QUANTITATIVE PROPERTIES

OF LIGHT
The Measurement of Light
• In the study of light, it is important to have a
basic understanding of the physical concepts
and terminology involve.
• This pertains to:
1. Luminous Flux
2. Luminous Intensity
3. Illuminance or Illumination
4. Luminance
LIGHT SHINES IN A SPHERICAL MANNER
 Luminous Flux
Luminous
Flux
• Defined as the flow of light,

• Measured in lumens
• A lamp receives watts and
emits lumens. The measure
of success of doing this is
called efficacy and is
measured in lumens per
Power
watt (lm/W)
Luminous Flux is equivalent to Flow in Plumbing.
LAMP LUMENS
Type of Lamp Wattage Luminous Flux in
Lumens
Tubular Fluorescent 40 watts 2500 lumens
Lamp
Circular Fluorescent 32 watts 2050 lumens
Lamp
Compact 15 watts 750 lumens
Fluorescent Lamp
(CFL) – 2U
CFL – 3U 26 watts 1420 lumens
CFL – 4U 125 watts 6875 lumens
Halogen Lamp 50 watts 1000 lumens
Metal Halide 400 watts 32,000 lumens
Mercury Lamp 500 watts 11,000 lumens
High Pressure 400 watts 48,000 lumens
Sodium Lamp
EFFICACY OF VARIOUS LIGHT SOURCES
Source Efficacy in Lumen per Watt
Candle 0.10
Oil Lamp 0.30
Incandescent Bulb 8 - 20
Halogen Lamp 16 - 20
Fluorescent Lamp 32 - 102
Mercury Lamp 30 - 60
Metal Halide Lamp 70 - 100
High – pressure Sodium Lamp 50 - 130
Low – pressure Sodium Lamp 120 - 140
 Illuminance
• As luminous flux travels
outward from a source, it
ultimately impinges on ILLUMINANCE
surfaces, where it is reflected,
transmitted, and/or absorbed Average illumination
of a surface is
• Illuminance on a surface, E is luminous flux
the density of luminous flux per unit area.
incident on that surface
• Measured in lumens per
square meter
• Lumen/m2 is called a lux while
lumen/ft2 is called footcandle
 Typical Illuminance Levels
RECOMMENDED
VISUAL ACTIVITES LEVEL IN LUX
(S. I. system)
Lighting for safety 5-20
Lobbies 100
Stairways 50
Reading #2 pencil 300
Reading #3 pencil 500
Inspection (Simple-Difficult) 300-5000
Handcrafts 300-1000
Fine Machine Work 3000

Source: IESNA Lighting Education: Fundamental Level

 Luminous Intensity
• Generally speaking, a light source emits
its luminous flux (Φ) in different
directions and at different intensities. The
visible radiant intensity in a particular
direction is called luminous intensity (I).
The unit of measurement is the candela
(cd).
 Luminance
• The luminance (L) is the brightness of an
illuminated or luminous surface as perceived
by the human eye. Unit of measurement is
candelas per square meter (cd/m2).
Typical Luminance Values
Object
Wall brightness in a well –
lighted office
Moon, Candle flame
Fluorescent lamp
100 watt Incandescent bulb
Sun
Luminance in Candela per
Square meter
100 cd/sq.m.
4,000 to 5,000 cd/sq.m.
6,000 to 8,000 cd/sq.m.
50,000 cd/sq.m.
2.3 E9 cd/sq.m.
Preferred and Permissible Luminance
Item
Recommended Road
Luminance
Clearly discernable human
features
Preferred Wall Luminance
Preferred Ceiling Luminance
Preferred Task Luminance
Permissible Luminaire
Luminance
Luminance in candela per
square meter
1 – 2 cd/sq.m.
15 – 20 cd/sq.m.
25 – 150 cd/sq.m.
50 – 250 cd/sq.m.
100 – 500 cd/sq.m.
1000 – 7000 cd/sq.m.
Lighting Terminologies and Basic Units
Quantity Quantity is a
Measure of
Luminous Intensity Ability of source to produce
(Candlepower) light in a given direction
Luminous Flux Total amount of light
Illuminance Amount of light received on
(illumination) a unit area of surface
(density)
Luminous exitance Density of light reflected or
transmitted from a surface
Luminance Intensity of light per unit
(brightness) area reflected or
transmitted from a surface
1 meter (m) = 3.28 ft;
1 m2 = (3.28 ft)2 = 10.76 ft2;
Symbol Unit in SI Definition of Unit
I Candela (cd) Approximately equal to the
luminous intensity produced by
a standard candle
Ø Lumen (lm) Luminous flux emitted in a solid
angle of 1 steradian by a 1
candela uniform point source
E Lux (lx) One lumen equally distributed
over one unit area of surface
M Lm/m2 A surface reflecting or emitting
1 lumen per unit area
L Cd/m2 A surface reflecting or emitting
light at the rate of 1 candela per
unit of project area
1 cd/m2 = 3.14 lm/m2
1 cd/in2 = 452 lm/ft2; 1fc = 10.76 lux
 Lamp Families and Some Common Lamps Types

* Although shown in this figure, these lamps are not considered

efficient energy-saving lamps
End of Presentation