TRANSPORTATION LIGHTING

13-35
FIG. 13-28. Vertical plane candle-
power distribution curve for typical
street and highway luminaires.
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TYPE I
Luminaire Characteristics and Application
The choice of the light distribution of a luminaire is determined
by
mounting height, spacing, and transverse location. Good practice re-
quires that most of the light emitted from a luminaire be directed toward
the street and be distributed to ensure good utilization and to provide
the recommended average
minimum illumination shown in Tables 13-4
and 13-5. Some light should be directed back of the curb line to provide
illumination on the sidewalk and adjacent areas.
There is a trend in street and highway lighting practice toward the use
of the pendent type of luminaire. It is more efficient than the post-top
type and costs less to maintain.
The pendent-type luminaire usu-
ally is mounted over the roadway,
thereby increasing its effectiveness.
A pendent-type luminaire and the
candlepow
r
er distribution in the ver-
tical plane characteristic of typical
street and highway equipment are
shown in Fig. 13-28. This is the
type of vertical light distribution
which generally is recommended
today. Distributions of this char-
acter have maximum candlepower
and maximum light flux between
the angles of 10 degrees and 20
degrees below the horizontal.
The five typical candlepower dis-
tribution types described in the
following paragraphs meet most
street and highway lighting require-
ments. Figure 13-29 shows these
distributions in the 75-degree cone.
The angles used in the figure follow
the usual convention of designating
the direction across the street as zero
degree, parallel with the street as 90
degrees, and directly back from the
street as 180 degrees. Lateral width
is the angle at one-half of the max-
imum candlepower in the cone of
maximum candlepower,
measured
from the luminaire's axis parallel to type t
the curb line and in the direction FIG. 13-29. Seventy-five-degree
of the roadway
cone candlepower distribution curves
Type I luminaire: Two-way
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TYPE HE
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