sparks
ELECTRICAL NEWS
august
2013
lighting
23
Taking technical excellence to new heights
EUROLUX is renewing its commitment to
technical excellence with the acquisition of a
GO-2000 Goniophotometer and Integrated
Sphere.
These instruments will allow Eurolux to pro-
vide lighting designers with sufficient informa-
tion to plan effective lighting solutions utilising
Eurolux products says Shaun Bouchier, director
at Eurolux.
The GO-2000 Goniophotometer (also
known as a horizontal Goniophotometer) is a
‘supermatic’ test system for luminous intensity
distribution and total luminous flux measure-
ment of various types of luminaires and
lamps, including indoor lights, street lights
and floodlights.
“It handles fluorescent, HID, LED and
incandescent sources, producing the photo
metrics for any measured luminaire,” ex-
plains Bouchier.
“We can use this information for research,
development, product performance docu-
mentation and quality assurance. For us, the
biggest benefit is the detailed informationwe
can nowoffer our customers, allowing them
to design effective lighting solutions.”
There are two main components to the
Goniophotometer: The rotating table that
the fixture or lamp is placed on, including
the arms onwhich the luminaire ismounted;
and a light sensor that measures light output.
The light source (whether in a fixture or
not) is placed in the middle of the Gonio-
photometer, atop the rotating table, which
can be adjusted to make sure the luminaire
is centred.
When the lamp or luminaire is positioned
thisway, the light reflects directly onto a light
sensor at the opposite end of the room.
The arm with the luminaire rotates from
0 to 360° degrees vertically, and 0 to 180°
horizontally, measuring every 10° vertically
or depending on the settings before testing.
Thismeasurement alsodepends on the sym-
metry of the light source and how detailed
the measurements need to be.
“This process is repeated until we obtain
a map of the entire lamp or luminaire,” says
Bouchier. A complete test takes anywhere
from ten minutes to two hours, depending
on the detail needed – greater detail takes
more time.
The Integrated Sphere allows Eurolux to
measure each specific lamp, whether it is
LED, fluorescent, CFL orHID, to determine
its exact Kelvin ratings, colour temperature,
chromaticity coordinates, Rendering Index,
flux lumens, lumen efficiency, lumen power
and power factor.
“The main difference between the Inte-
grating Sphere and the Goniophotometer
is that the sphere only measures the total
light output of a lamp and not the direction,”
explainss Bouchier.
The lamp being tested is placed in the cen-
tre of the Integrating Sphere. At one side of
the sphere is a light sensor, which measures
the light output of the lamp. Between the lamp
and the light meter there is a baffle to prevent
the sensor from ‘seeing’ any direct light from
the lamp.
The insideof the sphere (including the baffle) is
coatedwith a diffusewhite reflective coating that
reflects all wavelengths equally. “This allows us
toobtain very accuratemeasurements. The light
from the lamp bounces around the sphere until
it reaches the light meter,” explains Bouchier.
It is important that there is nothing else in the
sphere besides the lamp and the baffle. Anything
else placed in the sphere, such as a fixture, would
absorb some of the light.
He continues: “So, if anything besides the lamp
and baffle is placed in the sphere, not all of the
light reaches the light sensor and this can result in
erroneous sensor readings. This means that we
canonlyobtain ‘bare lamp’ readings in the sphere.
“Eurolux always aims to improve the customer
experience, and we believe this is yet another
way of ensuring our clients get all the information
they need to make informed choices.”
Enquiries: (021) 528-8400
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