feature quality of the visual environmentflash! hot productsfuturespast Henningsen’s designsmaking contact manufacturers mentionedin this issueswitched online QVE resources on the webluminaires we’d love to seetrade in flux lighting software

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vol. 4 no. 1

L ighting can be good, bad, or indifferent. Bad lighting is easy to recognize. It isn’tpleasing to look at or work in. Indifferentlighting simply allows for basic functionalityand comfort, without aesthetic value. Goodlighting stands out as it meets people’s needsfor work and comfort while maintainingvisual appeal.

Lighting designers rely on their instinct,experience, and aesthetic sense as theystruggle to achieve the style, comfort, andutility necessary for good lighting. They’vedone so without a guide that specificallyaddresses quality issues.

Energy vs. qualityThose quality issues came to crisis in the

1980s when tough lighting energy codes cameinto being. Using watts-per-square-foot val-ues, conservationists assumed they couldachieve good lighting by providing sufficientfootcandles on the workplane with the mostefficient luminaire available and concentratingthe light on the desk. Lighting designersresponded by saying, “Yes, you can meet therequired footcandle levels with that low powerdensity, but you end up working in a glaryoffice that feels like a cave! Would anyonewant to work there eight hours a day?” Sud-denly, it became critical for the lighting pro-fession to discuss all the quality issues thatdesigners previously considered intuitively.

The effort to devise a guide for qualitylighting has kept a group of lighting design-ers busy for several years in committeesestablished specifically for that purpose.The work of the Illuminating EngineeringSociety of North America’s (IESNA) Qual-ity of the Visual Environment (QVE) Com-mittee will be seen later this year when, forthe first time, the IESNA Lighting Hand-book includes a Lighting Design Guide.

In 1992, the IESNA established the QVECommittee, which cooperates with theMetrics of Quality (MOQ) Committee of theInternational Association of Lighting Design-ers (IALD). The mandate of these volunteercommittees is to• investigate issues that contribute to

lighting quality

• develop guidelines on how to design withthese issues in mind

• raise awareness and standards of lightingdesign

The workshop methodTo tackle this large task, committee mem-

bers began by educating themselves aboutquality issues through workshops. Designers,educators, and researchers met, talked, argued,laughed, and designed pilot experiments inweekend workshops. They examined theoriesabout brightness perception, luminance ratios,wall luminance, work-plane illuminance, and

by Naomi Johnson Miller

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T he move is on to characterize and better define some of the elements oflighting quality. The Quality of the VisualEnvironment Committee of the Illuminat-ing Engineering Society of North America(IESNA) has been studying and analyzingquality issues through workshops and pilotexperiments. The committee’s work andexperience are the basis for the LightingDesign Guide to be included in the 9thedition of the IESNA Lighting Handbook,due out later this year. This will be the firsttime the Handbook places design issues inbalance with illuminance selection.

Committee members hope to give light-ing specifiers, end users, and manufacturersbroad guidelines for lighting designs thatmore effectively meet user needs for func-tionality, comfort, appearance, energyefficiency, and cost.

The focus on quality may well lead tochanges in lighting products and lightingtechnology. The committee’s work onoverhead glare has practical implications.Brighter, smaller light sources are morelikely to produce overhead glare unless thelight is controlled. For example, it may turnout to be unacceptable to use T5 linear, T5compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), or T4CFLs in open downlights without glarecontrol. Those open-reflector 32-watt CFL

Quality issuesmay

drive change by Kathleen Daly

continued on page 3

glare. The lighting industry hassupported the efforts by providingsites, equipment, and funds for thework.

The pilot experiments were rudi-mentary, intended to test the merit ofa hypothesis and determine whatvariables should be controlled forformal research. Overhead glare is anexample of one such pilot study (seeFigure 1). Have you ever sat under-neath a recessed downlight or a para-bolic louver luminaire and felt asthough you’d be much happier wear-ing a baseball cap? You were the vic-tim of overhead glare. You could run avisual comfort probability or unifiedglare rating calculation to figure outjust how uncomfortable you are.

downlights and 2-by-2-footparabolic reflectors withthree 40-wattCFLs jammedinto them maybe too bright

and uncomfortable for long-term working environments.

The committee also learnedthat lighting from multipledirections (through direct/indirect luminaires or recessed downlightsand wall sconces or wallwashers) producesbetter task visibility, visual comfort, roomsurface brightness, and facial modeling thanrooms lighted with single-direction lighting.This information may increase the demandfor direct/indirect luminaires as well asluminaires designed to add light to walls.

Predictions of changeTwo IESNA QVE committee members

with long experience in the lighting indus-try agree. Advisory member Steven Mesh,director of lighting applications at theLighting Group in New York City, sees thequality guidelines as giving new technolo-gies a boost.

“Most of the outcome of the committeewill substantiate what lighting designershave come to realize on their own,” he said.

