1. Collaborative Articles
  2. Mathematical Formulas for Lighting

Link to various NEC calculators and Look-Up Tables: http://www.electrician2.com/calculators/elcal.html .

From Mike Wood, of Mike Wood Consulting:
lumens/LUMENS = (VOLTS/volts)^3.4

life/LIFE = (VOLTS/volts)^13 (I.e., reduce the volts to 90% and the life increases by 393%!)

EFFICIENCY/efficiency = (VOLTS/volts)^1.9

watts/WATTS = (volts/VOLTS)^1.6
(not 'squared' as you would get with a fixed resistance)

coltemp/COLTEMP = (volts/VOLTS)^0.42
See OSRAM SYLVANIA:Sylvania Automotive Lighting Catalog:
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Link to an Excel workbook containing most of the above formulae.

See also Ushio's online calculator at Lamp Life Calculator- Support.
Copied from this post by [user]ship[/user].

LIGHT OUTPUT CALCULATIONS

A dinner candle provides about 12 lumens. A 60-watt Soft White incandescent lamp provides 840 lumens.
  • Foot-candles = candela / distance in feet * distance in feet
  • Foot-candles = Lux / 10.764 = lumens/sq. meter
  • 1 fc=1/10.764 lux
  • Foot-candles * 10.764 = lumens/sq. meter = lux
  • Lumens/sq. ft. * 1 = foot-candles; (1fc=1 lumen/ft²)
  • Lumens/sq. ft. * 10.764 = lumens/sq. meter
  • Lumens * 0.07958 = spherical candle power
  • Lumens = Mean Spherical Candlepower x 12.57
  • Lux * 0.0929 = foot-candles
  • Lux = candela / (distance in meters * distance in meters)
  • Lambert * 0.3183 = candela/sq. cm (candela per sq. cm), Lambert * (1/pi) = candles/sq. cm
  • Lambert * 295.720 = candela/ sq. ft. (candela per sq. ft.)
  • Lambert * 1 = lumens/sq. cm
  • Illuminance (lx) = E = Luminous flux falling on area (lm) ÷ Illuminated area (m²)
  • Illuminance (lx) = E = Luminous intensity (cd) ÷ (distance in meters (m))²
  • Luminance (cd/m²) = L = Luminous intensidy (cd) ÷ viewed luminous area (M²)
  • Luminous efficacy (lm/w) = h = Generated luminous flux (lm) ÷ Electrical power consumed (w)
  • Efficacy=F(lu)/P(w)
    • F=Luminous Flux
    • P=Electrical Power (wattage), in watts

LIGHT BEAM CALCULATIONS:

See Conventional Photometrics_v7.zip for a down-loadable MS Excel workbook containing most popular fixtures.
  • Beam diameter = distance * (2 * tan (beam angle in degrees / 2))
  • Throw distance = Square root ( (horizontal dist. * horizontal dist.) + (vertical dist. * vertical dist.) )
  • Inverse Square Law: E(fc)=I(cd)/D(ft)². E(fc)=F(lm)/A(ft)²
    • A=Area in square feet
    • D=Distance in feet
    • E=Illumination in footcandles
    • F=Luminous Flux in Lumens
    • I=Luminous intensity (Candlepower) in footcandles

Mired Shift Value = (1,000,000/d) - (1,000,000/a); d=Desired Color Temperature (no units), a=Actual Color Temperature (no units)

Fixture Lens Conversion Guide:

For a two-lens system: EFL= (f1*f2)/(f1+f2-d), where EFL=Effective Focal Length, f1=Focal Length of Lens1, f2=Focal Length of Lens2, d=Distance between Lenses.
  • [*]50° - 3.5Q5 / 360Q-4.5x6.5 (45°)
    [*]40° - 3.5Q6 / 360Q-6x9 (37°)
    [*]30° - 3.5Q8 / 360Q-6x12 (27°)
    [*]20° - 3.5Q10 / 360Q-6x16 (17°)
    [*]10° / 12° - 3.5Q12 / 360Q-6x22 [single lens] (9.5°)
    [*]5° - None
    [*]8x8 (20°)
    [*]8x10 (16°)
    [*]8x16 (6°)
    [*]1Kw PAR64:
    [*]ACL (GE 4552-28V, 250W)- Beam: 7°x8°
    [*]ACL (GE 4559-28V, 600W)- Beam: 11°x12°
    [*]VNSP (FFN), CP60 - Beam: 6° x 12° Field: 10° x 24°
    [*]NSP (FFP), CP61 - Beam: 7° x 14° Field: 14° x 26°
    [*]MFL (FFR), CP62 - Beam: 12° x 24° Field: 21° x 44°
    [*]WFL (FFS), CP95 - Beam: 24° x 48° Field: 45° x 71°

POWER CALCULATIONS

  • Power = Voltage * Current (Watts = Volts * Amps)
    • P(w)=V(v)xI(a)
      • P=Electrical Power (Wattage) in watts
      • V=Voltage (EMF), in volts
      • I=Electrical Current(Amperage), in amps
  • Current = Power / Voltage (Amps = Watts / Volts)
  • RMS Volts = 0.707 * Peak Volts RMS Volts = 1.11 * Average Volts
  • Ohm’s Law: V(v)=I(a) * R(Ω)
    • V=Voltage (EMF), in volts
    • I=Electrical Current (Amperage), in amps
    • R=Resistance, in ohms
  • Impedance: Z(Ω)=√[R²(Ω)²=X²(Ω²]
    • Z=Impedance, in ohms
    • R=Resistance, in ohms
    • X=Reactance, in ohms
  • Power Factor: R(Ω)/Z(Ω)
    • pf=Power Factor
    • R=Resistance, in ohms
    • Z=Reactance, in ohms
  • DC VOLTAGE DROP OF CONDUCTOR (cable) OF L LENGTH
    • V = voltage drop, I = current
    • R = resistance of conductor per 1000 feet
    • L = length of conductor in feet
      • R for 18awg = 6.51, 16awg = 4.09, 14awg = 2.58
      • 12awg = 1.62, 10awg = 1.02, 8awg = 0.64
      • V = I * L * (R / 1000) * 1.004
Lamp sizing:
Stage/Studio lamps are often expressed as a number representing the diameter of the lamp in 1/8s of one inch. A PAR64 Lamp has a diameter of 8". A T6 lamp is 3/4". The most common size of fluorescent tube is T8, or 1". The predecessor of the BTN fresnel lamp was the T20, 2.5". A G40 lamp is 5" at its widest diameter, and so on. The most common household lamp is the A19, 2 3/8" diameter.

Calculating current draw:
To figure the load on each of the three line conductors (L1,L2, L3), assuming loads are 208V, have a power factor of 1, and are balanced between A-B, B-C, and C-A:

((Total wattage/3) /208) X 1.73= Current for L1, L2, and L3

For power factors less than 1, divide this result by the power factor to arrive at the current. Note that most LED or automated lights will have a PF less than 1.

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