
http://iarc.uncg.edu/elight/learn/determine/deter.html
• Design light distribution
http://iarc.uncg.edu/elight/learn/design/design.html
• Qualitative and quantitative results
http://iarc.uncg.edu/elight/learn/qualitative/qual.html
Further Reading

• Lighting Design Calculation in a Building –

Step by Step
• http://www.electricaltechnology.org/2017/03/light
ing-design-calculation-in-building.html
• The installer’s guide to lighting design, Good
Practice Guide 300
• http://www.cibse.org/getmedia/0276ac78-dc41-
4694-9378-8f984ef924f2/GPG300-The-Installers-
Guide-to-Lighting-Design.pdf.aspx
References

• SLL, 2009. The SLL Lighting Handbook, Society of

Light and Lighting (SLL), Chartered Institution of
Building Services Engineers, London.
• Chapter 6: Lighting design
• Raynham, P., 2012. The SLL Code for Lighting,
Society of Light and Lighting (SLL), London.
• Chapter 12: Photometric datasheets
• Chapter 13: Indoor lighting calculations
• Chapter 14: Outdoor lighting calculations