Mesh predicted that lamp technologiessuch as (well-shielded) T5 fluorescentlamps, triple-tube CFLs, and metal halideparabolic aluminized reflector (PAR) lampswill likely gain greater acceptance as thelighting quality guidelines are adopted.

Figure 1. Diagram of the overhead glare pilot experiment.

These sources have excellent color-rendering properties and are compact.

When appliedin uplights,wallwashers,sconces, orother products,they direct thelight ontoceilings, walls,

or objects.The light goes where it is wanted andneeded, not into the eyes of the user.

More generally, Mesh also predictsadvances in indirect systems, whichwould go hand in hand with the devel-opment of T5 lamps. “Because it’s amore precise optical system, it enables usto increase the performance and energyefficiency of the system,” he said.

Demand may shift marketCommittee member Terry McGowan

thinks the design guide will help drivechanges in lighting technology.

“If a designer demands lightingequipment to meet a higher standardof lighting quality, then it’s the best ofall possible worlds,” he said. “The de-signer with an order in hand askingmanufacturers what they’re going to doto solve the problem puts new equip-ment with a built-in demand into themarketplace quickly. It’s a more effi-cient, customer-driven rather thanmanufacturer-driven approach.”

continued on page 3

The focus on qualitymay well lead to

changes in lightingproducts and

lighting technology.

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In this issue1225

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Qualityissues gain

momentum

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Twilight sconces varyillumination

Twilight Bedroom Wall sconces from PerryPratt Lighting are designed for use in residen-tial and health care settings. Three individuallamps provide different levels of illumination.The lamps include one to two compact fluo-rescents and a narrow spot parabolic alumi-nized reflector.

Perry Pratt Lighting

Louis Poulsen designspendant luminaire for CFLs

The Minimal Pendant from Louis Poulsen isdesigned for use with compact fluorescentlamps (CFLs). The conical shade is manufac-tured of hand-blown opal glass, white pow-der-coated aluminum, or opal acrylic. Thehousing is powder-coated, painted gray orwhite. The Minimal Pendant uses a maxi-mum of 18 watts.

Louis Poulsen Lighting Inc.

Advance Transformer Co.offers new dimming ballasts

Advance Transformer Co. has designed twonew dimming ballasts for 40-watt twin tubefluorescent lamps. Included under the Ad-vance line of Mark X Architectural DimmingBallasts and the new Mark VII ControllableElectronic ballasts, they provide full-rangedimming and do not require additional con-trol leads. The ballasts are designed for two-lamp operation, 120 or 277 volts, and aresuitable for use with occupancy sensorsand photosensors.

Advance Transformer Co.

Signos Decorative DownlightTrims add to luminaires

The Signos line of Decorative DownlightTrims from Prescolite is designed to mountonto existing Prescolite luminaires to updatethe look without incurring the cost ofluminaire replacement. Both round andsquare models are available in metal, glass,and acrylic. For round downlights, cone ordome-shaped luminaire trims are offered,while solid and lattice-style trims are optionsfor square downlights.

Prescolite

Space shuttle usesUnison’s OptiFlexOptiFlex Light Pipe from Unison Fiber OpticLighting Systems is being used on board theNASA Space Shuttle Discovery to illuminateinstrument panels. OptiFlex Light Pipe worksby transferring light from an illuminator inthe instrument box to the display panel with-out generating heat at the fiber ends. Withthis design, the shuttle instrument panels canbe read from different angles.

Unison Fiber Optic LightingSystems

The Watt Stopper Inc.introduces new control

The Watt Stopper Inc. has introduced theCS-200, a personal desktop environmentalcontroller for plug loads and dimming. TheCS-200 combines remote on/off control withthe capability of lamp dimming when usedwith proper ballast technology. In order towork effectively with the CS-200, dimmingballasts must be equipped with a 0–10 voltsdirect current control signal. The CS-200 isdesigned for small or large applications andcan be integrated into existing lighting con-trol systems.

The Watt Stopper Inc.

Covering advances inlighting technologies,techniques, and trade

Editor: Kathleen Daly July 1999Sponsor: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Vol. 4, No. 1Production Manager: Susan Mahar

Lighting Futures (ISSN 1081-8227) is published by the Light-ing Research Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Formore information about Lighting Futures and other LightingResearch Center publications, contact Publications, LightingResearch Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NewYork 12180-3590, phone: 518-276-8717, fax: 518-276-4835,e-mail: lrc@rpi.edu, web: www.lrc.rpi.edu

Contents © 1999 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. All rightsreserved. Neither the entire publication nor any of the infor-mation contained herein may be duplicated or excerpted inany way in any other publications, databases, or other mediawithout express written permission of the publisher. Makingcopies of all or part of this publication for any purpose otherthan for undistributed personal use is a violation of UnitedStates copyright law. Mention of specific products, technolo-gies, applications, and organizations does not imply theirendorsement by the Lighting Research Center or the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency. The Lighting ResearchCenter does not test or validate any claims made in LightingFutures. All product names mentioned herein are the trade-marks of their respective manufacturers.

