LIGHTING

Lighting or illumination is the use of light to achieve a practical or aesthetic

effect. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and
light fixtures, and natural illumination by the use of daylight. Day
lighting (using windows, skylights, or light shelves) is sometimes used as the
main source of light during daytime in buildings. This can save energy in place
of using artificial lighting, which represents a major component of energy
consumption in buildings. Proper lighting can enhance task performance,
improve the appearance of an area, or have positive psychological effects on
occupants. The main objectives of studying Lighting for Architects are,
 To understand importance of proper illumination from human factors
point of view. Eg: Ergonomics, Anthropometry, Psychology etc.
 To know about proper ambient lighting for areas where people work. Eg:
to provide safety and prevent accidents.
 Lighting energy consumption contribute to 20 to 45% in commercial
buildings and about 3 to 10% in industrial plants Hence, to increase
awareness of energy savings in lighting systems.
 It may be necessary to consider modifications of the lighting design in
order to achieve the desired energy savings.
 To make effort to produce light sources with higher luminous efficacies,
better colour rendering properties and longer life expectancies.
 It also provides knowledge of purchase cost and maintenance is also
essential for the proper choice.
Hence the three primary considerations to ensure energy efficiency in lighting
systems are,
 Selection of the most efficient light source possible in order to
minimize power costs and energy consumption.
  Matching the proper lamp type, to the intended work task or aesthetic
application, consistent with colour, brightness control and other
requirements.
 Establishing adequate light levels to maintain productivity improve
security and increase safety.

Methods of Lighting:

The methods by which effective use of lighting can be maintained in a space

are as follows,

a. Down lighting: is most common, with fixtures on or recessed in the

ceiling casting light downward. This tends to be the most used method,
used in both offices and homes. Although it is easy to design it has
dramatic problems with glare and excess energy consumption due to large
number of fittings.
b. Up lighting: is less common, often used to bounce indirect light off the
ceiling and back down. It is commonly used in lighting applications that
require minimal glare and uniform general illuminance levels. Up lighting
(indirect) uses a diffuse surface to reflect light in a space and can
minimize disabling glare on computer displays and other dark glossy
surfaces. Indirect lighting can create a diffused and shadow free light
effect it can be regarded as an uneconomical lighting principle.
c. Front lighting: is also quite common, but tends to make the subject look
flat as its casts almost no visible shadows.
d. Lighting from the side is the less common, as it tends to
produce glare near eyelevel.
e. Backlighting either around or through an object is mainly for accent.
Terminologies:

a) Illumination: the state of being lighted or the action of lighting something

b) Luminous flux: is the rate of energy radiation in the form of light waves.
The unit is lumen.
c) Candlepower: is the capacity of a source to radiate light and is equal to
the number of lumens emitted in a solid angle by a source of light in a
direction.
d) Lumen: A measurement of light emitted by a lamp. As reference, a 100-
watt incandescent lamp emits about 1600 lumens.
e) Energy consumption efficacy: The ratio of light produced to energy
consumed. It's measured as the number of lumens produced divided by
the rate of electricity consumption (lumens per watt).
f) Light in the electromagnetic spectrum: is the collective term for all
known frequencies and their
linked wavelengths of the
known photons. The
electromagnetic spectrum extends
from below the low frequencies
used for modern radio
communication to gamma
radiation at the short-wavelength
end. Visible light lies toward the
shorter end, with wavelengths
from 400 to 700 nanometres. The
types of electromagnetic radiation
are classified into the following,
 Gamma radiation.
 X-ray radiation.
 Ultraviolet radiation.
  Visible radiation.
 Infrared radiation.
 Terahertz radiation.
 Microwave radiation.
 Radio waves.
g) Spectral Power Distribution: The visible part of the electromagnetic

spectrum is composed of radiation with wavelengths from approximately

400 to 750 nanometres. The blue part of the visible spectrum is the
shorter wavelength and the red part is the longer wavelength with all
colour gradations in between.

