#18137
Whale
Flatchatter

    Light illuminance is measured in Lux, and the amount of light perceptible by the human eye is measured in lumens.

    In your Plan’s hallway, the amount of perceptible light is influenced by a number of factors including the height of the ceiling, the colour of the walls / floor, and the spread of light emitted by the light fixture; complicated!

    The use of LED fixtures further complicates matters as the spread of light is quite narrow, the colour of the light differs (e.g. “cool” or “bright white”), the wattage figures quoted don’t easily relate to fluorescent or incandescent globes, and manufacturers quote vastly different Lux figures for fittings of the same wattage.

    In all those circumstances I probably shouldn’t do this, but …. the standard for hallways where people need just enough light to move around safely (possibly your quoted “mood” lighting) is around 40 Lux, the number of light fixtures necessary to produce that can be calculated from the formula (Lux level * area) / lumens per fixture, and for a hallway that’s 3m wide that’s around one (1) 15W LED downlight each 3m of its length.

    I think I’ve given myself a headache, but if you’re really concerned about your Plan’s new hallway lighting perhaps approach your Executive Committee about having the actual illuminance professionally assessed against the 40 Lux (approx) required.