Name: A Proposed Two-Parameter Approach To Recommended Lighting Levels
Start: 2026-09-15T12:00:00-0500
End: 2026-09-15T13:00:00-0500

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A Proposed Two-Parameter Approach To Recommended Lighting Levels

Tuesday September 15, 2026 12:00pm - 1:00pm CDT

Education Station @ ArchLIGHT Summit Show Floor

Illuminance, measured in foot-candles or lux, has long been the metric used to recommend lighting levels for specific applications. From Waldram’s Designed Appearance Method to Cuttle’s Mean Room Surface Exitance (MRSP) approach, there has been considerable interest over the years in moving away from illuminance as a basis for lighting design in favor of luminance and exitance.

This session will provide participants with a perspective of illuminance recommendations over time, along with a bit of history of some of the approaches to design criteria beyond illuminance. But it then takes the perspective that two metrics are likely necessary to adequately address end users’ perception of the adequacy of illumination in various applications.

This paper explores the combination of illuminance and MRSP in a systematic way through a series of analyses of representative applications to determine the efficacy of these metrics for lighting design recommendations and practice. Both illuminance and MRSE are determined for a series of scenarios using multiple room sizes, reflectances, and lighting systems for several application types (e.g., office, classroom, conference room, etc.). Proposed recommendations for these two parameters are then suggested for a variety of applications.

Speakers

Craig Bernecker

Professor, Parsons School of Design

Dr. Bernecker has been a lighting educator for over 40 years. He is founder of The Lighting Education Institute, providing professional education, and Professor of Lighting Design and Director of the Masters of Fine Arts in Lighting Design program at Parsons School of Design, The... Read More →

Tuesday September 15, 2026 12:00pm - 1:00pm CDT
Education Station @ ArchLIGHT Summit Show Floor

Technical, Seminar

CEU Type AIA, IDCEC, HSW
Audience Architect, End User, Engineer, Interior Designer, Lighting Designer
Level Intermediate
Session Track Technical Fundamentals + Standards, Human-Centered Design + Wellbeing

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Craig Bernecker

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Craig Bernecker

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