ILLUMINATION

WEEK 13
 Theory
• Light is captured by the
human eye and
processed into an image
by the brain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv2Ff9zKlv0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcedXDN6a88
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTZl2qnzifc
• It is a fairly complicated
process with the light
rays passing through the
pupil, an opening in the
eye, and through the
cornea and lens, which
focus the light rays on
the retina at the back of
the eyeball.
• The retina is composed
of photosensitive
receptors, the rods,
which are sensitive to
black and white,
especially at night, but
have poor visual acuity,
and the cones, which are
sensitive to colors in
daylight and have good
visual acuity.
 • The cones are concentrated in the fovea, while the rods are
spread out over the retina. Electrical signals from the
photoreceptors are collected and passed by the optic nerve to
the brain where the light from external illumination is
processed and interpreted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ElAuQyw4uA
• The basic theory of illumination
applies to a point source of light
(such as a candle) of a given
luminous intensity, measured in
candelas(cd)
• Light emanates spherically in all
directions from the source with
1-cd sources emitting 12.57
lumens (lm) (as determined
from the surface area of a
sphere, 4pr2).
• The amount of light striking a surface, or a section of this
sphere, is termed illumination or illuminance and is measured
in footcandles (fc).

• The amount of illumination striking a surface drops off as the

square of the distance d in feet from the source to the surface:
• Some of that light is absorbed and some of it is reflected (for
translucent materials, some is also transmitted), which allows
humans to “see” that object and provides a perception of
brightness.

• The amount reflected is termed luminance and is measured in

foot-lamberts(fL).
• It is determined by the reflective properties of the surface,
known as reflectance:
• Reflectance is a unitless proportion and ranges from 0 to 100
percent.

• High quality white paper has a reflectance of about 90 percent,

newsprint and concrete around 55 percent, cardboard 30
percent, and matte black paint 5 percent.
• The reflectances for various color paints or finishes are
presented in Table below:.
 Visibility
• The clarity with which the human sees something is usually
referred to as visibility.

• The three critical factors of visibility are:

– visual angle
– contrast
– Illuminance (the most important)
• Visual angle is the angle subtended at the eye by the target,
and contrast is the difference in luminance between a visual
target and its background.
• Visual angle is usually defined in arc minutes (1/60 of a degree)
for small targets by:

– h= height of the target or critical detail (or stroke width for printed
matter)
– d= distance from the target to the eye in the same units as h)
• Contrast can be defined in several ways.

• A typical one is:

Where L = luminance
• Contrast, then, is related to the difference in maximum and
minimum luminances of the target and background.

• Note that contrast is unitless.

• Other less important factors for visibility are :
– exposure time
– target motion
– age
– known location
– and training
• which will not be included here.
• The relationship between these three critical factors was
quantified by Blackwell (1959) in a series of experiments that
led to the development of the Illuminating Engineering Society
of North America (IESNA, 1995) standards for illumination.
• Although the Blackwell
curves as such are not often
used today, they show the
trade-off between the size
of the object, the amount of
illumination (in this case,
measured as luminance
reflected from the target),
and the contrast between
the target and background.
• Thus, although increasing the amount of illumination is the
simplest approach to improving task visibility, it can also be
improved by increasing the contrast or increasing the size of
the target.
 Illuminance
• Recognizing the complexity of extending the point source
theory to real light sources (which can be anything but a point
source) and some of the uncertainties and constraints of
Blackwell’s (1959) laboratory setting, the IESNA adopted a
much simpler approach for determining minimum levels of
illumination (IESNA, 1995).
• The first step is to identify the general type of activity to be
performed and classify it into one of nine categories, shown in
Table 6.2.
• A more extensive list of specific tasks for this process can be
found in IESNA (1995).
• Note that
categories A, B,
and C do not
involve specific
visual tasks.
• For each category,
there is a range of
illuminances (low,
middle, high).
• The appropriate value is selected by calculating a weighting
factor (-1, 0, +1) based on three task and worker
characteristics, shown in Table below.

