ILLUMINATION

CALCULATION
HOW MUCH LIGHT DO YOU NEED
IN A ROOM?
 HOW MUCH LIGHT DO YOU NEED
IN A ROOM?
WE ALL KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THE RIGHT LEVELS
OF LIGHTING ARE FOR CREATING BEAUTIFUL
INTERIORS – BUT OF COURSE YOU ALSO HAVE TO BE
PRACTICAL. EXACTLY HOW MUCH LIGHT YOU NEED
IN A ROOM WILL DEPEND ON VARIOUS THINGS,
INCLUDING THE SIZE OF THE ROOM, WHAT THE
SPACE IS BEING USED FOR, AND THE KIND OF
ATMOSPHERE YOU’RE LOOKING TO CREATE.
 HOW MUCH LIGHT DO YOU NEED
IN A ROOM?
THE SECRET TO LIGHTING YOUR ROOM WELL IS TO
USE A MIXTURE OF ALL THREE TYPES OF LIGHTING, AT
DIFFERENT STRENGTHS, AND IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
LAYERING THE LIGHTING IN YOUR CLIENT'S ROOM
BY USING A MIXTURE OF PENDANTS / CHANDELIERS,
TABLE LAMPS, FLOOR LAMPS AND UNDER COUNTER
LIGHTS GIVES DEPTH AND DIMENSION TO A ROOM,
HIGHLIGHTING KEY ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES AND
SETTING THE MOOD FOR THE SPACE.
 IMPORTANCE OF GOOD LIGHTING
THE LIGHT IN GENERAL PLAYS A VERY IMPORTANT
ROLE FOR HUMANS. WE RELY ON OUR INTERNAL
CLOCK TO REGULATE OUR FUNCTIONS. BAD
LIGHTING CAN DISRUPT OUR BODY’S NATURAL
PATTERNS, LEADING TO CHANGES IN OUR ENERGY
LEVELS AND IT CAN EVEN AFFECT OUR MOOD.

WHEN IT COMES TO LIGHTING, THERE ARE PLENTY

OF THINGS TO CONSIDER, FROM THE LIGHT SOURCE
TO COLOUR TEMPERATURE AND THE ANGLE OF THE
BEAM. THESE CAN ALL INFLUENCE THE ATMOSPHERE
OF THE ROOM.
 IDENTIFYING THE LIGHTING NEEDS

THE TYPE AND QUANTITY OF LIGHTING YOU WILL

NEED WILL DEPEND UPON THE PURPOSE OF THE
ROOM. GENERALLY SPEAKING, YOU WILL NEED
STRONGER LIGHT IN ROOMS WHERE YOUR CLIENT
WILL BE COMPLETING TASKS (SUCH AS KITCHENS),
AND MORE GENTLE LIGHT IN ROOMS WHERE YOUR
CLIENTS ARE RELAXING (A LIVING ROOM FOR
EXAMPLE).
 IDENTIFYING THE LIGHTING NEEDS
MANY OF US LIVE IN OPEN PLAN SPACES THESE
DAYS, AND THIS MEANS THAT OUR LIGHTING NEEDS
CAN CHANGE ACCORDING TO HOW WE USE A
ROOM THROUGHOUT THE DAY. A DINING ROOM
TABLE, FOR EXAMPLE COULD BE USED FOR
COMPLETING HOMEWORK ONE EVENING BUT FOR
HOSTING A DINNER PARTY THE NEXT EVENING. BOTH
OF THESE ACTIVITIES REQUIRE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF
LIGHTING.
 IDENTIFYING THE LIGHTING NEEDS
THIS CAN BE PLANNED FOR, BY ENSURING THAT THE
LIGHT BULBS ARE STRONG ENOUGH FOR TASKS,
AND THEN ADDING DIMMER SWITCHES SO THAT THE
LIGHT CAN BE SOFTENED FOR ENTERTAINING. SIDE
TABLE LAMPS CAN ALSO HELP TO SPREAD THE LIGHT
ACROSS THE ROOM.
HOW MUCH LIGHT DO YOU NEED?
 HOW MUCH LIGHT DO YOU NEED?