Send editorial correspondence to Kathleen Daly,Lighting Research Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,Troy, New York 12180-3590 fax: 518-276-2999, email:dalyk@rpi.edu

flash!

futurespast: Henningsen’s designsby S. Noel Simpson

W hen electric lighting was in its infancy in the early 1920s, luminaire design rarely went

beyond functionality. In 1926, Poul Henningsen(1894–1967) combined form and function in away that helped define the art deco movement ininterior design.

The PH Lamp was a new breed, shaded with linesunlike anything that had come before. The mostfamous incarnation of Henningsen’s luminaire withits familiar three-shaded design redefined lightingdesign by proving that light did not have to be aharsh force that invaded and conquered darkness.Light could blend into the setting in a manner thatwas easy on the eyes.

Henningsen was a self-taught inventor, an artist, adesigner, an architect, and a film producer when heturned to lighting. Legend has it that he came up withthe revolutionary three-shade design while mullingover a cup of coffee. His methodical and scientificpursuit of this daydream led to research in luminairedesign and lighting distribution that is still highlyregarded. His contributions to exterior lighting design,road lighting design, and architecture were years aheadof their time.

The Opal Glass luminaire, one of the original three-shaded designs, with hand-blown opal shades andsandblasted undersides, defined Henningsen’s design.It allowed some light to show through the shades,with the majority still being reflected downward.

Henningsen’s designs are found everywhere, fromclassrooms to studios, from family kitchens to monu-mental dining halls, and from the tops of desks to theheights of The Forum in Copenhagen.

A Louis Poulsen Lighting Inc. luminaire basedon Poul Henningsen’s Louvre design that hangs

in the Lighting Research Center inWatervliet, NY.

Henningsen created beautiful industrial luminaires.The seven-shaded Septima with amber-colored, alternatelyfrosted glass shades was displayed in the Danish Museumof Decorative Art. The Black Out exterior light, createdfor use in war-targeted Tivoli, emitted light horizontally soit could not be seen from the air. A teardrop-shaped fix-ture called the Spiral, made of connected descendingmetal shades, is one of the most exquisite of his designs.Several examples hang in the main hall of the Universityof Aarhus in Denmark.

Do-it-yourself alternative tocustom lighting installationThe Omni-Lite Adjustable UndercabinetHalogen Lighting System, fromLITETRONICS, is intended for kitchen andoffice designs. The Omni-Lite has a swivelhead to allow the user to focus the light on thetask area and a built-in high-low dimmerswitch. Individual Omni-Lite units can belinked together by a bridge cord, eliminatingthe need for multiple line cords, plugs, andtransformers. Units are available in lengths of6, 12, and 18 inches, and each can be operatedindependently of any others in the installation.The Omni-Lite comes with 2000-hour, 25-watt, 120-volt halogen bulbs included.

LITETRONICS

Color Kinetics introducesdigital color-changing lamp

Color Kinetics is now offering its iColor MR,a digital color-changing lamp designed to fitin standard MR 16 fixtures. The lamp uses amicroprocessor and red-blue-green colormixing of light-emitting diodes to produce abroad range of colored lighting effects. It canrun an assortment of lighting shows such ascolor cross fades, color washes, random colorchanges, and constant colors without usingmotors and color filters. No external control-ler is required, but the iColor MR can acceptdata from industry-standard DMX512 con-trollers or PCs.

Color Kinetics �

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However, the calculations don’t cover thiscircumstance because the luminaire is techni-cally out of view, and the resultant ratingswould tell you it is not causing you any dis-comfort!

QVE Committee member Peter Ngai ofPeerless Lighting led the overhead glare inves-tigation, which included four experiments.Variables included the angle of light and theluminaire luminance. The angle of light wasmoved to five positions between 55 and 95degrees above a horizontal line of sight. Theluminances were set at three values, approxi-mately 17,000, 8000, and 5000 candelas persquare meter at each angle. The ambientlighting was provided by a direct/indirectlighting system.

Ngai and QVE Committee advisory mem-ber Dr. Peter Boyce of the Lighting ResearchCenter processed the study results. Theynoted a significant discomfort response frombright lighting positioned beyond the classicallimit of view of 53 degrees. Higher lumi-nances triggered a stronger glare response,Ngai said, while higher overhead luminanceswere more tolerable under higher ambientroom illuminances. The glare source was mostuncomfortable at 55 degrees above the line ofsight, he said, and the discomfort diminishedwith higher angles but didn’t disappear untilthe source was at 85 degrees or greater (seeFigure 2). Currently used calculations forglare do not predict these results because theydo not include this range of angles.

