The Lighting Lab is a learning and research space for lighting students in Architectural Engineering and Building Systems.
The lab has a dynamic ceiling such that the height can be adjusted, allowing for a wide range of academic and research exploration. The lab has full-wall south facing windows plus there are blackout curtains installed to eliminate external light when it is undesirable for research projects.听
The Lighting Lab also houses a goniophotometer, used to measure the intensity of light leaving a luminaire at various vertical and horizontal angles. This allows the photometric light distribution of the luminaire to be derived, and quantities such as total lumen output, luminaire luminance, zonal lumen summary and other information can be computed.
A moveable lighting station that includes low voltage track and various track luminaires is also in the lab to compare track head types and the distribution of types of reflector lamps. Additional handheld illumination measurement equipment is available, including: illuminance meters, luminance meters, and chromaticity meters. There is also a variety of lamp, socket, ballast, and luminaire samples for use in mock-ups, luminaire design exercises, and research projects.
In addition to the main lab there is an adjacent studio space, used primarily for lighting research. This lab provides an independent space for research on such topics as daylighting, light spectrum optimization, and psychological aspects of lighting.
The studio has an extensive aluminum open ceiling grid that allows for quick electrical and physical connection of light sources and luminaires for research. In addition, a series of custom four lamp indirect luminaires fill the lower room cavity and are controlled by a Lutron Ecosystem with Quantum Software. Lamps can be individually or group adjusted according to the academic or research needs. This allows quick re-grouping of the lamps/luminaires for research or as a learning tool.
Daylight sensors and five bays of individually or group controllable top-down and bottom-up shades covering a floor to ceiling window bay are also present and can be controlled through the Quantum software. The combination of top-down and bottom-up shades allows the window bay to simulate numerous daylighting window configurations.