ELE 201

APPLIED ELECTRICITY 1

ELECTRIC LAMP AND ILLUMINATION

INTRODUCTION: When some materials are heated above certain temperature, they start radiating
energy in the form of light. This phenomenon is called luminance. Electric lamps are made based on
this phenomenon( that is ability to radiate energy when heated). Different tasks require different
levels of illumination. A desired level of illumination may be achieved by the use of the commercially
available electric lamps.
Definition of Terms
1. Luminous Intensity( I ): The luminous intensity of a lamp is defined as the light-radiating capacity of
a source in a given direction, expressed in candela (cd). The candela is defined as the luminous
intensity, in the perpendicular direction, of a surface of 1 square meter of a black body at
600,000
the temperature of freezing platinum under standard atmospheric pressure.
2. Point source: A point source of light is a source which, for photo-metric purposes, can with
sufficient accuracy be considered as concentrated at a point.
3. Uniform point source: A uniform point source is a point source emitting light uniformly in all
directions.
4. Steradian and lumen: If a uniform point source of 1 candela is placed at the center of a perfectly
transparent sphere of say, 1m radius as shown below, then the solid angle subtended at the center by
1m 2 of area on the surface of the sphere is termed a unit solid angle or Steradian, and the quantity
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of light emitted through a unit solid angle and therefore passing through 1m of the surface area of
the sphere is termed a lumen( lm )

5. Luminous flux(  ): The luminous flux from a light source is the radiant power evaluated according
to its ability to produce visual sensation. The unit of luminous flux is the lumen( lm ). For a uniform

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point source of 1 candela at the centre of a perfectly transparent sphere of 1m radius as in fig. 1, the
luminous flux passing outwards through each square metre of the surface is 1 lumen. Since the
surface area of the sphere is 4 square metres, it follows that the total luminous flux from a
uniform point source of 1 candela is 4 lumen. Hence, for a point source having a luminous
intensity of 1 candela;

Total luminous flux emitted in solid angle d = d  I  d lumen

d
 I = Luminous flux in lumen / solid angle
d

6. Mean Spherical Luminous Intensity: The mean spherical luminous intensity of a luminous source is
the average value of the luminous intensity in all directions. Hence, if a luminous flux emitted by that
source is 4  I lumen i.e.

  4  I lumen.

7. Illuminance or Illumination (E): The Illuminance at a point of a source is the luminous flux per unit
area at that point. That is:

d 
E 
dA A

The unit of Illuminance is the lumen per square metre and is termed the lux( lx ).
8. Lumen-hour: lumen-hour is the quantity of light delivered in one hour by a flux of one candela.

Laws of Illuminance or Illumination

The illumination ( E ) of a surface depends upon the following factors. The source is assumed to be a
point source or it is otherwise sufficiently away from the surface to be regarded as such.
i) Illumination ( E ) is directly proportional to the luminous intensity ( I ) of the source i.e.

EI 

ii) Inverse Square Law: The illumination (E) of a surface is inversely proportional to the square of the
distance of the surface from the source i.e.

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E 
r2

iii) Lambert Cosine Law: According to this law, illumination E is directly proportional to the cosine of
the angle made by the normal to the illuminated surface with the direction of the incident flux.

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As shown in figure 2, let  be the flux incident on the surface of area A when in position 1. When
this surface is turned back through an angle  , then the flux incident on it is   Cos in position 2.
The illumination of the surface when in position 1 is:


E1  1
A

However, in position2, the illumination on the surface is:

  Cos
E2  2
A

From which we obtain: E2  E1Cos 3

 E  Cos 4

Combining this with equations (  ) and (   ), we obtain:

EI
E  r2
E  Cos
I  Cos
E
r2
KI  Cos
E
r2

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If E  1lux, I  1cd , r  1m and Cos  1 , then:

K 1

I  Cos
E  5
r2

EXAMPLES

1. A fitting designed for a shop window gives a light intensity of 1000cd downward. Calculate
a) the distance to produce an illumination of 10 lux on a horizontal display counter.
b) If the distance is doubled, what must be the power of the source to produce the same
illumination?

