Fundamentals of Lighting

Vocabulary flashcards for the key terms and concepts in lighting.

Light

"Visual evaluated radiant energy", a form of energy which permits us to see.

Lighting

A general term that refers to the process of illuminating a home, workplace, or street to make it livable through different technologies.

Candela (cd)

SI unit that measures the luminous intensity of a light source moving in a specific direction.

Lumens (lm)

Unit of luminous flux, a measure of the total amount of visible light from a light source.

Lux (lx)

Unit of illumination equal to one lumen per square meter. 1 lx = 0.0929 fc

Foot Candle (fc)

Unit of illumination equal to one lumen per square foot. 1 fc = 10.7639 lux

Natural Lighting

Also referred to as “Daylighting,” the main source of light during daytime, provided by the sun.

Artificial Lighting

Visible light generated by artificial light sources that is predictable and controllable which includes incandescent, halogen, and fluorescent light.

Filament Lamp

A common type of light bulb that contains a thin coil of wire called a filament that heats up when electric current passes through it and produces light. Examples are incandescent and tungsten-halogen lamps.

Incandescent Lamp

Composed of a sealed glass containing a filament connected at its ends to the contract area in the base thereby completing an electric circuit.

Tungsten-Halogen Lamp

Uses halogen gas cycle to prevent rapid depreciation of filament commonly used in automotive headlamps, and work lights.

R Type Bulb

Reflector light bulbs that contain a built-in reflecting surface that maximizes the direction of the light.

BR Type Bulb

Bulged Reflector with wider beam angles compared to R-type bulb.

PAR Type Bulb

Parabolic Aluminized Reflector that has a wide coverage and hard glass covering to withstand harsh environmental conditions.

Gaseous Discharge Lamp

Generates light by sending an electric discharge through an ionized gas, a plasma which includes fluorescent, energy saving, and neon vapor lights.

Fluorescent Light

A low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light.

Neon Vapor Light

A miniature gas discharge lamp that consists of a small glass capsule that contains a mixture of neon and other gases at a low pressure and two electrodes.

High Intensity Discharge Lamp

Produces light by means of an electric arc between tungsten electrodes housed inside a translucent or transparent fused quartz or fused alumina arc tube and are typically used when high levels of light over large areas are required.

Natural Lighting is controlled by what factors

Window arrangement

Window quantity

window size

placement of rooms

Common sources of artificial lighting

Incandescent

Halogen

Flourescent Light

Types of Filament Lamp

Incandscent lamp

Tungsten-halogen lamp

R and PAR lamp

Types of gaseous discharge lamp

Flourescent light

energy savinng light

neon vapor light

Types of lamp used in artificial lighting

Filament lamp

gaseous discharge lamp

High intensity discharge lamp