h) Colour Rendering Index: is a quantitative measure of the ability of a light

source to reveal the colours of various objects faithfully in comparison
with an ideal or natural light source. The Colour Rendering Index (CRI)
is a scale from 0 to 100 percent indicating how accurate a given light
source is at rendering colour when compared to a reference light source.
The higher the CRI, the better the colour rendering ability.
i) Lux: is the SI unit of illuminance and luminous emittance,
measuring luminous flux per unit area. It is equal to one lumen per
square metre. (Symbol: lx).
 j) Brightness: is an attribute of visual perception in which a source appears
to be radiating or reflecting light. Brightness is the perception obtained by
the luminance of a visual target.
k) Luminous Intensity: is a measure of the wavelength-
weighted power emitted by a light source in a particular direction per
unit solid angle, based on the luminosity function. The SI unit of
luminous intensity is the candela (cd).

Lighting Schemes:

The distribution of the light emitted by lamps is usually controlled to some

extent by means of reflectors and translucent diffusion screens, or even
lenses. The interior lighting schemes may be classified as direct, semi-direct,
semi-indirect, indirect and general lighting schemes.

 Direct lighting scheme is the most commonly used lighting scheme. In

this lighting scheme more than 90% of total light flux is made to fall
directly on the working plane with the help of deep reflectors. Causes
hard shadows and glare. Used for general outdoor lighting.
 Semi-direct lighting scheme is best suited to rooms with high ceilings
where a high level of uniformly distributed illumination is desirable. In
this lighting scheme, 60 to 90 per cent of the total luminous flux is made
to fall downwards directly with the help of semi-direct reflectors,
remaining light is used to illuminate the ceiling and walls. Remaining
light is used for illuminate ceilings and walls. Causes soothing brightness.
 Semi-indirect lighting scheme is mainly used for indoor light decoration
purposes. In this lighting scheme 60 to 90 per cent of total luminous flux
thrown upwards to the ceiling for diffuse reflection and the rest reaches
the working plane directly except for some absorption by the bowls.
 Causes soft shadows and glare
free lighting scheme. Used for
indoor light decorations.
 Indirect lighting scheme is mainly
used for decoration purposes in
cinemas, theatres and hotels etc.
and also in workshops where large
machines and other obstructions
would cause troublesome shadows
if direct lighting is used. In this
lighting scheme more than 90% of
total luminous flux is thrown
upwards to the ceiling for diffuse reflection by using inverted or bowl
reflectors. Causes soft, glare free diffused illumination.
 General Lighting Scheme makes use of lamps made of diffusing glass
and gives nearly equal illumination in all directions.

Properties of good electrical illumination:

 Illuminating source should have sufficient light.
 It should not strike our eyes.
 It should have suitable shades and reflectors.
 It should be installed at such a place so as to give uniform light.
 Adequate illumination.
 Minimum hard shadow and glare.
 Light of suitable colour.
Design Consideration of good lighting scheme:

Basic Types of Lamps:

