Illuminating Engineering Society
THE LIGHTING HANDBOOK
Tenth Edition | Reference and Application
THE LIGHTING HANDBOOK
Tenth Edition | Reference and Application
Top cover photograph ©Kevin Beswick, People Places and ISBN 978-0-87995-241-9 David L. DiLaura
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cover photograph ©Philip Beaurline www.beaurline.com
Kevin W. Houser
Richard G. Mistrick
Visit www.ies.org
Gary R. Steffy
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Illuminating Engineering Society
The Lighting
The Lighting Handbook
Handbook
Tenth Edition: Reference and Application
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Illuminating Engineering Society
The Lighting
The Lighting Handbook
Handbook
Tenth Edition: Reference and Application
David L. DiLaura
Kevin W. Houser
Richard G. Mistrick
Gary R. Steffy
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The product development process brings together volunteers representing varied viewpoints and interests to achieve consensus on light-
ing recommendations. While the IES administers the process and establishes policies and procedures to promote fairness in the develop-
ment of consensus, it makes no guaranty or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein.
The IES disclaims liability for any injury to persons or property or other damages of any nature whatsoever, whether special, indirect,
consequential or compensatory, directly or indirectly resulting from the publication, use of, or reliance on this document.
In issuing and making this document available, the IES is not undertaking to render professional or other services for or on behalf of any
person or entity. Nor is the IES undertaking to perform any duty owed by any person or entity to someone else. Anyone using this docu-
ment should rely on his or her own independent judgment or, as appropriate, seek the advice of a competent professional in determining
the exercise of reasonable care in any given circumstances.
The IES has no power, nor does it undertake, to police or enforce compliance with the contents of this document. Nor does the IES list,
certify, test or inspect products, designs, or installations for compliance with this document. Any certification or statement of compliance
with the requirements of this document shall not be attributable to the IES and is solely the responsibility of the certifier or maker of the
statement.
It is acknowledged by the editors and publisher that all service marks, trademarks, and copyrighted images/graphics appear in this book
for editorial purposes only and to the benefit of the service mark, trademark, or copyright owner, with no intention of infringing on that
service mark, trademark, or copyright. Nothing in this handbook should be construed to imply that respective service mark, trademark,
or copyright holder endorses or sponsors this handbook or any of its contents.
This book was set in Adobe® Garamond Pro by the editors. This book is printed in environment friendly ink containing soy and veg-
etable oil on paper that is acid free and elemental chlorine free and contains 10% post consumer waste recycled content exhibiting an
86% reflectance.
For general information about other IES publications, please visit the IES Bookstore at www.ies.org/store.
Illuminating Engineering Society, The Lighting Handbook, Tenth Edition
Copyright ©2011 by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, in any electronic retrieval system or otherwise, without
prior written permission of the IES.
Published by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, 120 Wall Street, New York, New York 10005.
IES Standards and Guides are developed through committee consensus and produced by the IES Office in New York. Careful attention
is given to style and accuracy. If any errors are noted in this document, please forward them to Director of Technology, at the above ad-
dress for verification and correction. The IES welcomes and urges feedback and comments.
ISBN 978-087995-241-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011928648
Printed in the United States of America.
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FOREWORD
In the early years, the Illuminating Engineering Society, founded in 1906, waited 41 years
before issuing the first edition of the Handbook. Technical information was not lacking
but the preferred method of publication were Transactions of the Society, not as widely
disseminated or conveniently available to as broad an interested audience as a Handbook.
Between the 1st edition in 1947 and this 10th Edition there have been revisions in 1952,
1959, 1966, 1972, 1981, 1984 (partial), 1987 (partial), 1993, and 2000.
In each book an ever-broadening range of technologies, procedures, and design issues has
been addressed to ensure that the Handbook is the principal source for lighting knowl-
edge. The emphasis in each edition has changed to reflect current application trends and
needs of the many and varied readership. Some editions placed more importance on
quantitative issues; in more recent years, quality earned important recognition.
The Tenth Edition Handbook has taken cognizance of several issues that impact designs
of today: energy limits, the spectral effects of light on perception and visual performance,
and the need for flexibility in an illumination determination procedure that takes into
account factors such as observer age, task reflectance, and task importance in its illumina-
tion determination procedure. This book will return to a more “analytical” approach to
recommendations and allow the individual committees’ publications, such as Recom-
mended Practices, Design Guides, and Technical Memoranda to fully address appropriate
and specific design details for a given application.