SOLUTION

I  1000cd
Given: E  10lux
d ?

I
A) E 
d2

I
d
E

1000
d
10

d  100

d  10m

B)
I  Ed 2
I  10  20 2
I  4000cd .

2. A lamp giving out 1200 lm in all directions is suspended 8m above the working plane. Calculate
the illumination at a point on the working plane 6m away from the foot of the lamp.

SOLUTION
Given that:
  1200lm
 1200
But I =  95.5cd
4 4

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By Pythagoras theorem:

r 2  82  6 2  64  36
r 2  100
r  100  10m

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Also, Cos    0 .8
r 10

I  Cos
 E
r2
95.5  0.8
 EB 
10  10

E B  0.764lm / m 2

3. A small light source with intensity uniform in all directions is mounted at a height of 10m above a
horizontal plane. Two points A and B both lie on the surface with point A directly beneath the source.
How far is B from A if the illumination at B is only 1 2 as great as that as A?

SOLUTION

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By Pythagoras theorem:
r 2  x 2  10 2
r  x 2  100 (m)
10 10 100
Cos    2
r 2
x  100 x  100
I
EA 
10 2
I
EA 
100
I  Cos
EB 
r2
100
I 2
EB  x  100
x 2  100
10 I
EB  2
( x  100) 3 / 2
1
But E B  EA
10

10 I I 1
 2 3/ 2
 
( x  100) 100 10

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 10 1
2 3/ 2

( x  100) 1000
10 4  ( x 2  100) 3 / 2
4 2
x 2  100  10 3

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x 2  100  10 3

x 2  100  (3 10 )8
x 2  100  464.159
x 2  364.159
x  364.159
x  19.1m

ILLUMINATION REQUIRED FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES

Various tasks required different levels of illumination depending on:

1. Size of detail that must be seen.
2. Degree of contrast of the object.
3. For how long the job lasts.
The table below is extracted from the Illumination Engineering Society(IES) table of recommended
levels of illumination foe various tasks and for various areas of a building.

Areas/Tasks Lux
A: Homes
General Lighting 100
Reading 300 - 400
Study 700
Dinning 150
Kitchen 500 - 1,500
Laundry 500
Bathroom 500
B: Commercial
Office 700
Accounting work 1,500
Drafting work 2,000
Stores 800 - 1,000
C: Schools
Classroom 500 - 1,000
Class 300
Halls and Corridors 200
Auditorium 150 etc.

Electric Lamps
There are various means of producing light by electricity and there can be grouped into three
categories, namely:
1. Incandescent lamps
2. Fluorescent lamps
3. Discharge lamps

The Incandescent Lamps

In this type of lamp, a filament usually made of tungsten wire, us handed by an electric current
passing through it until it reaches a high temperature ( about 2000°C), at which time the filament

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emits light. It is necessary for the filament to be enclosed in a glass but into which a small quantity of
an inert gas has been introduced. The inert gas, usually argon, slows down the process of gradual
evaporation of the tungsten filament. Table 2 summarizes the characteristics of the tungsten filament
lamp. The figures indicated are average only.

Size of lamp(watts) Average life(hours) Total lumen Lumen/watt

40 1,500 455 11.6
60 1,000 870 14.5
100 750 1,750 17.5
200 750 4,010 20.0
300 750 6,360 21.2
500 1,000 10,850 21.7

Generally, these are two types of tungsten lamps namely:

I) The vacuum lamp and
II) The gas-filled lamp
The purpose of the vacuum is to prevent loss of heat from the filament to the bulb that takes place by
connection when gas is protect. However, the vacuum has the disadvantage that the filament
vaporizes at a lower temperature than it does with the bulb filled with a gas. The vaporization of the
filament not why reduces the sectional area of the filament, thereby increasing it's resistance and
reducing the temperature and the luminous intensity of the lamp, but it also allows tungsten to
condense on the internal surface of the bulb, blackening the latter and reducing the intensity still
further. Consequently, the highest temperature at which it is practicable to operate the filament in a
vacuum lamp is limited to about 2100°C.

