Lux to Lumens Calculator

Still wondering about the difference between Lux and Lumens? We got you covered with our lux to lumens calculator and much more. 

Learning the difference between these lux to lumens for your light source is important because whether you’re trying to determine how much light intensity you need for high-bay warehouse lighting you need or just simply trying to figure out your warehouse LED lighting or warehouse LED street lighting requirements, you need to be accurate to make sure everything’s properly illuminated.

Lux vs Lumens, what’s the difference?

Lux

Lux refers to the illuminance received from one or more light sources, that is, the “amount” of light emitted that is falling on an area. Illuminance in lux is, therefore, a vital planning parameter for lighting systems. 

Lumens

On the other hand, the brightness of your LED light fixture is usually expressed in lumens. This is the luminous flux emitted by the lamp in all directions. This may also be expressed in watts (to determine brightness) in cases of conventional light sources.

If you still find the above explanation a bit confusing, lux refers to the area that is reached by a certain source of light, whereas lumens refer to the amount of light a particular source is emitting.

Now, whether we’re talking about lux or lumens, there are several factors affecting these two units of measurement. These are the beam angle and the distance between the light source and the illuminated surface.

In simpler terms...

To give you context, let’s say you’re trying to figure out your exhibition lighting requirements, and the product only shows lumens or lux. Then a working knowledge of how to convert one to the other would come in handy. 

The total amount of visible light and distance is inversely proportional to both the lux and lumens register.

That is, the larger the beam angle and the distance, the lumen value per square foot decreases, and the illuminance or lux value decreases too.

On the other hand, a lamp of the same brightness with a small beam angle or short distance has a larger lux value.

Lux to lumens calculator table


Lumens/area

Lux

1 lumen (lm) per square meter 

1 lux (lx)

1 lumen (lm) per square foot

10.764 lux (lx)


Calculating or converting lux to lumens and vice versa is not as simple as wanting to convert lux to, let’s say, foot candles. There are several things to consider, such as the lux or lumens value, the distance, and the angle to which the source is beaming. 

However, granting that the beam angle and distance are constant, then the direct conversion would be 1 lux = 1 lumen per square meter or 1 lux = 0.0929 per square foot.

Thankfully, you don’t have to do everything manually. We found a reliable calculator/converter where you can just plug in the numbers and just await the results.

How to convert footcandles to lumens

Aside from lumens and lux, we also hear about another unit used to measure luminance: footcandles. Luckily for us, there is a straightforward conversion: 1 footcandle is equal to 10.76 lux (SI unit). So, for example, you’re trying to figure out the lux value of 2 footcandles, then you just multiply 2 by 10.76. Thus, the lux value for that would be 21.52.

How do you calculate lux per watt?

Another unit of measurement that we often hear and see on lighting products is watts. Unlike footcandles, converting watts to lux is a bit more complicated. If you want to take a crack at it, here’s the formula: lx = 10.76391 × W × (lm/W) / ft2.

“W” represents the wattage, while “lm/W” refers to the lumens per watt. But due to the wonders of the internet, you don’t have to calculate this manually (if you’re in a hurry). Here’s a link to the calculator.

Conclusion

We hope you learned something about converting lux and lumens. Learning to do the calculations manually may come in handy, but if you like to get it done quickly, then the lux to lumens calculator will help you find a reference point for your lighting design. To be really sure whether the desired illuminance is achieved with the installed luminaires, it can be checked with a lux meter at the appropriate distance from the light source.

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