CE 51300 – Lighting in Buildings

Credits and contact hours:

  • 3 credits
  • Lecture meets 2 times per week for 50 minutes per meeting for 15 weeks
  • Lab meets 1 time per week for 110 minutes for 15 weeks

Specific course information:

  • Catalog description: This course focuses on the design of illumination systems in buildings (electric and natural lighting) in order to achieve energy efficiency and visual comfort. The first part of the course includes analytical lighting calculation techniques, visual perception, radiative transfer, lamp characteristics, electric lighting system design and control for calculation of required indoor illuminance levels. The second part of the course covers daylighting (natural lighting) systems, including state-of-the-art daylighting prediction models as well as design and control of such devices and advanced metrics. The course also has a lab section, in which the students learn how to work with lighting and daylighting tools and build their own computational transient lighting models in open source programming languages, in order to design illumination systems and predict electricity consumption and potential energy savings.
  • Prerequisites: CE 41300 or graduate standing
  • Course status: Graduate or senior level elective course

Specific Goals for the course:

  • Student learning outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course the student shall be able to:
    • Understand fundamental illumination concepts
    • Design and assess the performance of lighting systems in buildings
    • Calculate fundamental illuminance, non-point sources, radiant energy, lamp types, lighting controls, interior lighting design, daylight prediction models, optical properties of windows, advanced metrics and shading devices
    • Build and solve lighting and daylighting models using advanced software and programming techniques to design lighting systems and calculate energy savings from the use of natural light and lighting controls
  •  Relationship of course to program outcomes
    • Outcome 1: An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
    • Outcome 2: An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors
    • Outcome 4: An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
    • Outcome 5: An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives
    • Outcome 6: An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions

Topics:

  • Lighting metrics, calculations and measurements -Nature of light and sight; Basic photometric quantities, lighting terms and metrics; Inverse square law; Luminance equations; Lambertian surfaces and diffusion; Sky luminance; General square law in 3D; Zonal lumens (2 weeks)
  • Illuminance from non-point sources - Strip, tube, rectangular sources; General flux transfer theory (1 week)
  • Vision and color, radiant energy and light - Spectral sensitivity; Luminous efficacy; Vision factors; Contrast and brightness, spectral power density; Emissivity and selective radiators; Luminescence and incandescence; Relating lumens and watts; Color temperature (1 week)
  • Lamps – Incandescent, tungsten-halogen, fluorescent and CF lamps: properties, construction, types, characteristics, life and losses, efficiency; Ballasts; Circuits and starting methods; Mercury, metal halide and high-pressure sodium lamps (1 week)
  • Luminaires and controls for interior lighting - Criteria; Luminaire characteristics and classifications, luminance and optics –glare criteria; Photometric reports; Visual comfort and glare indices; Lighting control functions and types; Control circuit types; (2 weeks)
  • Interior lighting design: average and detailed illuminance calculations - Illuminance selection; Basic lumen method; Non-rectangular spaces; Detailed Flux transfer; Luminous exitance; Configuration factors; Form/view factors; One-bounce flux transfer analysis; Multiple-bounce analysis, radiosity method and detailed illuminance calculations (2 weeks)
  • Daylighting prediction models - Basic daylighting models; Solar geometry and model similarities; The Perez model; Weather data and detailed model formulation (2 weeks)
  • Windows and optics - Optical properties as fundamental variables; Angle dependency; Basic ray tracing for optical properties; Selective glazings and coatings for daylighting (1 week)
  • Daylighting metrics - Daylight factors; Illuminance histograms; Useful illuminances; Daylight autonomy; Energy savings; Shading device types, properties and controls (1 week)
  • Lighting and daylighting research projects and applications (2 weeks)