ILLUMINATING SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT SELECTION

FOR INDUSTRIAL CONTROL R O O M S

KAO CHEN
Fellow, IEEE
Carlsons Consulting Engineers
San Diego, California

AND

RUDY T. ELAM
Member, IEEE
Calspan CorporatiodAEDC Operations
Arnold Engineering Development Center
Arnold Air Force Base, TN 37389

ness should not exceed 150 fL.A 10-to-1 uniformity

ratio should be the maximum variance. A 4-to-1
ratio is more desirable and is achievable with appropriate luminares, luminance spacings, and proper
distance between luminare and ceiling.

INTRODUCTION
The selection of illuminating systems and equipment for industrial control rooms should be based on
criteria set forth in previous lead papers for the
project. Therefore, a brief review of the most important criteria would be in order.
We might also qualify the term control room,
since it can be subject to much conjecture. The industrial control room is really a process control room
that houses monitoring instruments, programmable
controllers, switching devices, VDTs, printers, PCs
and maybe office furniture components. Satisfactory
illumination is a key component of this environment
in which operators or station keepers work to ensure
high productivity, safety, and overall effectiveness of
the operation.
CRITERIA FOR ILLUMINATION OF
INDUSTRIAL CONTROL ROOMS

The ratio of the ceiling luminance between luminares should preferably not exceed 4 to 1, and should
never exceed 10 to 1. Since a maximum luminance of
850 candelas per square meter is recommended for
the ceiling, the same recommendation is made for
any downward luminous components of the luminare.
BASIC ILLUMINATING SYSTEMS
FOR LARGE ROOMS
There are four basic systems in common use for
large room environments; however, each of the systems has drawbacks as discussed in the following
text.
Ceiling-Mounted Fluorescent Lighting

Illumination Levels
This type of lighting fills the entire ceiling with
closely spaced lamps behind louvers, plastic or glass
sheets, i.e., the so-called luminous ceiling. This system is no longer a reasonable alternative in todays
energy-conscious society. Further, a luminous ceiling of sufficient brightness to provide adequate task
illumination will produce an undesirable image or
vei1on the VDT.

Typically 20-40 fc of general illumination should

be the maximum, provided by high-quality, controlled brightness luminares with task lighting supplemented where needed.
Luminance a n d Luminance Contrast
Luminance ratios are important to good visual
performance and comfort. Zone luminance values
within the Task Surround should not be greater
than three times that of the task, or less than onethird the task level. These recommendations may be
on the conservative side, but do provide a useful
guideline. CIE standards suggest that direct luminance a t 50 deg from vertical or above should not
exceed 66 fL for rooms with high VDT use. This
standard might eliminate 90 percent of all luminares
currently sold in the U. S. At the present time, we
suggest a maximum of 250 fL at 65 deg with 250 fL
a t 55 deg as a n optimum condition. A 35-deg optical
cutoff angle will normally eliminate indirect glare. If
screen brightness is 15 fL,maximum ceiling bright-

Ceiling-Mounted or Pendant-Mounted Lighting

Fixtures
These lighting fixtures are not limited to
troffers. When lensed for the purpose of dispensing
light over a wide area, the result is excessive brightness or glare, which contributes to discomfort and
inhibits the ability to see. In addition, such fixtures
are frequently imaged in the VDT screen.
Ceiling-Mounted Shielded Fixtures
Ceiling-mounted shielded fixtures are shielded
with lenses that narrow the light distribution by con-

T h e research reported herein was performed by the principals noted in the reference section. Applications and analysis were
performed at Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC), Air Force Materiel Command by personnel of Calspan Corporation/AEDC
Operations, technical services contractor for the AEDC aerospace flight dynamics facilities Further reproduction is authorized to satisfy
needs of the U. S. Government.

0-7803-1993-1194$4.00 0 1994 IEEE

1984

centrating it in a downward cone approximating 90

deg. This type of fixture does leave the ceiling much
darker than walls or vertical panels.
Upward Facing, Pendant or Panel-Mounted
Fixtures

Kotice the reflection a t upper left on the vertical

board. The lack of supplementary directional lighting following the contour of the control board is very
noticeable. Uniform design using only area directional lighting required relocation of one fixture to
eliminate glare. Otherwise, the lighting quality is
adequate.

These fixtures provide another alternative. If

they are bright enough to provide adequate light on
the keyboard, desk etc., they are brightly imaged in
the VDT screen, also.

CONSIDERATIONS O F SPECIAL
REQUIREMENTS F O R T H E
LUMINARES

From the above, it can be concluded that ceilingmounted systems simply do not work well for the
control room-type environment. It is also evident
that conventional lighting systems and commercial
luminares do not meet the flux distribution requirements for industrial control rooms.

In a typical industrial control room, the task can

generally be divided into two distinct areas: the
control boards and the outlying perimeter as shown
in Fig. 2. The control board consists of a variety of
visual display units, namely meters, scales, VDTs,
etc. as in Fig. 3.

SPECIAL ILLUMINATING SYSTEMS FOR

INDUSTRIAL CONTROL ROOMS

A coffer system would be recommended for the

control board area because it is easier to relamp and
clean. To minirnize reflected glare in the area, the
standard luminare would require some modifications:

To optimize the flux distribution requirements

for industrial control rooms, a good approach would
be the use of local or zone directional lighting for the
instrument visual display and diffused lighting from
the ceiling for the area, or ambient lighting.

