Illumination Evaluation of Lecture Theatre, Case Study of 1000 Seat Lecture Theatre, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria

Abstract

Light, apart from making it possible for one to view objects clearly, can also be used for the beautification of any given space. Existing 1000 Seat Lecture Theatre auditorium lights lux level (115 lux) is below acceptable of for an auditorium suitable for writing during examination. This paper focus on illumination evaluation of a lecture theatre, case study of 1000 Seat lecture theatre, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria. The auditorium is used for lecture and writing examination. Lumen method which is one of the methods for calculation the number of lamp for a space is used to determine the number of lamp needed for the studied area. The architectural design of the auditorium is not available, so, the dimensions of the floor of the studied area were measured with a measuring tape. The measured floor dimensions was used to produce model of the floor in autoCAD software in order to calculate the area of the floor because the auditorium was of irregular shape and different mounting heights. The obtained area is used to calculate the illuminance required for the auditorium using Lumen method, equation. Try and error method was used in selecting E, M_f and U_f  to arrive at 115Lux  of the studied area. Lumen method, putting into consideration standard maintenance factor (0.8) and utilization factor (0.7) of existing literatures and renowned consultancy firms were used.  This paper submitted that the lux level of the 1000 Seat Lecture Theatre (SLT) is below acceptable international standard of 400lux (standard and the industrial practice) for a classroom-auditorium suitable for writing examination.  The space is poorly illuminated (33.3% of the required illumination and 20% wattage contribution of the design.) using EDA 18W compact fluorescent lamp (CFL). The existing 2 x 18W CFL installed in the SLT should be replaced with 85W (5500lumen, 5500K, 10000Hrs) CFL because of its benefits. 400 Lux is adequate for Lecture Theatre Auditorium lux level; lighting designer should employ adequate lux level to avoid negative side effects of poor illumination.