LOFT BBY SDJ DESIGN/PHOTOGRAPHY
2018 OD Focus_OD 2017-12-04 2:29 PM Page 13
Calculating Lighting Requirements
over-light and use dimmers. As people age, they need more light.
Lighting calculations can get technical. Fortunately, many suppliers offer these services at no additional cost. However, it is still essential that designers understand the terminology and can ensure that the space is lit appropriately.
Trends
Foot-candle: A foot-candle (fc) is the imperial measure of illuminance for those who prefer to work in imperial feet. One footcandle is equal to one lumen per square foot.
Indirect hidden light is a trend on the market today made possible by advances in lighting such as LEDs, OLEDs and fiber optic lighting. It is possible to hide the light sources and illuminate walls and ceilings without ever seeing a single fixture. Lights have become more powerful and laser technology has influenced lighting development. Also important to note are the advances in lighting control systems. In short, everything can be controlled through WI-FI and a smart phone or iPad, even when you are not home. While some of these applications are great, when the Wi-Fi is down frustration can increase. While many designers dream of never seeing a light switch mounted on a beautiful wall again, reliability over form is highly recommended and at this time redundancy is needed. od
There are charts recommended by the Illumination Engineering Society (IES) that recommend the number of foot-candles or lux required for a space. Lighting fixtures and their lamps indicate how many lumens they emit. After calculating how much area you are lighting, and how many lumens are needed, then you must search for fixtures and lamps that meet your requirements. It is recommended that you
SAMANTHA SANNELLA, BFA ID, M ARCH, is a designer, educator and principal at Urban Retreat Homes. She is an expert in the field of design and construction and is a columnist for Reno & Decor and editor of the Ontario Design Trade Sourcebook. www.urbanretreathomes.com
Lumen: A lumen (lm) is a measure of the total amount of visible light emitted by a source in any particular direction. Lux: Lux (lx) is the metric measure of illuminance. This is a measure of how much light there is over a given surface area. One lux is equal to one lumen per square metre.
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