The IESNA Lighting HandbookUnder the leadership of Terry McGowan,

chair of the QVE Committee’s HandbookChapter Subcommittee, the QVE committeedeveloped the basis of the new IESNA Light-ing Design Guide. The Lighting Design Guidelists a number of design issues such as source/task/eye geometry, flicker, and appearance ofspace and luminaires for a lighting applicationin a matrix format (see page 4). For each taskor location, the relevant design issues are indi-cated by their level of importance.

Accompanying the recommendation tablesare definitions of the design issues and illus-trations of how the issues apply to six typical

Quality issues gain momentumcontinued from page1

spaces: an office, an industrial machine floor,a supermarket, a restaurant parking lot, anairline cabin, and an indoor tennis court.

Does the Lighting Design Guide list all thedesign issues that lighting designers need toconsider? No. In almost all applications, thedesigner must consider initial project costs,maintenance costs, energy use, emergency,safety, security, and equipment performanceand reliability. Every application has a differ-ent list of design issues, but each may havespecial considerations, such as hazardouslocation issues or special cleaning needs.

Will the Lighting Design Guide eliminatebad lighting? It offers no guarantee, but it’sa start. The tables and text developed bythe committee might well reduce theamount of thoughtless and inappropriatelighting design.

Will this work ensure good lighting? No.Adequate lighting meets the needs of theclient and users, but good lighting requires abit of transcendent visual delight. Designerswho follow these guidelines may be able toavoid the major pitfalls of bad lighting. Ittakes experience, skill, and taste, however, toadd the inspiration that, to quote Dr. Boyce,raises “adequate lighting to the level of light-ing which lifts the spirit.” �

Quality issuesmay

drive changecontinued from page 1

McGowan, the principal of LightingIdeas Inc. and executive director of theLighting Research Office for the ElectricPower Research Institute, also believes thequality guidelines will contribute to en-ergy efficiency in lighting.

“Data from the QVE workshops indi-cates that, in commercial buildings, someworkplane illuminance can be traded formore brightness on partitions, ceilings,and walls,” he said. “Then, instead ofblasting a room with grids of three-lamp2-foot-by-4-foot parabolic fixtures, thequality guideline will steer designerstowards using lower-brightness lumi-naires that require fewer lamps, com-bined with some lower-wattage tasklights, wall sconces, or wallwashers. Athoughtfully designed system often endsup using less energy than the usual sea of2-by-4 troffers!”

Education is criticalFranz Euler, senior product engineer at

Litecontrol, said the Lighting DesignGuide may have some effect on technol-ogy, particularly indirect lighting andrelated optical changes. “My phrase is‘specialized optical distributions,’ whichwill control the luminance of the wallrelative to the ceiling, the distribution ofluminance on the wall itself, and thegradient on any surface,” he said. “Newfixture distributions have the power togenerate those things.”

More than guidelines, however, will benecessary to truly change technology,Euler said.

“…. the customers have to be made tobelieve in investing in the benefits,” hesaid. “It’s OK for the lighting researchersto believe in them, but does the facilitymanager, the owner, the school superin-tendent really care? These benefits have tobe easy to identify.”

Manufacturers will have to be con-vinced their customers will invest in thebenefits of lighting quality before invest-ing in new technologies for lamps orluminaires themselves, he said. End usersmust be educated about the benefits ofquality lighting, he added.

The Lighting Design Guide may wellprovide that education, according toMesh. “Newer technology usually costsmore money,” he said. “The work ourcommittee is doing ... is making it easierfor manufacturers to make a case forthese products.” �

jim g

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Cave lighting

the lighter side

Lightingquality issues

Here are the quality considerations covered by the Lighting Design

Guide in the 9th edition of the IESNALighting Handbook.

• Appearance of space and luminaires

• Color appearance (color contrast)

• Cost• Daylighting integration and control

• Energy

• Direct glare• Reflected glare

• Flicker (and strobe)

• Illuminance (as it relates to taskvisibility)

• Light distribution on surfaces

• Light distribution on task plane(uniformity)

• Luminances of room surfaces• Modeling of faces or objects

• Point(s) of interest

• Shadows• Source/task/eye geometry

• Sparkle/desirable reflected highlights

• Surface characteristics• System control and flexibility

These considerations will vary accord-ing to the application. For example, adesigner will be more concerned aboutperipheral detection in a parking garagethan in a cafeteria or sparkle in a restau-rant than in an office.

Hayden McKayHayden McKay is well known for her involvement in energy-conscious lighting. A

lighting designer, architect, and author with 25 years’ experience, McKay is a mem-ber of the American Institute of Architects, a fellow of the International Association ofLighting Designers (IALD), and a fellow of the Illuminating Engineering Society ofNorth America (IESNA). She is the founder and chairperson of the IALD Metrics ofQuality Committee and vice-chairperson of the IESNA Quality of the Visual Environ-ment (QVE) Committee. She is the principal of Hayden McKay Lighting Design.