• These weights are then summed to obtain the total weighing

factor.
• Note that since categories
A, B, and C do not involve
visual tasks, the
speed/accuracy
characteristic is not
utilized for these
categories, and overall
room surfaces are utilized
in place of task
background.
• If the total sum of the
two or three
weighting factors is -2
or -3, the low value
of the three
illuminances is used;
if -1, 0, or +1, the
middle value is used;
and if +2 or +3, the
high value is used.
• In practice, illumination is typically measured with a light
meter (similar to one found on cameras, but in different units),
while luminance is measured with a photometer (typically, a
separate attachment to the light meter).
• Reflectance is usually calculated as the ratio between the
luminance of the target surface and the luminance of a
standard surface of known reflectance (e.g., a Kodak neutral
test card of reflectance = 0.9) placed at the same position on
the target surface.
• The reflectance of the target is then:
 LIGHT SOURCES AND DISTRIBUTION
• After determining the illumination requirements for the area
under study, analysts select appropriate artificial light sources.

• Two important parameters related to artificial lighting are

efficiency [light output per unit energy:
– lumens per watt (lm/W)]
– color rendering.
• Efficiency is particularly important, since it is related to cost;
efficient light sources reduce energy consumption.

• Color rendering relates to the closeness with which the

perceived colors of the object being observed match the
perceived colors of the same object when illuminated by
standard light sources.
• The more efficient light sources (high- and low-pressure
sodium) have only fair to poor color rendering characteristics
and consequently may not be suitable for certain inspection
operations where color discrimination is necessary.
• Table 6.4 provides
efficiency and color
rendering information
for the principal types
of artificial light.
• Typical industrial
lighting sources,
that is, luminaires,
are shown in
Figure 6.4.
• Luminaires for general lighting are classified in accordance with
the percentage of total light output emitted above and below
the horizontal (see Figure 6.5).
• Indirect lighting illuminates the ceiling, which in turn reflects
light downward. Thus, the ceilings should be the brightest
surface in the room
• Direct lighting deemphasizes the ceiling surface and places more of
the light on the work surfaces and the floor.

• Direct–indirect lighting is a combination of both. This distribution

of lighting is important, as IESNA (1995) recommends that the ratio
of luminances of any adjacent areas in the visual field not exceed
3/1.

• The purpose of this is to avoid glare and problems in adaptation.

 GLARE
• Glare is the excessive brightness in the field of vision.

• This excessive light is scattered in the cornea, lens, and even

corrective lenses (Freivalds, Harpster, and Heckman, 1983),
decreasing visibility so that additional time is required for the
eyes to adapt from light to darker conditions.
• Also, unfortunately, the eyes tend to be drawn directly to the
brightest light source, which is known as phototropism.

• Glare can be either direct, as caused by light sources directly in

the field of view, or indirect, as reflected from a surface in the
field of view.
• Direct glare can be reduced by using more luminaires with
lower intensities, using baffles or diffusers on luminaires,
placing the work surface perpendicular to the light source, and
increasing overall background lighting so as to decrease the
contrast.
• Reflected glare can be reduced by using nonglossy or matte
surfaces and reorienting the work surface or task, in addition
to the modifications recommended for direct glare.

• Also, polarizing filters can be used at the light source as part of

glasses worn by the operator.
• A special problem is the stroboscopic effect caused by the
reflections from moving parts or machinery.

• Avoiding polished mirrorlike surfaces is important here.

• For example, the mirrorlike qualities of the glass screen on
computer monitors is a problem in office areas.

• Repositioning the monitor or using a screen filter is helpful.

• Typically, most jobs will require supplementary task lighting.

• This can be provided in a variety of forms, depending on the

nature of the task (see Figure 6.7).
 COLOR
• Both color and texture have psychological effects on people.

• For example, yellow is the accepted color of butter; therefore,

margarine must be made yellow to appeal to the appetite.

• Steak is another example. Cooked in 45 s on an electronic grill,

it does not appeal to customers because it lacks a seared,
brown, “appetizing” surface.
• A special attachment had to be designed to sear the steak.

• In a third example, employees in an air-conditioned

Midwestern plant complained of feeling cold, although the
temperature was maintained at 72°F (22.2°C).

• When the white walls of the plant were repainted in a warm

coral color, complaints ceased.
• Perhaps the most important use of color is to improve the
environmental conditions of the workers by providing more
visual comfort.

• Analysts use colors to reduce sharp contrasts, increase

reflectance, highlight hazards, and call attention to features of
the work environment.
• Sales are also affected or conditioned by colors.

• People recognize a company’s products instantly by the pattern

of colors used on packages, trademarks, letterheads, trucks,
and buildings.
• Some research has indicated that color preferences are
influenced by nationality, location, and climate.

• Sales of a product formerly made in one color increased when

several colors suited to the differences in customer demands
were supplied.
• Table 6.5
illustrates the
typical
emotional
effects and
psychological
significances of
the principal
colors.