A Quick and Clean Look at Lighting Design

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Electrical Construction and Maintenance

Jim Douglas, JM Douglas Electrical Engineering

Sun, 2012-04-01 13:25

Most lighting design articles seem to focus on lamp efficiency, lamp life, CRI, luminaire aesthetics, cost, and all
the claimed benefits of one lamp compared to another. The one topic that always seems to be missing, however,
is the properly applied steps of a true lighting design. Most electrical contractors I work with dont use
engineering data in their lighting projects. Instead, they rely on layouts from past jobs or just replicate what
others are doing. By knowing the basic steps of the lighting design process, youll be able to more accurately
price a project and present it to your customer.
At the start of the design process, always consider the following:
Required footcandle (fc) requirement of an area, including what the customer may wants as far as
lighting levels and quality of lighting.
Code restrictions for energy savings, expressed as maximum watts per square feet, in specified areas. The
two basic requirements come from the IECC (or COMcheck), which is supported by the U.S. Department
of Energy (DOE) and is required by most states and jurisdictions, and California Title 24, which is more
restrictive than COMcheck but also allows more flexibility.
Photometric data, which can be obtained from most lighting manufacturers.
A good way to show you how to use this information is to address each of these items through several example
situations. So lets jump right in.

Office Space Example

Lets say we have a 10-ft 12-ft office with an 8-ft-high T-bar ceiling. The Illuminating Engineering Society
(IES) recommendation for fc lighting level in an office space is 50 fc to 100 fc, depending on the age of
occupants and the specific task requirements. Well use 50 fc as a target. The maximum watts-per-square-foot
requirement for office space is 1.0. Using the COMcheck requirements, this allows for 120W of lighting.
Next, lets consider the following luminaires we might use in this space:
Luminaire #1 2 4 grid, acrylic lens, three T8 lamps at 96W
Luminaire #2 2 4 grid, acrylic lens, two T8 lamps at 64W
Luminaire #3 2 2 grid, acrylic lens, two T8 lamps (F17) at 34W
Luminaire #4 2 2 grid, indirect, low brightness, two T5 high output lamps at 54W
Luminaire #5 Recessed specular reflector, two 26W double twin-tube (DTT) lamps at 52W

Luminaire #1 Calculations
Use the following equation to determine the appropriate number of luminaires needed for this space:
Number of luminaires = (Required fc sq ft of space) [(lumen output of lamps) (coefficient of

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utilization) (light loss factor)] = [(50 fc) (120 sq ft)] [(8,550 lumens) (0.54) (0.8)] = 1.6
fixtures
Thus, we would install two luminaires to meet the lighting requirements of this space.
Note: The values used in the above equation were acquired from the photometric report shown in the Figure
(click here to see Figure) and the coefficient of utilization Table (click here to see Table). Three 32W linear
fluorescent T8 lamps provide an output of 8,550 lumens. The coefficient of utilization (CU) is defined as the
ratio of the lumens received on the work plane (i.e., the top of the desk) to the lumens emitted by the lamps. This
is an important number and is simple to obtain. From the Figure, you can see that I chose an 80% ceiling
reflectance (from the white T-bar grid), a 70% wall reflectance (from a light-colored paint), and a room cavity
ratio (RCR) of 6.7 (rounded off to 7). RCR is simply the lighting efficiency of an enclosed space, and it can be
easily found in lighting manuals or spec sheets. Light loss factor (LLF) is a number obtained by multiplication of
all losses of light involved (i.e., dirt accumulation, lamp light losses, ballast losses, etc.). In this example, I
simplified this calculation and plugged in a value of 0.8.
Installing two #1 luminaires in this space would provide a total wattage level of 192. However, because this is
much larger than the 120W requirement noted earlier, it may not be a wise choice.
Do we have another alternative? Yes. We can use another value in the Figure to determine the number of
luminaires required for this space.
The max candlepower distribution (CD) or candlepower is shown as 2,623 CD. This value is directly below the
fixture. By dividing this CD value by the square of the distance in feet from the bottom of the luminaire to the top
of the desktop, you will determine a new fc level. (Note: assume a distance of
5.5 ft from bottom of luminaire to top of desk.)
fc = 2,623 (5.5)2 = 87 fc
If we again assume a LLF of 0.8, then we end up with a final fc level of 70 (87 0.8).
This series of calculations shows a single luminaire provides an fc level well above the minimum recommended
value of 50, which means this may be a good choice for this space. Based on this calculation method, we see that
one luminaire would provide an fc level of 70 over the work desk and not exceed the maximum energy
requirement of 120W.

