Lighting Design

Electrical Contractor Magazine recently published an article I wrote about how to read a luminaire photometric report, part 2 in a short 2-part series on lighting design basics. The article includes how photometric measurements are taken, what kind of useful outputs are generated, and how to read and interpret those outputs. Check it out here. [...]

From a recent email from the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD): Please be advised that the State of New York has determined that the lighting design services that our members typically provide to customers are subject to sales tax in New York. The Department’s conclusion applies to ANY lighting design firm providing services in [...]

Norwegian researchers have found that good design and lighting can significantly reduce anxiety among travelers driving through tunnels, as reported by EarthSky.org here. The article states: The main point is to obtain a good distribution of light, in conjunction with the use of artistic lighting, which turns out to give drivers a feeling of space [...]

For those specifying color characteristics of light sources, a few words of caution: While color temperature and CRI are important, the true complexities of a light source’s color characteristics cannot be captured with a few numbers, which is why there is no substitute for seeing the lamps in a given application. A separate mockup with [...]

Light is actually made up of colors. For an object to be perceived a certain color, that color must be present both in the object and the light striking it. Because of this, choice of lamp can influence how colors are perceived in a space. This means that perception of objects in the space is, [...]

Excessive luminances or luminance contrasts may also lead to a visual sensation called glare, which, even though it is also light, can impair or disable vision rather than enable it. Glare is categorized as several different types according to its effects. Direct glare is caused by directly viewing a light source, such as a bright [...]

Specifying color quality appropriate for the application is essential. In a high-end retail application, good color quality can make products, especially clothing, appear more vibrant, truer and ultimately more appealing. In an office application, color quality can facilitate social interaction by rendering faces more naturally and thereby helping to create a more productive and appealing [...]

Lighting quality goes beyond task performance to address other needs related to aesthetic judgment, mood and atmosphere and visual comfort, all of which indirectly affect user satisfaction and task performance. The first two needs, often left out of the retrofit process, become primary considerations in a relighting or new construction project, covering patterns of light, [...]

One of the most important functions of a lighting system is to support visual performance by ensuring appropriate visibility of tasks and objects the designer wants seen. The human eye can adjust to a wide range of light levels, including about 10,000 footcandles on a sunny day to about 0.01 footcandles under full moonlight. As [...]