Lighting System Design

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and definitions related to lighting systems and principles, helping students prepare for their exam.

Lighting

A good lighting system provides appropriate quantity and quality of light cost-effectively for various tasks.

Illuminance

The intensity of light at a point, measured in lux (lx) or footcandles (fc).

Luminous Flux

The quantity of light emitted by a source, measured in lumens.

Lumen (lm)

The amount of light required to illuminate one square foot at an intensity of one footcandle.

Footcandle (fc)

A unit measuring light in a room, expressed in lumens per square foot.

Footlambert (fl)

The luminance of a surface reflecting or emitting one lumen of illumination per square foot.

Efficiency

The amount of energy converted to visible light.

Efficacy

A measure of lumens produced per watt of energy consumed.

Incandescent Lamps

Light sources that produce light by heating a filament; less than 10% efficiency in converting energy to light.

Fluorescent Lamps

Widely used lamps requiring a ballast, where about 20% of input energy is converted to light.

Mercury Lamps

High-intensity discharge lamps combining characteristics of fluorescent lamps and incandescent lamps.

Metal Halide Lamps

Improved mercury lamps with added halides for better efficacy and color quality.

High Pressure Sodium Lamps

HID lamps with double efficacy compared to mercury lamps; characterized by yellowish light.

LED Lamps

Energy-efficient lamps with no warm-up time and longer lifespan than incandescent lamps.

Hue

The quality by which we recognize and describe colors.

Contrast

The brightness ratio between an object and its background.

Glare

A strong, steady, dazzling light or reflection.

Coefficient of Utilization (CU)

The portion of light reaching the work area from a luminaire.

Light Loss Factor (LLF)

Estimated deterioration in light source and accumulation of dirt affecting light output.