Method and assembly for measuring equivalent sphere illumination in the

Abstract

The present invention relates to systems for assessing the quality of illumination provided by a lighting environment to a task location in terms of the ability of that illumination to render the contrast of a visual task at the task location. Past systems have been inaccurate, inflexible, or required trained personnel and bulky equipment to make such an assessment. The present system accomplishes this assessment by generating a series of electrical signals, each such signal corresponding to the luminous flux impinging at the task location provided by a discrete, substantially non-overlapping zone of the lighting environment. These signals, when associated with the position of the corresponding zones, accurately describe the flux distribution of the lighting environment, and are used to calculate Equivalent Sphere Illumination, a figure of merit for that lighting environment.