1 . the standard housing should be deepened 4

in. to allow the lamps to be mounted further
from the lens;
2. a cube parabolic lens should be used in the
door;
3. a white opaque diffuser should be installed
above the parabolic lens; and

Directional lighting may be from recessed

troffers which follow the general contour of the control board. The luminares must be precisely located
to keep reflected light away from the glare zone.
Luminares suitable for these applications are usually specially designed asymmetrical parabolic specular reflectors which present a uniform direct luminance of about 25 fc on the board.
Diffused lighting may be from low-luminance,
luminous indirect lighting equipment, solid luminous plastic ceilings, or louvered ceilings. The luminance of a diffused ceiling reflects light in all directions and will probably be seen reflected in a VDT;
however, the luminance is relatively low and will riot
reduce the contrast significantly between the VDT
characters and their background.

4.

the luminare door should be built to retain

both the opaque diffuser and parabolic lens.

Such luminares should also contain emergency

lamps - 150 W mini-can screw-base quartz lamps.
Figure 4 shows the installation of a coffer system.
An adequate lighting system lights the panel,
the source material, the keyboard, the desk or
outpuffreference area, and the surrounding space in
a balanced manner. By positioning properly
designed luminares in front of the station keepers,
all of the requirements should be fulfilled:

In a research study project, three systems were

installed. They were, namely, cove lighting, louvered
luminous ceiling, and uplighting. By definition, cove
lighting is comprised of sources shielded by a ledge
or horizontal recess, and distributes light over the
ceiling and upper vertical wall. In this case, the ceiling was used as a reflector to provide the diffusion of
light. The study concluded that cove lighting emerged
as the best system among the three, although the
assessments for all three are on the positive side.
Further, the study leads to a conclusion that indirect
diffused lighting will be the desired system.
Figure 1 shows the application of ceilingmounted shielded fixtures in a modern control room.

1985

1 . a baffle to eliminate direct glare;

2.

a low-brightness louver or diffuser to control

the upwardly directed light so that people
standing are protected from direct glare;

3. a reflector to push the light out and down to

the front of the work area;
4.

a lens, baffle, or polarizer to inhibit veiling

reflections; and

5. a second reflector to push light to the control

board.

Luminares for the directional lighting should

contain a specially designed asymmetrical parabolic
specular reflector.

REFERENCES
Keating, Roger M. Indirect Lighting for CRT
Environments, LD & A , Illuminating Engineering Society, April 1992.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR SELECTION

O F LIGHT SOURCES

CRT Applications, LD & A , Illuminating Engineering Society, October 1982.

A full spectrum light has far greater spectral

power distribution, as compared to standard cool
white fluorescent light (sometimes called distorted
spectrum light). A full spectrum light simulates the
full spectral power distribution range (both visible
and ultraviolet) of natural outdoor light. Our eyes
evolved in full spectrum light, in which we see best.
Cool white fluorescent does not provide light
conducive for high color rendition. Full spectrum
light in the indoor environment allows fine detail
perception, more effective performance of visually
demanding tasks, reduces glare, lessens eye fatigue
and strain, and generally reduces maintenance and
replacement cost due to its long life feature. Therefore, if fluorescent lamps are chosen for the system,
the new triphosphor type should be specified so
that the appearance of balanced white light could be
created.

Shemitz, Sylvan R. Lighting those Visual

Display Terminals - in the Cause of the
Operators Comfort, Architectural Record,
October 1982, pp. 138-140.
Chen, Kao. Criteria of Illumination for Industrial Control Rooms, IEEE-IAS Annual Conference Proceedings, October 1990.
Ross, Donald K. Design Considerations for
Illuminating Industrial Control Rooms, IEEEIAS Annual Conference Proceedings, October
1990.

In terms of color temperatures measured in

degrees Kelvin CK), we find those around 3,500K to
be balanced or neutral. Color temperature
designation is very accurate for a n incandescent
lamp, because it produces a continuous spectrum.
Energy-efficient tungsten-halogen lamps might also
be good candidates for the local directional lighting.

CONCLUSIONS
In a typical industrial control room with control
boards and surrounding desk-type VDT setups,
either cove lighting with directional lighting following the general contour of the boards, or a coffer
lighting system would be a good choice.

Fig. 1.Panoramic view of modern control room.

As discussed in the previous papers, the specific

choice would depend heavily on the control board
design, shapes, and mounting of the monitors and
control switches, etc. The specific choice should be
determined on a case-by-case basis.
Recent research studies indicate, in general,
diffused indirect lighting will be suitable for ambient
illumination, and directional lighting will be effective for control board illumination. A s far as light
sources are concerned, a full spectrum light source is
highly recommended for these applications. Presentday commercial luminares usually require some
modification to be fully satisfactory in these applications. The detailed modifications will have to be
determined and tailored for each specially designed
control room.

Fig.2. Plant console with configuration mimic board.

1986

Fig.3. Data acquisition console.

Fig.4 . Toffer system.

1987