TODAY’S ENERGY-EFFICIENT LED LIGHT BULBS ARE

MEASURED IN LUMENS (LM), WITH THE NUMBER OF
LUMENS INDICATING HOW BRIGHT THE BULB IS.
(LUMENS ARE A MORE ACCURATE WAY OF
MEASURING THE QUALITY OF THE LIGHT,
COMPARED WITH THE PREVIOUS MEASURE OF
WATTS, WHICH REFERS TO HOW MUCH ENERGY A
BULB USES.)
A BULB OF SAY, 1,000 LUMENS MIGHT LOOK REALLY BRIGHT IN
A VERY SMALL ROOM, BUT IN A MUCH LARGER ROOM, THE
LIGHT IS GOING TO APPEAR DIMMER BECAUSE THERE IS NOT
ENOUGH BRILLIANCE TO SHINE ACROSS THE WHOLE ROOM.
SO, LUMENS ON THEIR OWN ARE NOT ENOUGH TO
TELL US HOW MUCH LIGHT WE NEED TO CONSIDER
THE SIZE OF THE ROOM THAT THE BULB WILL BE IN
TOO.

TO WORK OUT HOW BRIGHT WE WANT THE ROOM

TO BE WE USE A MEASUREMENT CALLED LUX. LUX
TAKES INTO ACCOUNT THE LUMENS WITHIN AN
AREA. 1 LUX IS EQUAL TO THE LIGHT GIVEN OFF BY 1
LUMEN OVER 1 SQUARE METRE.
IDEAL BRIGHTNESS FOR DIFFERENT
TASKS IN DIFFERENT ROOMS
▪ RELAXATION ROOMS (E.G. TV ROOMS) 120-150 LUX
▪ FOR READING 200 LUX
▪ KITCHEN: 150-200 LUX (AMBIENT), 250-400 LUX (TASK)
▪ DINING ROOM: 100-200 LUX (AMBIENT)
▪ DOMESTIC OFFICE: 150 LUX (AMBIENT), 400 LUX (TASK)
▪ HOME WORKSHOP FOR DETAILED WORK: (E.G. SEWING)
500-700 LUX
▪ BEDROOMS: 100 LUX (AMBIENT), 200-300 LUX (TASK E.G.
READING)
LUX LEVELS
OUR LUX LEVELS CHART ABOVE DETAILS THE LIGHT
LEVELS REQUIRED FOR LIGHTING THE AVERAGE
SPACE, DEPENDING ON THEIR USE. THIS WILL HELP
YOU CHOOSE THE PERFECT INDOOR LIGHTING AND
LAMPS FOR YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU GET THE RIGHT LIGHTING

LEVELS IN A ROOM, AS IT CAN CAUSE A NUMBER
OF DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS ON A CLIENT'S MENTAL
AND PHYSICAL HEALTH. SIDE EFFECTS CAN INCLUDE
EYE STRAIN, HEADACHES, TIREDNESS AND FATIGUE,
NECK BACK AND SHOULDER STRAIN AND EVEN
DEPRESSION.
WHAT IS LUX?
LUX IS A MEASUREMENT OF LIGHT INTENSITY,
COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS 'ILLUMINATION'. IT
MEASURES THE AMOUNT OF LIGHT PRESENT ON A
PARTICULAR SURFACE AS MEASURED BY THE
HUMAN EYE. IN ESSENCE THIS IS LIGHT INTENSITY
WITHIN A SPECIFIC AREA. THE PURPOSE OF LUX IS TO
PROVIDE THE NUMBER OF LUMENS NEEDED TO
SUFFICIENTLY LIGHT A GIVEN SPACE. FOR EXAMPLE,
A SUFFICIENTLY LIT OFFICE REQUIRES AROUND 400 -
500 LUX.
WHAT IS A LUMEN?
THIS IS A COMMON WAY TO IDENTIFY THE STRENGTH
OF LED BULBS, SO IT'S IMPORTANT YOU
UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS. A TYPICAL LED BULB
WILL HAVE THE LUMEN LEVEL INDICATED ON THE
PACKAGING.

