What is a Foot Candle?

A foot-candle measures light intensity, equivalent to one lumen of light per square foot. It measures the light that reaches a surface, while lumens measure the quantity of light produced by a fixture.

Footcandles are vital for measuring light intensity in commercial, industrial, and sports lighting, equivalent to approximately 10.764 lux. They define the required lighting levels for various environments, ensuring safety and functionality.

As set by organizations like OSHA, compliance with footcandle standards is essential for safe and adequately lit workplaces. In sports lighting, footcandles are crucial in ensuring optimal visibility for players and spectators.

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Recommended Foot Candles for Commercial Projects

Recommended Foot Candles for Airplane Hangars

General Work / Storage 30 fc
Aircraft Maintenance with some detailed tasks 30-50 fc
Aircraft Maintenance with fine detailed tasks 70-100 fc
Drilling, Riveting, Screw Fastening 75 fc
Final Assembly 100 fc
Inspection 50-200 fc
Welding 50 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Banks

ATM 10-40 fc
Lobby 10-50 fc
Writing Areas 20-70 fc
Teller Stations, Posting and Keypunch 50-150 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Billboards

Level 1 Billboard 20 fc
Level 2 Billboard 50-60 fc
Level 2 Billboard 100 fc

* Note: Average / Minimum Foot Candle Ratio should be < 4.0. A better target of 2.0 would mean the billboard is uniformly lit.

Recommended Foot Candles for Convention Centers & Exhibition Halls

Main Convention Area 30-90 fc
Smaller Meeting Rooms 30-50 fc
Stairways 5 fc
Washrooms and Restrooms 5 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Commercial Kitchens

General Kitchen Area 50-75 fc
Specialized Work Stations 50-150 fc
Cooking Stations and Grills 100-200 fc
Storage and Refrigeration 20-50 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Data Centers

Server Rooms 30-50 fc
Repair Areas 50-75 fc
Storage Areas 20-30 fc
Hallways and Corridors 20-30 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Food Service Facilities

Cashier Stand 20-50 fc
Cleaning Areas 10-20 fc
Dining Areas 5-20 fc
Food Courts 30 fc
Food Displays 30-100 fc
Kitchen, Food Prep 50-100 fc

Recommended Foot Candles For Garage / Workshops

Hobby Work 30 fc
Work with limited detailed tasks 30-50 fc
Work with fine-detailed tasks 70 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Hospitals – Medical Facilities

Hallways 5-30 fc
Patient Waiting Areas 10 fc
Nurse Stations 30 fc
Hospital Lobby Areas 5 fc
Medical Record Areas 50 fc
Stair Areas 10 fc
Rooms 10-30 fc
Emergency Rooms 50-100 fc
General Nursing Station 30
Operating Rooms 100-200

Recommended Foot Candles for Hotels

Bathrooms 20-50 fc
Bedrooms – Reading 20-50 fc
Corridors, Elevators, Stairs 10-20 fc
Front Desk 50-100 fc
Linen Room – General 10-20 fc
Linen Room – Sewing 100-200 fc
Lobby, General 10-20 fc
Reading and Working Areas 20-50 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Laundries

Washing 20-50 fc
Ironing 20-100 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Libraries

Ordinary Reading, Stacks 20-50 fc
Book Repair and Binding 20-50 fc
Study and Note Taking, Cataloging, Card Files, Checkout Desk 20-100 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Machine Shops

Rough Bench 20-50 fc
Medium Bench, Rough Grinding, Buffing 50-100 fc
Fine Bench 200-500 fc

Recommended Foot Candles For Offices

Open Cubicle Space 30 fc
Private 50 fc
Reception Areas 10 fc
Conference Rooms 30 fc
Video Conferences 50 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Parking Lots

Entrances 5 fc
Parking Garage – Basic 1 fc
Parking Garage – Ramps 1-2 fc
Parking Lots 2-5 fc
Vehicle Storage 2-5 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Retail Stores

Circulation Area Stockroom 10-30 fc
Department Store 20-80 fc
Discount Warehouse, Drug/Convenience 25-100 fc
Merchandising, Self-Service 200 fc
Shopping Mall 30 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Schools

Classrooms 30-50 fc
College Lecture Halls 50-100 fc
Hallways 10 fc
Smaller School Gymnasiums 30-50 fc
Larger School Gymnasiums 50-100 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Security Fences