Artificial luminous radiation can be produced from electrical energy according
to two principles:
1) Incandescence: It is the principle of light via temperature elevation. The
most common example is a filament heated to white state by the
circulation of an electric current. The energy supplied is transformed into
heat by the Joule effect and into luminous flux.
2) Luminescence: It is the phenomenon of emission by a material of visible
or almost visible luminous radiation. A gas subjected to an electrical
discharge emits luminous radiation. Since this gas does not conduct at
normal temperature and pressure, the discharge is produced by generating
charged particles which permit ionization of the gas.
Generally, there are 8 types of lamps available.
i. Standard Incandescent lamp: They are historically the oldest and the most
common found in common use.
  In incandescent lamps, filament is
heated up by an electric current
that produces light rays.
 Less energy efficient.
 Thomas Edison invented the first
electric bulb in 1879 AD.
 Contains nitrogen gas or argon
gas.
 Also known as tungsten filament bulb.
 Tungsten filament with lead wires-burns when electricity is passed.
 Advantage: Light quality and colour are very consistent.
 Disadvantage: Requires lot of energy and faster degradation of
filament leading to shorter life span.
ii. Halogen Incandescent lamp:
 These contain a tungsten filament and are filled with a halogen
compound and an inert gas (krypton or xenon).
 Also known as tungsten halogen.
 The halogen component in the lamp is responsible for the
phenomenon of filament regeneration, which increases the service
life of the lamps and avoids them blackening.
 It also enables a higher filament temperature and therefore greater
luminosity in smaller-size bulbs.
 The main disadvantage of incandescent lamps is their significant
heat dissipation, resulting in poor luminous efficiency.
iii. Fluorescent lamp:
 This family covers florescent tubes and compact florescent lamps.
 Their technology is usually known as ‗low-pressure mercury‘.
  In this, an electrical discharge
causes electrons to collide with
ions of mercury vapour,
resulting in ultraviolet radiation
due to energization of the
mercury atoms.
 Fluorescent lamps dissipate less
heat and have a longer service life than incandescent lamps.
 The typical luminous effect of fluorescent lighting systems is 50-
100 lumens per watt.
iv. HP Mercury Vapor:
 A mercury-vapour lamp is a gas discharge
lamp that uses an electric arc through
vaporized mercury to produce light.
 Mercury vapour lamps are more
energy efficient than incandescent and fluor
escent lamps.
 It has luminous efficacies of 35 to 65
lumens/watt.
 Their advantages are long bulb lifetime in the range of 24,000
hours and a high intensity, clear white light output.
 For these reasons, they are used for large area overhead lighting,
such as in factories, warehouses, and sports arenas as well as
for streetlights.
 Clear mercury lamps produce white light with a bluish-green tint
due to mercury's combination of spectral lines.
 They require a warm-up period of 4 – 7 minutes to reach full light
output.
  Mercury vapour lamps are becoming obsolete due to the higher
efficiency and better colour balance of metal halide lamps.

v. High-Pressure Sodium:
 A sodium-vapour lamp is a gas-discharge lamp that uses sodium in
an excited state to produce light.
 High-pressure sodium lamps produce a broader spectrum of light
than the low-pressure lamps.
 They have poor colour rendering than other types of lamps.
 They are commonly used as plant grow lights.
 They have also been widely used for outdoor area lighting such as
streetlights and security.
 Xenon at a low pressure is used as a "starter gas" in the HPS lamp.
 It has the lowest thermal conductivity and lowest ionization
potential of all the non-radioactive noble gases.
 As a noble gas, it does not interfere with the chemical reactions
occurring in the operating lamp.
 The low thermal conductivity minimizes thermal losses in the lamp
while in the operating state, and the low ionization potential causes
the breakdown voltage of the gas to be relatively low in the cold
state, which allows the lamp to be easily started.
 High-pressure sodium lamps are quite efficient—about 100 lm/W
 The higher power lamps (600 W) have an efficiency of 150 lm/W.
 These lamps are often used indoors in cafes and restaurants for
aesthetic effect.
vi. Low-Pressure Sodium:
 Low-pressure sodium lamps are highly efficient electrical light
sources, but their yellow light restricts applications to outdoor
lighting such as street lamps.
 Low-pressure sodium lamps only give monochromatic yellow light
and so inhibit colour vision at night.
 It has borosilicate glass gas discharge tube (arc tube) containing
solid sodium, a small amount of neon, and argon gas to start the
gas discharge.
 The discharge tube may be linear or U-shaped.
 When the lamp is first started, it emits a dim red/pink light to warm
the sodium metal; within a few minutes as the sodium
metal vaporizes, the emission becomes the common bright yellow.
 LPS lamps are similar to fluorescent lamps in that they are a low-
intensity light source with a linear lamp shape.
 They do not exhibit a bright arc as do High-intensity
discharge (HID) lamps, they emit a softer luminous glow, resulting
in less glare.
 Unlike HID lamps, during a voltage dip low-pressure sodium
lamps return to full brightness rapidly.
 LPS lamps are available with power ratings from 10 W up to 180
W.
 Modern LPS lamps have a service life of about 18,000 hours and
do not decline in lumen output with age, though they do increase in
energy consumption by about 10% towards end of life.
vii. Metal Halide:
 Metal-halide lamp is an electric lamp that produces light by
an electric arc through a gaseous mixture of
vaporized mercury and metal halides.
 It is a type of high-intensity discharge (HID) gas discharge lamp.
 The most common metal halide compound used is sodium iodide.
 Metal-halide lamps have high luminous efficacy of around 75–100
lumens per watt which is about twice that of mercury vapour lights
and 3 to 5 times that of incandescent lights and produce an intense
white light.
 Lamp life is 6,000 to 15,000 hours.
 They are used for wide area overhead lighting of commercial,
industrial, and public spaces, such as parking lots, sports arenas,
factories, and retail stores as well as residential security
lighting and automotive headlamps (xenon headlights).
 They require a warm-up period of several minutes to reach full
light output.

