Lighting Res. Technol.
2012; 44: 514–515
Book review
The Illuminating Engineering Society of
North America (2011), The Lighting
Handbook 10th Edition, Reference and
Application. IESNA. 1328pp. Hard cover.
$350 member, $595 non-member.
ISBN No. 978-087995-241-9
Let’s start with the obvious comment about
this book; if there is anything called a
handbook that weighs 4.6 kg then you know
it must come from North America.
That said, once you get used to lifting it
the handbook is a very good read if you
are interested in lighting. This edition of
the Handbook is split into 3 sections:
‘Framework’ that covers the basic light tech-
nical issues together with the human response
to light; ‘Design’ that covers common design
process issues; and ‘Applications’ that covers
lighting recommendations.
The ‘Framework’ section is the most useful
to readers outside North America as it
provides a review of many of the fundamen-
tals that we all rely on. The chapter Vision:
Eye and Brain is a really good review of the
subject with some excellent illustrations. The
chapter Perceptions and Performance is also
an excellent introduction to the topic of visual
performance and the psychophysics of the
visual system. Elsewhere in this section there
is other very good material but in many
places you feel let down by the non-inclusion
of material or pages that are not properly
worked out. For example, in the section of
colour there is a really good discussion on
colour rendering metrics but it stops short of
giving the calculation process for any of them.
The page that is typical of many where things
are not all they could be is in the section on
luminous flux. It defines photopic and sco-
topic flux with a formula using a sum from
ß The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers 2012
400 to 750 nm whilst on the same page in a
table it gives values for v() and v0 () from
360 to 770 nm. Quite why they chose not to
use the full range of values given in CIE S010/
E / ISO 23539 Photometry — The CIE System
of Physical Photometry is not clear but
picking two different ranges makes no sense
at all.
The ‘Design’ section is something new for
the IES Handbook and much of it gives good
advice on how to set about delivering good
lighting designs. However, when the section
gets down to the detailed way things have to
be achieved and the rules that need to be
followed then its relevance to an audience
outside North America is understandably
limited.
The 17 chapters in the ‘Application’ section
all follow the same format and are divided
into the same sections: Project Type and
Status, Application Types, Illuminance
Criteria, Designing and References. A key
element of each chapter is a table giving a
schedule of illuminance values. The tables are
interesting in that in this edition they have
changed to using the unit of lux rather than
footcandles. However, this seems to be the
only use of the metric system as the dimen-
sions that give the locations that have to be
illuminated are all given in feet and inches.
The other notable feature of the tables is that
separate values are given for different age
groups. However, the rule across all sections
is that where 50% of the population using the
space is under 25 the level may be halved and
where 50% are over 65 the level is doubled.
This statement of the rule might have been a
better way of presenting this information. The
section makes clear that all of the recommen-
dations given are just that and several times
10.1177/1477153512461896

the importance of consulting the authority
having jurisdiction is recommended as it
appears that there are a multitude of local
regulations that differ from town to town that
may trip up the unwary lighting designer. One
slight problem with the section is that each of
the chapters has a fair amount of text in
common, whilst this makes it a bit easier to go
through one chapter it does lead to a book
that is longer than it needs to be.
Overall, the book is well worth reading. As
a person who has always worked in Europe
reading about how they do lighting in North
America is a fascinating process, a bit like
discovering a new eco-system; all of the main
functions needed in a system of lighting
recommendations are there it is just that
Book review 515
most things are achieved in a slightly different
way to the what we are used to in Europe.
The book would be a great asset to anyone
who wishes to broaden their view of the
lighting world and it features a lot of very
useful information that is explained, in many
cases, by first rate diagrams. The real criticism
of the book is that it should have had a bit
more in the way of proof reading. I found 30
or so mistakes of an editorial or technical
nature before I gave up noting them. In a
book that is designed for use as a reference
book, accuracy is vital. Unfortunately this
edition does not quite make the grade.
Peter Raynham
Lighting Res. Technol. 2012; 44: 514–515
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