High Security Areas (Prisons – for example) 5 fc
Low Security Areas 1-2 fc

Recommended Foot Candles For Warehouses

Coarse Material Processing 10 fc
Medium Material Processing 30 fc
Fine Material Processing 50 fc
Extra Fine Material Processing 50-100 fc
Wrapping, Packaging and Labeling 30 fc
Picking Stock 30 fc
Simple Assembly 15-60 fc
Medium Assembly 25-100 fc
Difficult Assembly 50-200 fc
Complicated Assembly 50-200 fc
Exacting Assembly and Inspection 150-600 fc
General Food Processing 75 fc
Warehousing – Inactive Area 5-10 fc
Warehousing – Active – Large Items 10-20 fc
Warehousing – Active – Small Items 15-60 fc
Warehousing – Active – Medium Items 20 fc
Warehousing – Active – Fine Items 20-50 fc
Shipping and Receiving Area 30 fc
Receiving and Shipping Dock 5-20 fc
Receiving and Staging 15-60 fc
Maintenance and Shop Areas 50 fc
Cold Storage 10-30 fc
Open Warehouse 10-30 fc
Warehouse with Aisles 10-30 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Woodworking

Rough Sawing and Bench Work 20-50 fc
Sizing, Planing, Rough Sanding, Medium Quality Machine and Bench Work, Gluing, Veneering, Cooperage 20-50 fc
Fine Bench and Machine Work, Fine Sanding and Finishing 50-100 fc
Workshop 30-75 fc

Recommended Foot Candle for Industrial Projects

Recommended Foot Candles for Automobile Manufacturing and Sales

Final Assembly, Finishing, Inspection 200 fc
Body and Chassis Assembly 100 fc
Body Parts Manufacturing 100 fc
Frame Assembly 50 fc
Showroom 25-100 fc
Service Area 25-100 fc
Sales Lot (Exterior) – Lighting Zone 3 (urban) 10-40 fc
Sales Lot (Exterior) – Lighting Zone 2 (suburban) 10-30 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Clothing Manufacturers

Receiving, Storage, Shipping, Winding, Measuring 20-50 fc
Pattern Making, Trimming 50-100 fc
Shops, Marking 50-200 fc
Cutting, Pressing 100-500 fc
Sewing, Inspection 200-500 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Distilleries

Malting 20-30 fc
Barrel Filling 20-30 fc
Sorting, Washing, Packing 30-40 fc
Filtering 50 fc
Bottling 50 fc
Inspection 100 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Electrical Equipment Manufacturing

Impregnating 20-50 fc
Insulating, Coil Winding, Testing 50-100 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Manufacturing and Warehouse Facilities

Coarse Material Processing 10 fc
Medium Material Processing 30 fc
Fine Material Processing 50 fc
Extra Fine Material Processing 50-100 fc
Wrapping, Packaging and Labeling 30 fc
Picking Stock 30 fc
Simple Assembly 15-60 fc
Medium Assembly 25-100 fc
Difficult Assembly 50-200 fc
Complicated Assembly 50-200 fc
Exacting Assembly and Inspection 150-600 fc
General Food Processing 75 fc
Warehousing – Inactive Area 5-10 fc
Warehousing – Active – Large Items 10-20 fc
Warehousing – Active – Small Items 15-60 fc
Warehousing – Active – Medium Items 20 fc
Warehousing – Active – Fine Items 20-50 fc
Shipping and Receiving Area 30 fc
Receiving and Shipping Dock 5-20 fc
Receiving and Staging 15-60 fc
Maintenance and Shop Areas 50 fc
Cold Storage 10-30 fc
Open Warehouse 10-30 fc
Warehouse with Aisles 10-30 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Foundries

Annealing Furnaces 20-50 fc
Cleaning 20-50 fc
Core Making 50-200 fc
Inspection – Fine 100-500 fc
Inspection – Medium 50-100 fc
Molding 50-200 fc
Pouring, Sorting 50-100 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Iron & Steel Manufacturing

Stock, Hot Top, Checker Cellar, Calcining 10-30 fc
Building, Slag Pits, Stripping Yard 20 fc
Control Platforms, Repairs, Mixer Building 30 fc
Rolling Mills 30-50 fc
Shearing 50 fc
Tin Plate 50 fc
Motor Room, Machine Room 30 fc
Inspection 100 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Paint Shops

