05 Apr
Lux is a unit used to measure the intensity of light hitting a surface, typically a wall or floor in a lighting design. One lux is equivalent to one lumen per square meter. They differ from lumens, which measure the brightness of the light source.
1 LUX = 1 Lumen / m2
What does this actually mean for you? Well imagine you buy a 400 lumen bulb and put it in a room with 10m2 of surface area inside. A little toilet or store room for example. Putting that into our equation, the room is therefore on average getting a light intensity of 40 lux. Put that same bulb into a larger room with say, 20m2 of surface area, and all of a sudden the lux level will drop to 20 lux. This kind of demonstrates the obvious in that the bigger the room, the more you will need to create the right light levels. That much is obvious, but when you factor in natural light, the dimensions of the room, the required use of the room and other factors, suddenly having a unit like lux to be able to compare light intensity is very useful.
You can use lux to create a standard that can be employed across different buildings and usages, suddenly allowing you to compare the quality of the lighting in one building to another, or assessing whether the light is sufficient for the purpose it was designed for.
How many lux do you need?
If you look at the various recommendations when it comes to lighting levels, there are different recommended intensity levels depending on the room and the purpose of the space. A room which is used for storage, for example, needs relatively low light levels; whilst a workshop where fine detail is required will need much brighter light levels. As such, the Chartered Institute of Building Service Engineers gives the various light levels that each part of a property – domestic or commercial- requires to give adequate lighting. This is purely guidance, but it should give you a good idea of the appropriate levels for each type of space.
If you would like more advice on lighting or would like a full survey, just get in touch and we will be happy to help you.
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