Types of Lighting:

1) General Lighting: Lighting designed to provide a uniform level of

illumination.
2) Local Lighting: Lighting designed to provide a high level of
illumination over a small area, with a surrounding area of lower
intensity from spilled light.

3) Task Lighting: Lighting designed to provide a strong illumination

for visually demanding activities. It needs to be glare-free.
Effective task lighting enhances visual clarity and keeps the eyes
from getting tired.
 4) Accent Lighting: Lighting that calls attention or adds interest to a
particular object or unusual feature of interest in a room. Highlight
emphasizes illumination with a strong light; backlight illuminates
from behind in order to embrace depth or to separate the object
from the background; sidelight is light coming from the side.

5) Ambient Lighting: A hidden source of light that washes the room

with a glow. It flattens an interior and creates very little shadow.

6) Aesthetic Lighting: Lighting itself can be a work of art. A neon

sculpture would be purely decorative and is an example of
aesthetic lighting.
 7) Natural Lighting: Sunlight, candlelight and Firelight. The quality
of sunlight will depend on the time of the day and the season
within the year. Candlelight/Firelight is light that moves and is
sometimes referred to as kinetic light.

Types of Luminaire:

1) Wall Washer: A downlight mounted close to the plane of a wall

and equipped with a reflector, baffle or lens to illuminate to the
vertical surface.

2) Floodlight: A lamp designed to project or diffuses a comparatively

uniform level of illumination over a large are. Also called as flood
lamp.
3) Downlight: A luminaire consisting of a lamp set in meta cylinder,
recessed into or mounted on a ceiling to direct a beam of light
downward.

4) Spotlight: A lamp designed to project a strong focused beam of

light on an object or areas. Also called, spot.

5) Spill: Useless light rays, a spotlight or other focused light source.

Also called, Spill light.

6) Track lighting: Lighting provided by adjustable spotlights mounted

a long narrow, ceiling-or-wall mounted metal track through which
currents is conducted.
7) Light Strip: A rigid or flexible tape with exposed down voltage
light sources of 1 to 10 watts.

8) Troffer: A luminaire having a trough shaped reflector holding one

or more florescent lamps.

9) Droplight: A lighting fixture suspended from a ceiling or wall by a

flexible cord, by which it can be released or lowered.

10) Chandelier: A decorative lighting fixture suspended from a ceiling.

Usually having branched supports for a number of lamps.
11) Pendants: Suspended from the ceiling, a pendant light directs its
light down, typically over a table or kitchen island. A pendant can
enhance the decorative style of a room. Pendants can provide
ambient or task lighting.

12) Wall Sconces: Surface-mounted to the wall, sconces can direct

light upwards or downwards, and their covers or shades can add a
stylish touch to a room. Wall sconces provide ambient or task
lighting.

13) Floor Lamps: Made in a wide range of sizes and styles, lamps are
extremely versatile and portable sources of light in a room. Lamps
are often used a task lights, particularly for reading but can also
provide ambient light.
14) Gooseneck Lamp: A desk lamp having a flexible shaft resembling
the neck of a goose.
15) Bridge Lamp: A floor lamp having the light source on a horizontal
adjustable arm.

16) Torchlere: a floor lamp having its light source within a reflecting
bowl that directs the light upward.