THE OFFICIAL MEASURE OF ILLUMINANCE IS IN

LUMEN. LUMEN IS ANOTHER WAY TO MEASURE THE
OUTPUT OF LIGHT I.E. THE BRIGHTNESS. IT MEASURES
THE EMITTED LIGHT PER SECOND FROM A SOURCE
BUT DOESN'T CONSIDER THE LIGHT'S DIRECTION. PUT
SIMPLY, THE HIGHER THE LUMEN, THE HIGHER THE
BRIGHTNESS/OUTPUT OF THE LIGHT.
ONE LUMEN PER SQUARE METRE EQUALS ONE LUX,
SO IT IS EASY TO CONVERT THE TWO. UNLIKE LUX,
LUMEN DOESN'T CONSIDER THE DIRECTION OF THE
LIGHT OR THE SPACE THE LIGHT IS FILLING.
THEREFORE, IT SHOULDN'T BE CONSIDERED IN
ISOLATION. BOTH LUX AND LUMEN SHOULD BE
CONSIDERED WHEN SELECTING LIGHTING.

YOU MAY SEE THE OCCASIONAL REFERENCE TO

'FOOT CANDLE', THIS IS A NON-SI MEASUREMENT
COMMONLY USED IN THE UNITED STATES AND USES
A SQUARE FOOT AS THE MEASUREMENT INSTEAD OF
A SQUARE METRE. SO, 1 FOOT CANDLE IS EQUAL
TO 1 LUMEN PER SQUARE FOOT.
 THE MATH OF ILLUMINATION
THERE IS NO BETTER WAY TO KNOW THAT YOU’VE
CHOSEN ENOUGH LIGHT FOR YOUR ROOM THAN
TO DO THE MATH BEHIND IT! HERE ARE THE STEPS
THAT WILL EXPLAIN HOW YOU CAN DO THESE
CALCULATIONS YOURSELF.
 STEP ONE:
DETERMINE ROOM SQUARE FOOTAGE
MULTIPLY THE LENGTH OF THE ROOM BY THE WIDTH
TO GET THE SQUARE FOOTAGE OF THE ROOM. FOR
EXAMPLE, IF THE ROOM IS 10 FEET WIDE AND 10 FEET
LONG, THE ROOM WILL BE 100 SQ. FT.
 STEP TWO:
DETERMINE THE FOOT CANDLES BY
ROOM TYPE OR ROOM PURPOSE
A FOOT-CANDLE IS HOW BRIGHT A LIGHT IS ONE FOOT AWAY
FROM ITS SOURCE. LIGHTING REQUIREMENTS VARY DEPENDING ON
THE TYPE OF ROOM BEING LIT. FOR EXAMPLE, A BATHROOM OR
KITCHEN WILL REQUIRE MORE FOOT-CANDLES THAN A LIVING
ROOM OR BEDROOM.
 STEP THREE:
DETERMINE THE REQUIRED LUMENS
A LUMEN IS A UNIT MEASUREMENT OF LIGHT. TO
DETERMINE THE REQUIRED LUMENS, YOU WILL NEED
TO MULTIPLY YOUR ROOM’S SQUARE FOOTAGE BY
YOUR ROOM FOOT-CANDLE REQUIREMENT. FOR
EXAMPLE, A 100 SQ. FT. LIVING ROOM, WHICH
NEEDS 10-20 FOOT-CANDLES, WILL NEED 1,000 -
2,000 LUMENS. A 100 SQ. FT. DINING ROOM, WHICH
NEEDS 30-40 FOOT-CANDLES, WILL NEED 3,000-
4,000 LUMENS.
IDEAL BRIGHTNESS FOR DIFFERENT
TASKS IN DIFFERENT ROOMS
▪ RELAXATION ROOMS (E.G. TV ROOMS) 120-150 LUX
▪ FOR READING 200 LUX
▪ KITCHEN: 150-200 LUX (AMBIENT), 250-400 LUX (TASK)
▪ DINING ROOM: 100-200 LUX (AMBIENT)
▪ DOMESTIC OFFICE: 150 LUX (AMBIENT), 400 LUX (TASK)
▪ HOME WORKSHOP FOR DETAILED WORK: (E.G. SEWING)
500-700 LUX
▪ BEDROOMS: 100 LUX (AMBIENT), 200-300 LUX (TASK E.G.
READING)