Q What role have you played in the movement toward QVE?

A I didn’t invent lighting quality, I’m just one of its champions. My interest in daylighting and sustainable design was a natural outgrowth of my environmentalconcerns during the 1960s. I’ve been active on the Energy Management Committee of theIESNA since the 1970s, when the committee was faced with determining appropriate limitsfor connected loads for various space functions, in conjunction with ASHRAE/IESNAEnergy Standard 90.1. There was tremendous pressure to restrict lighting to the minimumamount necessary to meet illuminance recommendations on the horizontal plane with themost “efficient” equipment available. I think we used the expression “energy-effective light-ing” in the early 1980s to emphasize the point that systems that saved energy while disablingthe occupant were in fact wasting energy. The IESNA Lighting Handbook is filled withqualitative guidance, yet illuminance (footcandles) is mistakenly considered the most impor-tant factor in lighting. This showed us that the qualitative factors would only be consideredif they could be quantified, and preferably they should be linked to some measurable eco-nomic benefit, like employee productivity or increased sales. The major emphasis of visualresearch was on short-term performance, not long-term comfort.

I got together a multi-disciplinary group in 1990 to brainstorm ways to quantify quali-tative factors …. This group turned into the IALD Metrics of Quality Committee. �

Spotlight, a new feature in Lighting Futures,will introduce leaders in lighting whose

work is connected to the issue’s main story.

Figure 2. This graph from the overhead glare experiment illustrates thathigh luminance luminaires can cause discomfort beyond 55° above the

horizontal. Existing scales for discomfort only cover angles up to 53° andso would not reveal discomfort from these steeper angles.

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155 56 75 85 95

Angle

MeanRating

LuminaireLuminance

LowMediumHigh

IntolerableDiscomfort

NoDiscomfort

Uncomfortable

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Hired to design the lighting for a bank, you are working on the teller stations. One approach to the design is to look up“tellers’ stations” in the Illuminance SelectionTables of the 8th edition of the IlluminatingEngineering Society of North America’s(IESNA) Lighting Handbook to pick a lightlevel. Tellers’ stations are category E, callingfor 50, 75, or 100 footcandles. Say you pick arecessed compact fluorescent downlight withtwo 26-watt quad lamps. Then you do alighting calculation to figure out that you willneed to space the downlights 6 feet on centerover the teller counter. You draw the circleson the lighting plan, add the luminaires toyour lighting schedule, and then move on todesigning the lighting for the bank vault.

But wait! Think about the task and space alittle more. What happens at a teller station?Tellers must see clearly in order to read checksand deposit slips and count money, withoutreflected glare that will wash out contrast.They also have to read a computer screen.Color rendering may be important in detect-ing counterfeit bills. The uniformity of illumi-nance across the counter surface may besignificant so that papers don’t get lost in theshadows. Boththe teller and thecustomer must beable to see eachother, becausewatching facialexpressions canimprove conver-sation compre-hension andspeed identifica-tion. If a securitycamera covers thestation, you willneed to considerthe amount ofvertical illuminancefalling on the customer’s face.

Surely, the teller’s visual comfort isimportant, so you need to evaluateglare. Will bright windows or glassdoors create disability glare for theteller or security camera? What aboutappearance? Does it make sense tospace those downlights 6 feet on cen-ter when the teller stations are spaced5 feet on center? The appearance ofthe space will improve if the rhythm ofthe lighting corresponds to the rhythmof the furniture.

These design issues can be consideredin these terms (see Figure 1):

• Source/task/eye geometry• Color appearance• Light distribution on the task plane

(uniformity)• Modeling of faces and objects• Direct glare• Reflected glare• Daylight integration and control• Appearance of space and luminaires

Big Bucks BankDaylight Control

Facial Modeling Color Appearance Task Visibility,Uniformity

ReflectedGlare

DirectGlare

Figure 1. Lighting design for bank teller stations.

Putting the Lighting Design Guide to workby Naomi Johnson Miller

Do they matter? Yes! The bank manager,teller, customer, and security officer may havedifferent concerns, but all consider at leastsome of these issues important. A lightingsolution that addresses them is more likely tobe successful because it meets the needs of theclients and users.

Experienced designers can deal with theseimportant questions, and the obvious solutionfor good lighting design is to hire a lightingdesigner. But how do new designers becomeaware of these issues? How can they learn tosolve problems that even experienced lightingdesigners have trouble articulating?

The Quality of the Visual EnvironmentCommittee of the IESNA (see “Qualityissues gain momentum” on page 1) hopes tohelp answer these questions. The work andexperience of its members are the basis forthe Lighting Design Guide that appears inthe 9th edition of the IESNA Lighting Hand-book, due out later this year.

Here’s a more detailed look at how theLighting Design Guide can apply to banktellers’ stations (see Figure 2).

• Source/task/eye geometry: The teller dealswith many paper tasks thatmay use shiny ink or lead.Locate downlights to avoidreflected glare .

• Light distribution on the task plane(uniformity): A ratio of maximum tominimum illuminance on the teller counterof 3 to 1 will help minimize shadows on theworkplane.

• Modeling of faces and objects: Avoid harshdownlighting on the faces of the teller orcustomer. Some diffuse light from ceilingluminaires or bounced light from ceilingand wall surfaces will help soften facialshadows.

• Direct glare: Luminaires should limit theamount of light directed into the eyes of theteller and customer. Also, luminaires directlyabove the teller should not have bare lampsvisible if the lamp luminance exceeds20,000 candelas per square meter.

• Reflected glare: Minimize lighting problemson VDT screens by using high-luminancecomputer screens with anti-reflectioncoatings. Orient the screen to avoidreflections from windows.

• Daylight integration and control: Useoverhangs, blinds, shades, or drapeson windows to control daytime glare.

• Appearance of space and luminaires: Thelighting should enhance the architecturalfeatures of the space and correspond to thelayout of the teller station. �

Facialmodeling

Lighting can significantly affectthe perception of faces, or

facial modeling. The photographsat right illustrate the dramaticeffect lighting can have on facialmodeling. In the left photo, thesubject sits beneath four recessedluminaires with parabolic louvers.This creates a dramatic shadowingthat is very harsh around the eyesand mouth and under the chin.

In the right photograph, she sitsbetween two wall washers withadditional ambient light from alldirections. This combinationenhances the modeling somewhatby softening the shadows. How-ever, it maintains some darknessaround the eyes. �

• Color appearance: A light source with acolor rendering index above 70 will usuallyallow for pleasant rendering of skin tonesand enhance the teller’s ability to spotcounterfeit currency.The bank manager,

teller, customer, andsecurity officer may

have differentconcerns.... A lighting

solution that addressesthem is more likely to

be successful.

Figure 2. Adaption of the Lighting Design Guide for a bank.

Naomi Johnson Miller chairsthe IESNA’s QVE Committee.

An award-winning lightingdesigner and principal of NaomiMiller Lighting Design, she is anadjunct professor in Rensselaer

Polytechnic Institute’s MS inLighting program and the School

of Architecture. �

C D E

AAA

Source/Task/Eye GeometryColor Appearance

Direct GlareReflected Glare

Luminances of SurfacesLight Distribution on Room Surfaces

Light Distribution on Task PlaneModeling of Faces and Objects

Daylighting Integration and ControlAppearance of Space and Luminaires

ShadowsSystem Control and Flexibility

Special Considerations1Illuminance (Horizontal)

Illuminance ValueIlluminance (Vertical)

Illuminance Value1 Refers to security camera considerations

WritingAreaGeneral

Tellers’Station

VeryImportant

SomewhatImportant

Important

Not Importantor Not Applicable

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L uminaires we’d love to see is designed to generate solutions to

nagging lighting problems by offeringconcepts for useful products that aren’ton the market or for finding ways to usenew technologies. Send your ideasvia email to lrc@rpi.edu.

Published ideas become availablefor development by anyone; neitherthe author nor Lighting Futuresretains any intellectual propertyrights to these ideas.

In this column, Naomi JohnsonMiller and Janet Lennox Moyercollaborate on a luminaire idea.Miller is adjunct assistant professorof architecture at Rensselaer Poly-technic Institute and Lennox Moyeris a research assistant professor at theLighting Research Center andauthor of The Landscape Light-ing Book.

A retractable pendant withcompact fluorescent lamps would make agreat tool for lighting designers. Often, peoplecan work more easily and with more comfortif they have a high ambient light level withconcentrated task lighting. That can apply toa family kitchen or a small conference room.

This type of luminaire would be especiallyuseful for elderly folks who need a highergeneral light level to see well. They also need amore evenly lighted space. This luminaire fillsboth needs.

Luminaires we’d love to seeThe opportunity to raise or lower the

luminaire on a retractable cord allows the userto set the luminaire at a comfortable heightand vary the amount and distribution of taskand general lighting.

The luminaire should have a wide angle inthe upward portion of the shade: in the rangeof 100 to 120 degrees overall or 50 to 60degrees on one side. This maximizes theuplight component coverage of the ceiling. Toconcentrate the task light component andminimize direct lamp glare, the size of thedownward opening should be restricted, and awhite, concentric ring baffle should be used tolimit the candlepower distribution above 35degrees from nadir. �

National Dimming Initiativeintroduced at LightFair

T he National Dimming Initiative (NDI) is a proactive industry initiativedesigned to drive greater awareness andmarket acceptance of lighting controls andfluorescent dimming products.

Launched at LightFair International1999 in May, NDI aims to assist buildingdesigners, lighting specifiers, engineers, andend users in specifying lighting controls.

NDI has released a CD-ROM designedto educate end users and the lighting com-munity about lighting control and fluores-cent dimming technology while making iteasier to specify these products. The CD-ROM includes case studies, a lighting con-trols tutorial and estimator, a catalog ofindustry products from multiple manufac-turers to assist in specification of compat-ible components for a complete system, anda multi-level lighting controls game.

Lamp ballast manufacturer AdvanceTransformer Co. initiated NDI, which hasthe support of numerous lighting controlsmanufacturers nationwide. NDI supportersplan to extend participation to buildingdesign, engineering, and specification firms;

lighting professionals; end users; and otherswho can contribute information to NDIand benefit from the success of the lightingcontrols market. NDI will distribute 5000to 10,000 copies of its CD-ROM and bro-chure, supported by targeted public rela-tions and advertising messages.

NDI’s charter supporters include: ALMSystems Inc., AMX Corporation, AvabAmerica Inc., Clanton & Associates, ClarkEngineering Southwest Inc., Douglas Light-ing Controls, GE Total Lighting Control,Horton Controls Inc., Hunt Dimming,Johnson Controls Inc., Lawrence BerkeleyNational Laboratory, Lithonia Lighting,Marlin Controls Inc., Novitas Inc., PCILighting Controls Systems, Sensor Switch,Sterner Controls, Vari-Light Inc., and TheWatt Stopper Inc. The Lighting ResearchCenter is also a supporter.

For more information on NDI, thelighting controls CD-ROM tool, or NDIparticipation, call Steve Purdy, NDIcoordinator and Advance TransformerCompany’s director of specification sales,at 847-390-5136, or check the websitewww.alcp.com. �

Lighting softwareby Devki RajGuru

Software: Every industry interested in surviv- ing in the technological age has it. Lightingdesign, however, has long held onto the traditionof handiwork. Until recently, lighting designersrelied on communicating their ideas throughdrawings, whether a sketch on a cocktail napkinor an elaborate full-color rendering.

Soft-tools, software packages specially gearedfor the lighting designer and specifier, are rela-tively new. As industry members realized thebenefits of these new tools, they began to inte-grate them into standards of operation, creatinga greater need.

Software manufacturers have stepped in tomeet that need, providing newer, better soft-ware packages. Thanks to the competition,programmers have redesigned their old pro-grams to include features and functions thatcustomers demand. While a handful of soft-ware programs once dominated the field, inde-pendent software programs today flood themarket, along with a host of proprietary pro-grams offered by manufacturers and somedesign firms.

As you sift through the vast array of soft-ware available, consider the following:1. Know what you want the software to do for

you. Lighting industry software falls intofour general categories:

(a) Calculations: luminance and illuminance

(b) Modeling/Rendering: creating rooms,scenes, or luminaires

(c) Communication: layouts, specifications,control schedules

(d) Financial Computation: estimations ofsimple pay back or life-cycle cost

2. Look for programs that work with IESNAdata files (designated by the extension .ies).Although they are not the only way todescribe photometrics (i.e., light distribu-tion, intensity, and lamp characteristics),they are quickly becoming the standard.You can get the specifications directlyfrom the IESNA.

3. Get catalogs and free demonstration CDsfrom manufacturers. A great source ofinformation on software products is theinter.Light Inc. web page(www.lightsearch.com). Along with manyother lighting products and services, thepage contains a software category. This webpage provides links directly to manufactur-ers’ homepages. Most offer free catalogs ordemo packages.

Why spend the time, energy, and money tofind, purchase, and learn software? Softwareprograms make it possible to communicateclearly, quickly, and without bounds of timezones and country borders. In a world wheretime is of the essence, the designers of today whowant to be working tomorrow must upgrade. �

trade in flux

Advance Transformer Co., 10275 WestHiggins Road, O’Hare International Cen-ter, Rosemont, IL 60018, phone: 847-390-5000 � Colorkinetics, 50 Milk St., 17thfloor, Boston, MA 01209, phone 888-FULL-RGB, www.colorkinetics.com �Illuminating Engineering Society of NorthAmerica (IESNA), 120 Wall Street, 17thFloor, New York, NY 10005-4001, phone:212-248-5000, www.iesna.org � Interna-tional Association of Lighting Designers(IALD), Merchandise Mart, Suite 487, 200World Trade Center, Chicago, IL 60654,phone: 312-527-3677, www.iald.org �

making contact LITETRONICS International Inc., 4101W. 123rd St. Alsip, IL 60803, Phone: 708-389-8000 www.litetronics.com � LouisPoulsen Lighting Inc., 3260 Meridian Park-way, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33331, phone:954-349-2525, www.louis-poulsen.com �Perry Pratt Lighting, 22 Dorrance Street,Charlestown, MA 02129, phone: 617-242-0743, email: PerryPratt@aol.com �Prescolite, 1250 Doolittle Drive, SanLeandro, CA 94577, phone: 510-562-3500� Unison Fiber Optic Lighting Systems,32000 Aurora Road, Solon, OH 44139,phone: 440-519-1033 � The Watt Stop-per, Inc., 2800 De La Cruz Blvd., SantaClara, CA 95050, phone: 408-988-5331 �

QVE on the webby Robert Wolsey

A web search for the term, “Quality of the visual environment” won’t

turn up many hits, but you can find somesurprisingly in-depth web content on thesubject, thanks to the National ResearchCouncil’s Institute for Research in Con-struction (IRC). The IRC is Canada’sconstruction technology center, performingresearch, building code development, andmaterials evaluation services.

They also have a nice web site that con-tains the full texts of research reports onmany aspects of construction and theindoor environment. Check out theirsection on lighting quality at www.nrc.ca/irc/light/lq_project/publications.html andyou’ll find some good review papers on thesubject. Included is a 1997 study of light-ing quality’s effect on task performance,mood, health, satisfaction, and comfort.

Another section of the IRC’s site has agood summary of research on the subject offull-spectrum lighting and its effects onperformance, mood, and health. There’s noshortage of controversy over how impor-tant full-spectrum lighting is to lightingquality, and you can get both sides of thestory here: fox.cisti.nrc.ca/irc/fulltext/ir659/contents.html.

The Illuminating Engineering Society ofNorth America (IESNA) has a committeedevoted to the Quality of the Visual Envi-ronment. IESNA committees are veryinfluential in the development of codes,standards, and measures for lighting. A listof the committees and committee memberscan be found on their site atwww.iesna.org/iesna/comm_list.html.

Screwbase CFL onlinedatabase updated

The National Lighting Product Infor-mation Program (NLPIP) recently up-dated its searchable database of screwbasecompact fluorescent lamp data. Thedatabase can be accessed free from withinNLPIP Online at www.lrc.rpi.edu/nlpip.It includes manufacturer-reported dataand the results of NLPIP’s most recentindependent tests. �

switched online

Light Right wantsto quantify quality

benefits

Sponsors from a broad spectrum of the lighting industry are working togetherto quantify the benefits of quality, energy-efficient lighting and encourage its use.The Light Right Consortium includesmanufacturers, government agencies,utilities, specifiers, end users, and otherstakeholders.

“The Light Right Consortium will per-form coordinated research to prove andquantify the value of quality lighting,”said Carol C. Jones, lighting programmanager at Battelle Pacific NorthwestDivision, which manages the consortium.“With this information, we can start toharness the economic and environmentalbenefits of quality lighting.”

Incorporating the talents of many mem-bers of the lighting industry, the consor-tium will also work with groups outsidethe lighting industry involved in buildingand productivity, Jones said. Its policy isto work with related efforts to maximizethe impact of research dollars.

“Light Right is best described as re-search inside of a market transformationvehicle,” Jones said. By providing infor-mation about the quantitative benefits ofquality lighting, Light Right hopes totransform the lighting market so endusers will buy new lighting systems toreap these benefits, she explained. “Un-like a typical research project, markettransformation elements are built into thescope of work and are considered ascritical to the success of the program asthe research.”

Battelle Pacific Northwest Division isperforming the market transformationwork and will ensure close integration ofthe different and concurrent researchprojects. The Board of Directors willdecide on research projects and researchsubcontractors will be selected through a

solicitation process. Battelle is research-ing the current market to understand thepriorities, concerns, and decision pro-cesses of major corporations and endusers. This will inform the strategic planfor market transformation, and the re-search and experimental designs willinclude measures that will actually influ-ence the market, Jones said.

Research master planning is anotherimportant element. In a workshop earlierthis year, scientists, practitioners, andmarket representatives agreed that it ispossible to measure the impacts of light-ing quality on humans and organizationsand deliver that information in a predic-tive format, Jones said. They also devel-oped a concept of how the work should beorganized and proposed several differentresearch models.

Light Right will also perform researchprojects, strategically chosen and targetedfor maximum value to its sponsors, shesaid. Every project will be geared towardproviding predictive information that canbecome an incentive for building ownersand end users to purchase new lighting inorder to realize these ancillary benefits.

This research will extend beyond visualperformance to address aesthetics andpsychological processes that mediatehuman response to the physical environ-ment. The Light Right Consortium plans toaddress economics, energy effectiveness,and the impact of light on organizations.

For more informationFor further information or to stay up to

date on Light Right Consortium activi-ties, contact Jones at the Battelle officein Cambridge, Massachusetts, by phoneat 617-577-7254, ext. 34, or by email atCarol.Jones@pnl.gov �