This section is from the book "Cyclopedia Of Architecture, Carpentry, And Building", by James C. et al. Also available from Amazon: Cyclopedia Of Architecture, Carpentry And Building.
In determining the value of illumination, not only the candle-power of the units, but the amount of reflected light must be considered for the given location of the lamps. Following is a formula based on the coefficient of reflection of the walls of the room, which serves for preliminary calculations: c. p. 1
1 = 1 - k d2
I = Illumination in foot-candles.
c.p. = Candle-power of the unit.
k = Coefficient of reflection of the walls.
d = distance from the unit in feet.
Where several units of the same candle-power are used this formula becomes:
1 1 1 1
I = c. p. ( d2 + d21 + d22 +...) 1-k or, c. p = 1
(1 1 1 1 d2 d21 d22 + ----------) 1-k where d, d1, d2, equal the distances from the point considered to the various light sources. If the lamps are of different candle-power the illumination may be determined by combining the illumination from each source as calculated separately. An example of calculation is given under "Arrangement of Lamps." The above method is not strictly accurate because it does not take account of the angle at which the light from each one of the sources strikes the assumed plane of illumination. If the rays of light is perpendicular to the plane, the formula 1 = c. p. gives cord2 rect values. If a is the angle which the ray of light makes with a line drawn from the light source perpendicular to the assumed plane, then the formula I = c. p. X cosine a/ d2. Therefore, by multiplying the candle-power value of each light source in the directtion of the illuminated point by the cosine of each angle a, a more accurate result will be obtained.
It is readily seen that the effect of reflected light from the ceilings is of more importance than that from the floor of a room. The value of k, in the above formula, will vary from 60% to 10%, but for rooms with a fairly light finish 50% may be taken as a good average value.
The amount of illumination will depend on the use to be made of the room. One foot-candle gives sufficient illumination for easy reading, when measured normal to the page, and probably an illumination of .5 foot-candle on a plane 3 feet from the floor forms a sufficient ground illumination. The illumination from sunlight reflected from white clouds is from 20 foot-candles up, while that due to moonlight is in the neighborhood of .03 foot-candles. It is not possible to produce artificially a light equivalent to daylight on account of the great amount of energy that would be required and the difficulty of obtaining proper diffusion.
The method of calculating the illumination of a room that has just been described is known as the point-by-point method and it gives very accurate results if account is taken of the angle at which the light from each source strikes the plane of illumination and if the light distribution curves of the units, and the value of k, have been carefully determined. Under these conditions the calculations become extended and complicated and methods only approximate, but simpler in their application, are being introduced. One method, which gives good results when applied to fairly large interiors, makes the flux of light from the light sources the basis of calculation of the average illumination.
Flux of light is measured in lumens and a lumen may be defined as the amount of light which must fall on one square foot of surface in order to produce a uniform illumination of an intensity of one foot-candle. A source of light giving one candle-power in every direction and placed at the center of a sphere of one foot radius would give an illumination of one foot-candle at every point in the surface of the sphere and the total flux of light would be 4 pi or 12.57, lumens since the area of the sphere would be 4 pi, or 12.57, sq. ft. A lamp giving one mean spherical candle-power gives a flux of 12.57 lumens and the total flux of light from any source is obtained by multiplying its mean spherical candle-power by 12.57. In calculating illumination it is customary to determine the illumination on a plane about 30 inches from the floor for desk work, and about 42 inches from the floor for the display of goods on counters. If we determine the total number of lumens falling on this plane and divide this number by the area of the plane, we obtain the average illumination in foot-candles. This of course tells us nothing about the maximum or minimum value of the illumination and such values must be obtained by other methods if they are desired. Reflected light, other than that covered by the distribution curve of the light unit including its reflector, is usually neglected in this method of calculation.
We may assume that in large rooms the light coming from the lamp within an angle of 75 degrees from the vertical reaches the plane of illumination. In smaller rooms this angle should be reduced to about 60 degrees. In order to determine the flux of light within this angle a Rousseau diagram, which is described later, should be drawn.
By the means of this diagram the average candle-power of the light source within the angle assumed may be readily determined and this mean value, multiplied by 12.57, will give the flux of light in lumens.
This method of calculation, together with some guides for its rapid application, is described by Messrs. Cravath and Lansingh in the "Transactions of the Illuminating Engineering Society, 1908." The same authorities give the following useful data:
To determine the watts required per square foot of floor area, multiply the intensity of illumination desired by the constants given as follows:
 
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