Energy Efficient Lighting System:

Electric lighting is a major energy consumer. Enormous energy savings

are possible using energy efficient equipment, effective controls, and
careful design. Using less electric lighting reduces heat gain, thus
saving air-conditioning energy and improving thermal comfort.
Electric lighting design also strongly affects visual performance and
visual comfort by aiming to maintain adequate and appropriate
illumination while controlling reflection and glare. There are several
types of energy efficient lighting and affordable lighting technology.
The following are a few examples of energy-saving opportunities with
efficient lighting.
1. Installation of Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) in place of
Incandescent Lamps:
CFL‘s use 2/3 less energy than standard incandescent bulb, give the same
amount of energy and can last 6 to 10 times longer.
2. Installation of energy-efficient fluorescent lamps in place of
―conventional‖ fluorescent lamps.
Not all fluorescent lamps are energy efficient and cost effective. There
are several types of fluorescent lamps that vary depending on the duration
of their lamp life, energy efficiency, regulated power, and the quality of
colour it transmits. Fluorescent lamps are categorized on the basis of their
size of their diameter per eighth inch.

The recommended style of fluorescent lighting is a T-8. T-8 lights are the
most cost effective. 30% to 40% more efficient than standard T-12
fluorescent lamps, which have poor colour rendition and cause eye strain.
T-8 lamps provide more illumination, better colour.
3. Installation of occupancy/motion sensors to turn lights on and off where
appropriate:
Lighting can be controlled by occupancy sensors to allow operation
whenever someone is within the area being scanned. When motion can no
longer be detected, the lights shut off.
Passive infrared sensors react to changes in heat, such as the pattern
created by a moving person. The control must have an unobstructed view
of the building area being scanned. Doors, partitions, stairways, etc. will
block motion detection and reduce its effectiveness. The best applications
 for passive infrared occupancy sensors are open spaces with a clear view
of the area being scanned.
Ultrasonic sensors transmit sound above the range of human hearing and
monitor the time it takes for the sound waves to return. A break in the
pattern caused by any motion in the area triggers the control. Ultrasonic
sensors can see around obstructions and are best for areas with cabinets
and shelving, restrooms, and open areas requiring 360-degree coverage.

4. Use an automated device, such as a key tag system, to regulate the

electric power in a room:
The key tag system uses a master switch at the entrance of each guest
room, requiring the use of a room key-card to activate them. Using this
technique, only occupied rooms consume energy because most electrical
appliances are switched off when the key card is removed (when the
guest leaves the room). Along with lighting, the heating, air conditioning,
radio and television may also be connected to the master switch.
5. Offer nightlights to prevent the bathroom lights from being left on all
night:
Many guests opt to have a light on while they sleep. By turning the
bathroom light on and leaving the bathroom door cracked open, guests
are able to find their way through an unknown room in the middle of the
night. Those who are accompanied by children may often do the same to
comfort their child. By offering a nightlight, the energy used to power a
 bathroom light during the night time can be avoided and guests will still
be able to feel comfortable in unfamiliar territory.

One particular model uses six Light Emitting Diodes

(LEDs) in the panel of a light switch to provide light
for guests. LEDs are just tiny light bulbs that fit easily
into an electrical circuit. They are different from
ordinary incandescent bulbs because they don‘t burn
out or get really hot. They are often used in digital
clocks or remote controls.

6. Replace all exit signs with light emitting diode (led) exit signs:
The development of light emitting diodes (LEDs) has
allowed the replacement of exit sign lighting with a
more energy efficient alternative. Multiple LEDs,
properly configured, produce equivalent lighting and
consume 95% less electricity than incandescent bulbs
and 75% less than energy-efficient compact
fluorescent lamps. A major benefit is the 20-year life cycle rating of
LEDs; they virtually eliminate maintenance.
7. Use high efficiency (hid) exterior lighting:
High intensity discharge (HID) lighting is much more efficient and
preferable to incandescent, quartz-halogen and most fluorescent light
fixtures. HID types (from least to most efficient) include mercury vapour,
metal halide and high pressure sodium. Mercury vapour is seldom used
anymore. Both metal halide and high pressure sodium are excellent
outdoor lighting systems. High pressure sodium has a pink-orange glow
and is used when good colour rendition isn‘t critical. Metal halide, though
less efficient, provides clean white light and good colour rendition.