How do we identify "good lighting"?

You could say that good lighting creates a positive emotional response. When you enter a space, you do not have to shield your eyes from the glare, nor are you straining to see. It appears effortless – and yet, much thought and careful calculation goes into creating something that seems so simple. But once you have discovered good lighting in one setting, how do you replicate this effortless effect in another location? There is no single answer – perhaps not even a dozen answers to resolve this question. It becomes more than a question, but rather a conversation. With that in mind, this book is our discussion of how to make good lighting great. This book is divided into four main parts.

The first section includes a brief discussion of basic lighting design concepts, an overview of types of luminaires and their defining characteristics, and an in-depth discussion of fundamental lighting design philosophy including: psychological and subjective effects of varying illumination, proportional versus unproportional uniformity, luminance, illuminance, and brightness.

The next section takes these concepts and applies them to real life scenarios. A wide selection of common spaces are discussed, each with a comprehensive narrative that addresses both analytic and aesthetic lighting objectives.

The third section is an overview of the science and technology related to lighting. We discuss fundamental lighting terminology, the qualitative and quantitative aspects of light, breakthroughs in technology regarding the biological effect of light on personal health, an overview of different types of lamps, and conclude with a step-by-step method for calculating illuminance levels in practice with appropriate formulae.

The final section is a collection of tables with numerical recommended light levels for each of the applications discussed, as well as a comprehensive glossary. As a luminaire manufacturer, we would like to share our enthusiasm for light with you. This book has been designed and written to provide current and correct information and recommendations for a wide audience of specifiers, with a desire to give you an insight into our exciting world of lighting, and spark you to have the discussion about good light。