The professional editorial team brought talent and discipline to the project. This was
not a simple revision to an existing book but an entirely new approach. David DiLaura,
Kevin Houser, Richard Mistrick, and Gary Steffy have earned our appreciation for their
contributions in developing new material, editing, and designing the overall appearance
of the book.
The Lighting Handbook represents the most important reference document in the light-
ing profession. It is one by which the Society accomplishes its mission: To improve the
lighted environment by bringing together those with lighting knowledge and by translat-
ing that knowledge into actions that benefit the public. We hope that you, the reader, will
find the Tenth Edition your principal reference source for lighting information.
William H. Hanley Rita M. Harrold
Executive Vice President Director of Technology
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PREFACE
The Illuminating Engineering Society produces The Lighting Handbook to guide and
give authoritative recommendations to those who design, specify, install, and maintain
lighting systems, and as an impartial source of information for the public. Like previous
editions, the Lighting Handbook contains a mix of science, technology, and design; mir-
roring the nature of lighting itself.
Three sections make up this edition: Framework, Design, and Applications. Framework
chapters describe the science and technology related to lighting, including vision, optics,
non-visual effects of optical radiaton, photometry, and light sources. Design chapters
include not only fundamental considerations and special issues of daylighting and electric
lighting design, but also energy management, controls, and economics. Applications
chapters establish the design context for many lighting applications, provide illuminance
recommendations for specific tasks and areas, and identify some of the analytic goals of
lighting design using science and technology.
In the decade since the last edition, the science, technology, and design practice related
to lighting have advanced significantly. Vision and biological sciences have deepened
knowledge of the complex relationship between light and health, adding both opportu-
nity and responsibility to the work of those who design lighting systems, and heightened
the awareness of the public of how lighting affects our lives. Technology has transformed
lighting with the light emitting diode, now a practical source for general illumination.
New equipment, new testing procedures, and new application considerations have
all arisen in response to this development. And the philosophy, goals, and practice of
architectural design have been deeply affected by concerns for the natural environment
and desires for more sustainable buildings. New developments in daylighting, sustainable
practices, and lighting control technology provide ways to respond to these concerns and
expectations. This edition of The Lighting Handbook describes all of these important
advances and changes, providing overviews, descriptions, data and guidance.
New and extensive coverage of lighting design is provided in the Design chapters. Day-
lighting and lighting controls are treated in particular detail. This reveals daylighting’s po-
tential and subsequent effects on building design, so that daylighting and electric lighting
may act in concert to produce better luminous environments. The consequences of this
for building energy can be very large if controls are an integral part of lighting systems,
and the chapter on lighting controls shows how this can be done. Related to this and to
augment the technical information provided in a Framework chapter, the Design section of
The Lighting Handbook includes a chapter on the application issues involved in electric
light sources.
The public hope and expectation of diminishing the energy allotted to buildings have in-
creased the challenge of providing the lighting required for comfort, performance, safety,
and the appropriate lighting of architecture. In response to these constraints, the IES
has established a new illuminance determination system to generate new recommended
illuminance targets cited in the Applications chapters of this edition of The Lighting
Handbook. The new system uses a series of closely spaced increments of illuminance that
are assigned to tasks. This finer granularity, in comparison to that used in earlier editions,
gives the designer and client the ability to more carefully match illuminance targets with
visual tasks. Additionally, most recommendations now account for the age of the occu-
pants: lower values for young occupants, higher values for older occupants. The effects of
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mesopic adaptation on the spectral sensitivity of the visual system are now accommodated
with multipliers based on adaptation luminance that can be used to adjust recommended
illuminance targets. Finally, recommended illuminance targets for outdoor applications
now account for activity level and environmental conditions. All of these features of the
new illuminance determination system give extensive flexibility that enable the designer
to address lighting needs and promote the control of light in time. The recommended
illuminance targets given in each of the application chapters are based on this new system.
