All professional electricians are familiar with the concept of calculating the illumination of a room. Such an operation must be carried out for every room in the house. Definitely it is the foundation of lighting in general.

In our article today, we will try to understand a number of issues related to this procedure. A lot of things are not clear to amateur electricians, so we explain everything to the smallest detail.

The calculation of lighting in both residential and industrial premises must be carried out with high accuracy. The state of human health and comfortable pastime in this room directly depend on these indicators.

If the room has insufficient or excessive illumination, this factor will play a role in the psychological state of a person, and will also bring some consequences for the visual organ. To avoid such troubles, this process must be planned.

We determine the calculation of illumination for a dwelling

For this method, it is necessary to perform a number of preliminary actions, for example, to calculate the number of lighting fixtures per room, we will start with this:

• For this we need a formula where

N is the number of lighting fixtures;

E - indicator of lighting values ​​in a horizontal position, measured in Lux;

S is the area of ​​the room in which the calculation is carried out;

Kr - reserve coefficient characterizing the excess of the level of illumination. It is provided in case of failure of a certain number of fixtures;

U - coefficient that determines the possibility of using the device;

n is the number of light bulbs that the lighting device contains;

Fl - light emission of one light bulb, Lm.

• Next, we need to find the room index using the formula:

To make accurate calculations, you need to measure the height of the lamp and the height of the intended area for which the illumination is calculated, the values ​​a and b are the lengths of the walls, which also need to be determined;

Auxiliary methods for determining the illumination of a room

In addition to the basic mathematical method for determining the level of illumination for the required area, there are more simplified options that are also regularly used at home.

Calculation by specific power. This tactic is quite simple, since all the reference data is available. Of the shortcomings, we can only highlight that the calculation is obtained with a large excess. To determine the value of specific power, you need to multiply the number of lamps by the power of each of them separately, then divide the resulting expression by the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe room. Thus, the required value of the power of the lamps is obtained, by which their number is easily determined.

Calculation using a prototype. This method is quite simple, since all the data is available in tables specific to typical premises. This option is convenient for domestic conditions. It makes no sense to use calculations of a more professional type for everyday life.

Point calculation of illumination. With this calculation, it is possible to obtain a value for each individual point in the room. However, this type of calculation requires lengthy preparation: it is necessary to have a room plan with the layout of fixtures, according to which you should select the point that serves as the calculated one. This option is complex and is used for difficult conditions or with design features of wall or ceiling surfaces.

Important! In order to simplify your task and find the exact value of illumination, you need to collect all the data and use a calculator that determines the level of illumination in the rooms.

Factors affecting the illumination of the workplace?

For each individual room, there are certain requirements that determine a number of factors that must be taken into account. At this stage, we will consider how to calculate the illumination for a work area or office.

Each type of activity should be optimally equipped with a light flux, and it does not matter if you work at a computer or at a production machine. Before providing sufficient comfort to the place of work, it is necessary to take into account the following factors:

• sufficiency of light and its uniformity;
• desired brightness;
• no glare or glare effect is allowed;
• correct contrast and color scheme of light;
• no pulsation of light.

In addition to these factors, due attention should be paid to quantitative and qualitative criteria. Let's turn to quality criteria.

1. Direct fading is a collection of objects or surfaces that brightly reflect light, while causing discomfort to human vision. This drawback can be eliminated by increasing the height of the fixtures, installing diffusers on the light source and reducing the power of each bulb.
2. Reflected fading appears if individual surfaces in the room have an increased reflectivity. Due to this factor, a person can see a mirror or bright spot of light, and this quite interferes and irritates the eyesight. To eliminate this factor, it is necessary to properly organize the lighting, following the calculations using the formula.
3. High contrast. This factor is also not favorable. For example, if the surface of the working area has a contrast similar to the light flux, in such cases, some details will be indistinguishable to the human eye.

Note! In order to see well and distinguish objects in the workplace, it is necessary that the surface of the illuminated area and the luminous flux have a different contrast.

1. Shadow. It requires the complete absence of falling shadows, for example, from parts of the human body and objects installed in the working area. It is believed that such shadows are harmful, as they reduce vision. In addition, they distort the contrast of important details for vision. To eliminate this criterion, it is important to place the lighting on the other side of the surface so that even with the maximum inclination of a person, no shadows are formed.
2. Saturation of light. Here it is important not to confuse the level of illumination of the working area and the light saturation of the entire room. These two characteristics in this case are considered compatible. To avoid lack of saturation, it is necessary to install non-focused lighting, as well as decorate the walls and ceiling surface with light coatings.

What is lighting ripple and how to determine its level?

To date, there is no lighting device that would give out a uniform luminous flux, and this does not at all indicate some kind of defect in the device. Such a phenomenon, if present, cannot be noticed, but this does not reduce its danger to human vision.

The ripple coefficient is a certain change that occurs in the time of radiation of the light flux that falls on the surface. To calculate this value, you should subtract the minimum value for the same time from the maximum illumination value for a certain period of time, and multiply the resulting value by 100%. The resulting number is expressed as a percentage.

Attention! There are a number of specific standards that are regulated by legislation regarding the pulsation of lighting. There are specific restrictions for each individual room.

In places where the main work tasks and operations are performed, this value should not exceed 20%. In buildings of public and administrative type, a pulsation value not exceeding 5% is provided.

Is it possible to measure the pulsation of light?

As it turned out, it was impossible to visually determine the state of the pulsation of the luminous flux, therefore, special equipment must be used. Such devices include an illuminance meter, a device for determining the brightness of light, and a device that indicates the exact value of the ripple coefficient. Thanks to these devices, it is achieved:

• the exact value of the illumination of the room;
• the brightness of devices transmitting artificial light is calculated;
• the pulsation of the light flux wave is determined;
• the pulsation of monitors of various electronic devices is specified.

According to the results of the calculation, the following values ​​are distinguished: the pulsation coefficient of LED lamps is 100%; less pulsation is emitted by incandescent lamps and "housekeepers" - 25%. When choosing lamps of an expensive type for residential lighting, it cannot be guaranteed that the ripple factor will be harmless.

Norms of illumination of premises according to SNIP

The current document, which to this day regulates the pulsation coefficient and illumination indicators for premises, is a set of rules (SP), legalized in 2015. In the latest version of SNIP 23-05-95, all criteria related to electrical efficiency and safety have been clarified.

Consider a table of norms from SNIP that residential premises should have.

Using tabular values, you can easily determine the required values ​​\u200b\u200bfor each room in a residential building.

How to Calculate Light Rating in Lumens: The Non-Traditional Method

According to statistics, this method is considered the most accurate compared to the others given, but it is used only in exceptional cases. In order to use this determination tactic, we need to take the total area of ​​​​the measured room, multiply this value by the normalized indicator of illumination for 1 sq. m, as a result we get the power of light radiation necessary for the entire room as a whole.

Attention! All normative values ​​regarding the norms of illumination of living quarters can be found in the SNIP documents.