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Today we will talk about the illumination of premises, how it is measured and with what instruments it can be measured.
Important Factors
One of the important factors that is taken into account both during the construction of the building and during its operation is the level of illumination.
This indicator is very important because it affects the health of a person’s eyes, his ability to work, physical and psycho-emotional state.
Therefore, the illumination of the premises is included in the provisions for labor protection.
Building lighting is divided into two components – natural lighting and artificial.
Natural is daytime solar lighting that enters the building through technological openings made in it during construction – windows.
Artificial lighting
At night, the illumination is produced artificially – by all kinds of electric lamps.
Artificial lighting can also be used in the daytime with weak daylight, as well as in buildings where it is technologically impossible to make an appropriate number of windows, for example, basement floors of buildings or basements.
The state of the atmosphere, geographical location are also taken into account.
What units is illuminance measured in?
Illumination is measured in lux (Lx) and corresponds to the luminous flux that falls on a certain unit area of the room. Often, the square meter of the room is used for measurement. There are special norms for lighting rooms.
In turn, the luminous flux is the radiation power that is perceived by the human eye, measured in lumens (Lm).
Artificial lighting of the room depends on its purpose. For a simplified calculation, standards have been adopted that indicate what this parameter should be for a particular building.
For example, in an office space, the illumination should correspond to 20-300 Lx, and for a warehouse, lighting at the level of 50 Lx is sufficient.
The calculation of illumination also includes the characteristics of visual work.
7 levels of visual work are defined, which take into account the strain of a person’s eyes when performing a particular job.
The rooms where high-precision work is performed require the greatest illumination, while the least lighting is installed for the control rooms for the production process.
The conditions for performing work and staying in the room are also taken into account.
This criterion is divided into 4 subcategories – permanent work, periodic work with a permanent stay in the room, periodic work with a periodic stay and just monitoring communications.
Types of lighting
4 types of artificial lighting are used:
- General (with this lighting, a uniform distribution of the luminous flux over the entire area of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe room is made. It is achieved by uniformly scattering light sources over the entire area, observing the distance between them);
- Local (used for improved lighting of a separate work area);
- Combined (includes general and local lighting);
- Emergency (rarely used. Designed to provide lighting when the main light source is turned off).
Types of lamps for room lighting
Artificial lighting is carried out through the use of electric lamps, which convert electricity into a luminous flux.
At one time, the most common were incandescent lamps. The wide power range of these lamps made it possible to choose a light source with the required luminous flux under certain conditions.
Recently, they have become less in demand, because they are economically costly.
The second type of lamps used for lighting is fluorescent.
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These light sources are gas-discharge, in which the luminous flux occurs due to the conversion of an electric discharge by a phosphor into a luminous flux.
These lamps are more economical, because during operation they do not use part of the energy consumed to generate heat, as is the case with incandescent lamps.
The third type of lamps used for indoor lighting is LED. This type of lamp is the most economical.
The economic efficiency of these all types of lamps is taken from the calculation of the amount of luminous flux emitted by the lamp and the cost of electricity that go to provide illumination.
According to this calculation, the table of electricity consumption for the allocation of a certain luminous flux looks like this:
Table of lamp power consumption when emitting a certain luminous flux | ||||
Lamp Type | Incandescent lamp | lumine- scenary | All that- diode | Flux of light (lm) |
Power consumption (W) | 20 | 7 | 3 | 250 |
60 | 15 | 10 | 700 | |
100 | 25 | 15 | 1200 | |
200 | 60 | 25 | 2500 | |
Light measurements
Room illumination is a quantity that can be measured. Measurements are made using a device – a luxometer.
Illumination measurements are made separately for natural and artificial lighting.
The luxmeter works according to this principle – its design includes a photocell, which receives a light flux.
When hit, light releases a stream of electrons, after which the photocell becomes a conductor of electric current.
Since the value of the transmitted current is directly proportional to the illumination of the photocell, the conducted current acts as a light meter.
Instrument readings are displayed on a scale or display.
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Illumination measurements are taken at different locations in the room.
A feature of using the device is its use only on straight horizontal surfaces and away from electromagnetic sources.
The device first determines the general illumination of the room, and then the illumination of the workplace itself.
After measurements, the data are checked against the established provisions on labor protection established for this type of premises.
If the illumination is insufficient, a set of measures is taken to bring this indicator to the desired level, usually including additional installation of lamps.
In general, the level of illumination of the premises is planned already at the design stage of the building, since the comfort of a person’s stay depends on this parameter, regardless of the purpose of the premises – residential or industrial.
Also read how to make lighting in the country.