The introduction of an inert gas e.g. nitrogen or argon, enables the filament temperature to be raised
to about 2500°C before blackening takes place at an excessive rate. If no other change were made
except to introduce a gas. It would be found that the heat lost by connection would be so great that
the power required to maintain the filament at 2500°C would have increased more in proportion than
the light given out the lamp. Consequently, the efficiency of the gas-filled lamp would be lower than
that of the vacuum lamp. This difficulty is overcome by winding the filament by winding the filament
as a very close helix.
In single-coil lamps, the helix is formed by winding on a steel wire rod or mandrel 5-10 times the
diameter of the filament. The helical filament is wound into a number of turns. This allows a higher
working temperature and increases the efficiency, in terms of lumen/watts, by a further 10-20%. The
filament fuse is a valuable feature as it avoids possible disruptive arcing and the blowing of circuit
fuses when a loop fails.

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The latest development in this type of lamp is the tungsten-halogen lamp which shows a 30% increase
in efficiency and longer life over the conventional tungsten lamp. In the tungsten-halogen lamp, the
blackening action which is common with tungsten-lamp, is prevented by adding a trace of iodine or
bromine vapor to the filling gas. This sets up a regenerative cycle by which any evaporated tungsten is
restored from the bulb wall back to the hot filament. The illumination is in the form of an intense
white light. The lamps are available in 500-1500W sizes and finds a field application in projection,
headlights or general outdoor lighting.

THE FLUORESCENT LAMP

The normal fluorescent lamp consists of:

I) A glass tube, having two short filaments, one at each end. It is evacuated and filled with an inert
gas(usually argon) at a very low pressure. A little mercury is also introduced into this bulb. The inner
surface of this tube is coated with a fluorescent material(e.g. beryllium oxide).

II) Auxiliary equipment - a choke coil and a starter. These are necessary for starting up the discharge
phenomenon in the glass tube.

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The electrodes is carried by electrons (emitted at cathode) and mercury vapour. These particles strike
the material coating the inside of the tube and the later fluorescence, producing visible light. The
output light colour rendering depends upon the chemicals used for the fluorescent coating. The
fluorescent lamp is highly efficient, its lumen per watt being as much as four times that of ordinary
Incandescent lamps. It has a much longer life and produce much less heat. It is however very sensitive
to voltage drop, the lamp going shut completely at about 70-80% rated voltage. The average life of a
fluorescent lamp is about 20,000 hours as compared to the 1000-hour rated life of tungsten filament.

THE DISCHARGE LAMPS

Discharge lamps do not produce light by means of an Incandescent filament but by the excitation of a
gas or metallic vapour contained within a glass envelop. A voltage applied to two terminals or
electrodes sealed to the end of a glass tube containing a gas or metallic vapor will excite the content
and produce light directly.
There are three types commonly used:
I) The mercury vapour lamps
II) The metal-halide (or halogen) lamps
III) The high-pressure sodium lamps

In all discharge lamps, the arc tube operates at very high temperature. Air current must not be
allowed to affect this temperature; therefore the small arc tube is enclosed in a much larger glass
bulb, which determines the overall dimensions of the lamp. None of these lamps can be connected
directly to the mains; they must be provided with special choke coils. When switched on, they take
between 2 to 10 minutes to achieve full brilliance; and once turned off, even by a brief power
interruption, they cannot re-light until after about one to fifteen minutes has elapsed.
The principal advantages are high efficiency, very long life, a high watt output per single fixture, thus
reducing installation and maintenance costs. They are used in factories, street lighting.

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 Characteristics of the three types of commonly used discharge lamps
Properties Mercury Vapour Metal-halide High-pressure sodium
vapour
Life (hours) 24,000 20,000 24,000

Lumen/watt 55 85 125

Colour of light Cool white light Cool white light Rich golden light

Average size 50 - 3000W 175 - 1000W 50 - 1000W

Exercise
Four lamps are suspended 8m above the ground at the corners of a square of 4m side. Each lamp give
250cd uniformly below the horizontal plane. Calculate the Illuminance :
a) on the ground directly under each lamp
b) at the centre of the square.

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