One of the many significant changes in The Lighting Handbook has been in the intent
and form of the application chapters: they no longer contain a full description of lighting
practice. Rather, they give only a brief context for the principal aspects of the application
and a detailed table of analytic recommendations for the tasks involved. The complete
description of all aspects of a particular application is now contained only in the Society’s
respective Recommended Practice, Design Guide, or Technical Memorandum publica-
tion. This separation of intended coverage permits handbook chapters to make stable
analytic recommendations, while allowing more flexibility for timely revisions to the more
practice-based Recommended Practices, Design Guides, and Technical Memoranda.
Among the many effects of the new technology and understanding of light and well-
being, has been the emergence of wide interest in new lighting technologies and large
questions of public policy regarding lighting, energy, sustainability, and health. For these
reasons this edition of The Lighting Handbook has been designed and written for a very
wide audience, changing the form, content, and style from past editions. Unlike those,
this has been written, literally, by its four editors, permitting a certain uniformity of ap-
proach, scope, level of detail, and target audience. This has also helped reduce redundancy
and assure the accessibility required to reach a wide audience. Every effort for concision
has been made, and wherever possible, important data, material, check lists, or key factors
have been summarized in tables. Though written by a small group, the recommendations
and content of each chapter has been widely reviewed by experts in each topic, the ap-
propriate application committee, and the Society’s Technical Review Council and Board
of Directors.
This edition of The Lighting Handbook provides information and recommendations
that can guide designers and users of lighting systems in a world of both reduced light-
ing energy expectations and undiminished needs for attractive, comfortable, productive
luminous environments.
David L. DiLaura
Kevin W. Houser
Richard G. Mistrick
Gary R. Steffy
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Table of Contents
Framework
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PHYSICS AND OPTICS OF RADIANT POWER 1
VISION: EYE AND BRAIN 2
PHOTOBIOLOGY AND NONVISUAL EFFECTS OF OPTICAL RADIATION 3
PERCEPTIONS AND PERFORMANCE 4
CONCEPTS AND LANGUAGE OF LIGHTING 5
COLOR 6
LIGHT SOURCES: TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS 7
LUMINAIRES: FORMS AND OPTICS 8
MEASUREMENT OF LIGHT: PHOTOMETRY 9
CALCULATION OF LIGHT AND ITS EFFECTS 10
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Table of Contents
Design
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LIGHTING DESIGN: IN THE BUILDING DESIGN PROCESS 11
COMPONENTS OF LIGHTING DESIGN 12
LIGHT SOURCES: APPLICATION CONSIDERATIONS 13
DESIGNING DAYLIGHTING 14
DESIGNING ELECTRIC LIGHTING 15
LIGHTING CONTROLS 16
ENERGY MANAGEMENT 17
ECONOMICS 18
SUSTAINABILITY 19
CONTRACT DOCUMENTS 20
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Table of Contents
Applications
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LIGHTING FOR ART 21
LIGHTING FOR COMMON APPLICATIONS 22
LIGHTING FOR COURTS AND CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES 23
LIGHTING FOR EDUCATION 24
LIGHTING FOR EMERGENCY, SAFETY, AND SECURITY 25
LIGHTING FOR EXTERIORS 26
LIGHTING FOR HEALTH CARE 27
LIGHTING FOR HOSPITALITY AND ENTERTAINMENT 28
LIGHTING FOR LIBRARIES 29
LIGHTING FOR MANUFACTURING 30
LIGHTING FOR MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS 31
LIGHTING FOR OFFICES 32
LIGHTING FOR RESIDENCES 33
LIGHTING FOR RETAIL 34
LIGHTING FOR SPORTS AND RECREATION 35
LIGHTING FOR TRANSPORT 36
LIGHTING FOR WORSHIP 37
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Framework
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Framework
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PHYSICS AND OPTICS OF RADIANT POWER 1
VISION: EYE AND BRAIN 2
PHOTOBIOLOGY AND NONVISUAL EFFECTS OF OPTICAL RADIATION 3
PERCEPTIONS AND PERFORMANCE 4
CONCEPTS AND LANGUAGE OF LIGHTING 5
COLOR 6
LIGHT SOURCES: TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS 7
LUMINAIRES: FORMS AND OPTICS 8
MEASUREMENT OF LIGHT: PHOTOMETRY 9
CALCULATION OF LIGHT AND ITS EFFECTS 10
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