LIGHTING DESIGN – LIGHTING LEVEL CALCULATIONS

The Zonal Cavity approach to calculate average illumination levels is based on the concept Room Cavity = Volume bounded by walls, luminaire plane and work plane.
of dividing any room into three cavities. (1) The space between the ceiling and the lumi- hrc = height of room cavity.
naires is the “ceiling cavity.” (2) The space between he luminaires and the work plane is the Cavity Ratio = Dimensions of Cavity Expressed as Mathematical Relationship;
“room cavity.” (3) The space between the work plane and the floor is the “floor cavity.” RCR = Room Cavity Ratio;
CCR = Ceiling Cavity Ratio;
FCR = Floor Cavity Ratio;

Room Cavity Ratio (RCR)

5 hrc (L+W) 10 hrc

RCR = For Square Rooms RCR = (L=W)
LxW W

For Irregular 2.5 (Cavity Height x Cavity Perimeter)

Shaped Rooms RCR = Area of Cavity Base
Room Surface Reflectances:
pc = Ceiling
pw = Walls Ceiling Cavity Ratio (CCR)
pf = Floor 5 hcc (L+W) hfc
CCR = = RCR
Effective Cavity Reflectances: LxW hrc
The combination of actual reflectances within a given cavity into one reflectance at the
face of the cavity. Floor Cavity Ratio (FCR)
pcc = Effective Ceiling Cavity Reflectance
pfc = Effective Floor Cavity Reflectance 5 hfc (L+W) hfc
FCR = = RCR
Coefficient of Utilization: (CU) LxW hrc
Portion of lamp lumens which reach the work plane. Affected by fixture design, room pro- •For square rooms or irregular rooms calculate RCR then use the ratio of the cavity heights
portions, and room-surface reflectances. to determine CCR and FCR.
Light Loss Factor: (LLF)
The approximate average illumination level or number of luminaires may be calculated as
Depreciation of initial lighting level due to Lamp Lumen Depreciation (LLD) and accumula-
follows:
tion of dirt on the lamp and luminaire surface (Luminaire Dirt Depreciation — LDD).
Affected by fixture design, lamp choice, number of burning hours and type of interior. 1. Determine Room Cavity Ratio (RCR)
Ballast Factor: (BF) 2. Determine Reflectances
The commercial ballast performance relative to reference ballast. Typical approximate reflectances:
Other Factors: Ceiling: Walls:
See IES Lighting Handbook for recurring and non-recurring factors that lead to still greater Standard White Paint 80% White Paint 80%
accuracy, including the determination of effective cavity reflectances. Rough White Pain 50% Rough Light Paint 30%
Rough Light Paint 30%
Floors:
Dark Concrete 20%
Carpet Average 15%

3. Find Coefficient of Utilization

Knowing the ceiling. walls and floor reflectances and the room cavity ratio (calculated
in step 1), the coefficient of utilization may be found from the manufacturers published
data or typical data found in the current IES Handbook. See Table 1 below for example.
For a room cavity ratio of1.0 and reflectances of 30 (ceiling), 30 (wall), and 20 (floor) the
CU equals 0.63 for this luminaire.

W = Room Width 4. Compute Average Footcandle Level or Number of Luminaires using formulas A and/or B.
L = Room Length
Ceiling Cavity = Volume bounded by walls, ceiling and luminaire plane.
hcc = height of ceiling cavity. *For surface mounted or recessed fixtures
hcc = 0.
Floor Cavity = Volume bounded by walls. floor and work plane.
hfc = height of floor cavity.

A.Number of B.Maintained
(Maintained Illuminance (FC) Desired) x (Area in Square Feet)
Luminaires = Illuminance (Number of Luminaires) x (Lamp Lumens Per Luminaire) x (CU) x (LLD) x BF)
(Lamp Lumens/Luminaire) x (CU) x (LLD) x (BF) (FC) = (Area in Square Feet)

COEFFICIENTS OF UTILIZATION FOR 20 PERCENT EFFECTIVE FLOOR CAVITY REFLECTANCE

Effective Ceiling
80 70 50 30 10 0
Cavity Reflectance
Wall Reflectance 50 30 10 50 30 10 50 30 10 50 30 10 50 30 10 0
Room Cavity COEFFFICIENTS OF UTILIZATION–ZONAL CAVITY
1 75 71 68 73 69 66 69 66 64 65 63 61 62 61 59 57
2 64 59 54 63 58 53 60 55 51 57 53 50 54 51 48 47
3 56 49 44 54 48 43 52 47 42 49 45 41 47 43 40 38
4 48 41 36 47 40 35 45 39 35 43 38 34 41 36 33 31
5 42 35 30 41 34 29 39 33 29 37 32 28 36 31 27 26
6 37 30 25 36 30 25 35 29 24 33 28 24 32 27 23 22
7 33 26 21 32 25 21 31 25 20 29 24 20 28 23 20 18
8 29 22 18 29 22 18 27 21 17 26 21 17 25 20 17 15
9 26 20 15 26 20 15 25 19 15 24 19 15 23 18 15 13
10 23 17 12 23 17 12 22 16 12 21 16 12 20 15 12 10

See manufacturers published data for actual coefficients of utilization.

T 12
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