Luminaire #2 Calculations
Following the same steps we used for Luminaire #1, we see that Luminaire #2 offers 5,700 lumens and 0.55 CU.
Our initial calculations reveal that three luminaires would be needed to exceed the 50-fc requirement. Using the
CD method results in an fc level of 52. This gives you the option of using two luminaires. (Note: the values for
Luminaire #2 were pulled from a different photometric report, which is not included in this article due to space
constraints.)

Luminaire #3 Calculations
Our calculations reveal that either method would require the use of six luminaires to exceed the 50-fc
requirement. (Note: the values for Luminaire #3 were pulled from a different photometric report, which is not
included in this article due to space constraints.)

Luminaire #4 Calculations
Our calculations reveal that either method would require the use of four luminaires to exceed the 50-fc

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requirement. (Note: the values for Luminaire #4 were pulled from a different photometric report, which is not
included in this article due to space constraints.)

Luminaire #5 Calculations
Our calculations show that either method would require the use of five luminaires to exceed the 50-fc
requirement. (Note: the values for Luminaire #5 were pulled from a different photometric report, which is not
included in this article due to space constraints.)
A quick look back at our five different luminaire options and respective calculations reveals the best option is a
balance between fc levels (and/or what the customer wants) and the maximum lighting energy that can be used
in that space. In this case, luminaire #1 comes out on top.

Manufacturing Space Example

Lets say we are asked to design a lighting system for a manufacturing space that is 200 ft by 200 ft in size with a
finished floor to bottom of luminaire height of 30 ft. The owner wants a light level of 50 fc maintained at ground
level. In this case, maintained means including an LLF. Well use a value of 0.7 for a dirty environment.
The maximum watts-per-square-foot requirement for manufacturing space is 1.0. For this example, well use
Title 24 requirements, which allows 40,000W of lighting. Two different luminaire options will be analyzed.
Luminaire #1 a high-bay fixture with a 350W high-output metal-halide lamp in a concentrated
aluminum optical enclosure, rated at 400W.
Luminaire #2 a high-bay fluorescent fixture with six T5 high-output lamps and a task beam white
reflector (concentrated downlight), rated at 363W.

Luminaire #1 Calculations
Following the same steps we performed in the previous example, we can pull these values from a photometric
report: This luminaire offers 38,000 lumens and 0.73 CU. Subsequent calculations determine 102 luminaires
would be needed to exceed the requirement of 50 fc at ground level.
102 400W = 40,800W (this value exceeds the Title 24 requirement). For simplicity sake, we could use 100
luminaires, which would get us close enough to the required 50-fc level.
An additional check of the photometric data reveals a spacing criterion of 0.92 for this luminaire type. What
does this value represent? It means that as long as the luminaires are spaced not more than 27 ft apart (0.92
30 ft = 27 ft), there will be even lighting throughout this space with no dark spots.
Dividing the 40,000-sq-ft total floor space at the facility by 100 luminaires results in each luminaire serving a
400-sq-ft floor area. Therefore, each luminaire would end up being installed on 20 ft centers. Because this
luminaire would not exceed the 27-ft spacing requirement calculated above, it could be a good choice to light
this space.

Luminaire #2 Calculations
This luminaire offers 30,000 lumens and 0.79 CU. To exceed the 50-fc requirement at ground level, 120
luminaires would be needed.
120 363W = 43,560W (this value exceeds the minimum Title 24 requirement)
After running through the same steps we just performed for luminaire #1, we end up with about 18 ft centerto-center spacing for luminaire #2. Except for the slight overage of minimum watts-per-sq-ft required, this

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luminaire could also be a good choice for this space.

Summary
As weve shown in this article, the use of engineering data doesnt have to be overly complicated. There are quick
and clean methods you can use to design a simple system. One simple equation you can use to determine fc
levels is: fc = [(total lumens) (number of lamps) (0.5)] [(floor area)]. Lamp lumen ratings of common
lamps are:
3,000 for 4 ft T8s
40,000 for 400W metal-halides
5,000 for 4 ft T5 HOs
1,700 for 26W DTTs
However, there are many other factors involved in a lighting design project, including glare, on/off control, color
temperature, environmental factors, aesthetics, and miscellaneous demands of an owner. Nevertheless, the
calculations in this article offer a strong starting foundation. So put the engineering data you have available to
good use.
Douglas is the owner of JM Douglas Electrical Engineering in La Verkin, Utah. He can be reached at:
jmdouglas22@beyondbb.com.
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