

Lumens to Candlepower ConversionĬandlepower is a unit of measurement for luminous intensity. If you have especially dark-colored walls and furniture or if you’re using light fixtures with shades, you’ll need roughly an additional 10 lumens per square foot. Once you determine your desired footcandle level, you multiply that by your room’s square footage. H = distance between the lamp and the horizontal target To calculate for your recommended footcandle multiplier, use the following formulas: You do that with a footcandle multiplier.

If you have high ceilings in a space, then you must account for that in your lumens calculation. If your ceiling height is below 10ft, the Lumen Method above and the lumens calculator below will be sufficient for determining the required light output for your application. Note: Only read this section if your ceiling height is taller than 10ft.
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A 100-square foot dining room, which needs 40 foot-candles, will need 4,000 lumens.ĭownload a Free Footcandle Chart » Factoring in Lumen Lighting Variables Ceiling Height Variable For example, a 100-square foot living room, which needs 20 foot candles, will need 2,000 lumens. Multiply your room square footage by the footcandle requirement.
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Let’s recap how to gauge how much light you need for a space. Summary: Calculating Total Lumens Needed for a Room Residential Lighting Footcandle Requirements Room Footcandle Requirements for Various Applications Commercial Lighting Footcandle Requirements Room We’ve created a helpful guide to How Many Lumens You Need that walks you through this calculation in more detail. A 100 square-foot dining room, which needs 40 foot-candles, will require 4,000 lumens. For example, a 100 square-foot living room, which needs 20 foot-candles, will need 2,000 lumens. Multiply the room square footage by the footcandle requirement.Once you establish the intended use of your space, browse this footcandle chart for the IES-recommended footcandle requirement for your application. For example, a bathroom or kitchen will require more footcandles than a living room or bedroom. Lighting requirements vary depending on the type of room being lit, also known as the application. Establish the footcandle requirement for your application.For example, if the room is 10 feet wide and 10 feet long, the room square footage will be 100 square feet. Multiply the length times the width of the room to get the room square footage. Determine room size by square footage.The Lumen Method – How to Calculate Total Lumens Needed Please note that these ratios may vary slightly, even between different LED products. If a 100-watt incandescent light produces 1,500 lumens, and a 10-watt LED light does the same, the 10-watt LED bulb may claim 100-watt equivalency and energy efficiency. Wattage is a measure of how much electricity (or energy) a light bulb consumes to achieve its lumen output.Įach type of light source - LED, fluorescent, halogen or incandescent bulbs - has a different lumen-to-watt ratio. LED lights provide higher Color Rendering Index (CRI), so, while they more accurately reveal the colors of the subject being lighted, they don’t provide more light. Strictly speaking, 600 LED lumens provides the same amount of light as 600 incandescent lumens. The reference point: A standard 100-watt incandescent light bulb produces about 1,500-1,700 lumens. It’s also commonly known as brightness or light output. Lumen output is a measurement of the total quantity of visible light emitted by a light source. For exact analysis, please consult a lighting design professional. Use this calculator to calculate the lumens needed to light a room. Summary: Calculating Total Lumens Needed for a Room.Footcandle Requirements for Various Applications.The Lumen Method – How to Calculate Lumens.If you are new to this type of calculation, read the guide below the calculator to understand lumens and other concepts that play a role in adequately lighting a space. If you are familiar with these concepts, you can jump directly to the lumens calculator below the table of contents. This guide will help you understand the lumen method and how to calculate lighting for a room. With this formula, you first establish the intended use of the space, then you measure its square footage. The lumen method is the most commonly used for calculating the total light output needed for your space. the quantitative (or engineering) aspect of lightĬalculating for total lighting required is considered quantitative.the qualitative (or aesthetic) aspect of light.How much light is enough to light a room? Most designers and architects use two foundational principles of lighting design when planning and specifying lighting for any space:
