Illuminance or light level is the total amount of light per unit area on a surface. Its unit is lux and is used in abbreviated form as lx. How much an environment is lighted-up expressed by the value of lux. It can be said that the higher the value of lux, the higher the level of light.
Illuminance or light level is the total amount of light per unit area on a surface. Its unit is lux and is used in abbreviated form as lx.
Abbreviation is used after numerical expression, just like lumen and candela terms. For example; 100 lx, 1,000 lx, 10,000 lx.
A lux equals one lumen per square meter. The light in the intensity of a candela provides light at a level of lux at a distance of one meter.
How much an environment is lighted-up expressed by the value of lux. It can be said that the higher the value of lux, the higher the level of light. However, it should not be forgotten that; excessive lighting does not mean good lighting. Excessive lighting also has negative effects such as inadequate lighting.
To mention common light levels; 10,000 lux on a sunny day, 1,000 lux on a cloudy day, 10 lux at sunset and 0.1 lux light levels can be seen under moonlight.
The lux value is associated with lumen, which refers to the total light output of the light source. As the light moves away from the source, a drop in measured lux value is seen.
If the light is concentrated on a small area, that area is perceived as brighter and reaches high lux value. However, if the same amount of light is spread over a larger area, a dimmed image is formed and lower lux values are measured. Although both light sources emit the same amount of light, the light in the focused source is perceived as brighter because it is denser.
Lux in general is the measure of the intensity of light that reaches an area, emitted in that area.
In an environment, if lights with high light output, i.e. high lumen value are used, high levels of light are provided, which means that high lux values are achieved.
For example, 500 lux light level is required in offices and 100 lux light level is sufficient in living rooms. Light levels as high as 1,000 lux is needed in drawing offices, textile workshops and areas such as laboratories. At this point, the current lighting requirements should be reviewed according to the type of implementations.
The light level in an environment, that is, the lux value, is measured by devices called lux meters. These devices, which measure only the light level, are designed as portable hand-held equipment and are not very expensive.
