Intro to Lighting Design

Lighting is important and the quality of light can affect everything you do. There are two aspects to lighting design that go hand in hand. The qualitative or aesthetic aspect and the quantitative or engineering aspect.

The qualitative aspect has to do with ensuring that the space has a pleasing feel and ambiance. It is the artistic interspersing of light and shadow, of illumination and darkness, of figure and form.

The quantitative aspect revolves around making sure that there is adequate light for the task at hand. The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) of North America publishes guidelines of light levels for many tasks and activities based on the nature of the task, the size of objects handled, the detail required, the average age of the people in that space and so on.

The rate of energy consumption is called “power” and is measured in watts. A 200-watt lamp is consuming energy at twice the rate of a 100-watt lamp. The electric company charges consumers for the total amount of energy they consume. This is measured in kilowatt-hours or kwh. A 200-watt lamp burning for 5 hours consumes 1,000 watt-hours of energy, which is called a kilowatt-hour. Note that burning a thousand watt lamp for one hour costs the same as burning a hundred watt lamp for ten hours.

On the average, electricity costs about 10 cents per kilowatt-hour. It is as high as 20 cents per kwh in some places and as low as 5 cents in others.

Comments

David P Hakimi

David Hakimi is a lighting specialist and one of the co-founders of Alcon Lighting. A graduate of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), David works on the front lines of the energy-efficient lighting revolution, enabling architects, designers, and lighting engineers to transition from outmoded halogen and fluorescent lighting to what David calls “the ideal replacement for all lighting applications,” —LEDs. David takes particular pride in Alcon’s design, energy, and green building knowledge, tracing his and Alcon’s commitment to quality, innovation, accountability and value back to the lessons learned from his father, a Southern California lighting salesman and consultant for more than two decades. Passionate about reducing climate change and protecting the environment, David has been particularly valuable in ensuring that his clients and customers comply with rapidly-evolving green building codes. You can connect with David on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-p-hakimi/.

Office Lighting: LED vs. Fluorescent

September 25, 2018 by Colt Sliva

Whether you’re upgrading the lighting in your current office, or designing the office space of a new development project, it’s important to consider the advantages and disadvantages of LED Lighting. Here are 4 important points of analysis when considering LED Lighting to Fluorescent.

B.V. Doshi— The Humble Architect and The 2018 Pritzker Prize Laureate

April 10, 2018 by Ryan Tang

Early in his architectural journey almost 70 years ago, now-renowned architect, educator, and urban planner Balkrishna Doshi made a quiet, powerful promise to himself in his diary, “It seems that I should take an oath and remember it for my life-time: to provide the lowest class with the proper dwelling.” And for the next six decades he lived up to his oath.

Retail Lighting: Best Practices

March 11, 2018 by Katie Kailus

Products can demand attention with the help of proper lighting. This means an open floor plan with tactical attention to lighting fixture placement, brightness, color temperature, and CRI. The ability of LED Lighting to meet these technical requirements is what makes it the #1 choice of lighting designers and architects.

Seeing Edible Green with LED Lighting

February 21, 2018 by Maylin Tu

Leaf it to the horticulturalists to come up with something this big: Harnessing the power and versatility of LED lighting, urban farmers are producing 12,000 heads of lettuce per day for consumer consumption.

10 Fun Facts About Nikola Tesla

November 18, 2017 by Maylin Tu

Tesla was a prolific inventor and patent holder. One of his primary contributions was alternating current—a development that—dare I say—powers the world we live in today. Critical for lighting. Critical for facebooking. Indispensable for all things (alternating current, not Facebook).