Spraying, Hand Art, Stencil 20-50 fc
Fine Hand Painting and Finishing 50-100 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Paper Manufacturing

Beaters, Grinding 20-50 fc
Finishing, Cutting 50-100 fc
Hand Counting 50-100 fc
Paper Machine Reel, Inspection 100-200 fc
Rewinder 100-200 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Printing

Photo Engraving, Etching, Blocking 20-50 fc
Color Inspecting 100-200 fc
Presses 50-100 fc
Proofreading 100-200 fc
Composing Room 50-100 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Sheet Metal Works

General 100 fc
Tin Plate Inspection, Galvanized, Scribing 100-200 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Textile Mills

Cotton Picking, Carding, Roving, Spinning 50 fc
Beaming and Slashing 150 fc
Drawing 200 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Sports Projects

Recommended Foot Candles for Baseball and Softball Fields

  Infield Outfield
Collegiate (Televised) 100 fc 70 fc
Collegiate 70 fc 50 fc
High School 50 fc 30 fc
Little League 50 fc 30 fc
Recreational 30 fc 20 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Batting Cages

Professional Level 65-100 fc
Training 40-50 fc
Recreation Level 20-30 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Tennis Courts

College Televised 90-120 fc
Competition Level 50-80 fc
Club Level 30-60 fc
Recreation Level 20-35 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Pickleball Courts

Competition Level 50-80 fc
Club Level 30-60 fc
Recreation Level 20-30 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Paddleball Courts

Competition Level 50-75 fc
Club Level 30-50 fc
Recreation Level 20-30 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Polo Fields

Polo Field (Recreational) 20-35 fc
Polo Field (Competitive) 35-50 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Football Fields

College Televised 80-150 fc
College 70-100 fc
Large High School 50-70 fc
Smaller High School 30-50 fc
Pop Warner 30-50 fc
Recreational 20-40 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Basketball Courts

Recommended Foot Candles for Indoor Hockey Rinks

Professional Leagues 100-150 fc
Junior League Televised 70-10 fc
Junior League Un-televised 50-70 fc
Recreational and Local Tournaments 20-40 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Gymnasiums

Assemblies 10 fc
General Exercise and Recreation 30 fc
Locker Rooms 10-30 fc
Exhibitions, Matches 50 fc
School Gyms 30-50 fc
Public Gyms 30-70 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Soccer Fields

Recreational 5-20 fc
Middle School 20-30 fc
Small High School 20-40 fc
Larger High School 40-50 fc
College 60-120 fc

Recommended Foot Candles for Shooting Ranges

Firing Line and Shooting Stalls 50-100 fc
Target Area 50-100 fc
Instruction Areas 30-50 fc
Ammunition and Equipment Handling 50-75 fc
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OSHA Lighting Requirements

OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was created to protect workers by ensuring that working conditions were safe and as risk-free as possible.

To ensure that all industrial and commercial workplaces have effective and adequate lighting without being excessively bright (or without glare), OSHA developed standards as part of its safety initiative.

Glare and excessive lighting can cause headaches and eyestrain to individuals over time. Read more about OSHA guidelines from the United States Department of Labor.

Coarse Material Processing 10 FC
Medium Material Processing 30 FC
Fine Material Processing 50 FC
Extra Fine Material Processing 50 – 100 FC
Wrapping, Packaging and Labeling 30 FC
Picking Stock 30 FC
Simple Assembly 15 – 60 FC

Foot Candles Calculator

What is a Foot Candles Calculator?

A foot candles calculator is a simple tool that allows you to estimate the number of fixtures you will need to properly light an interior space. It’s a starting point to give you a rough estimate of the approximate fixture count.

Another (better) option is to ask us to do a Lighting Plan for you. We can do these for indoor and outdoor spaces. It will also give you a fixture count but will provide you with additional information like light balance and visually show you how well-lit the area will be.

Scroll to the top of this page to ask for yours.

School Gym Lighting Plan

Foot Candles & Lighting Plans

Why are Foot Candles Important?

Foot candles are an extremely important part of designing an effective lighting setup. They are the only way to tell if an area is receiving the intended light levels.
And, although this is important in any type of business, commercial and industrial facilities need to have appropriate lighting levels for both employee safety and efficiency.
It’s so important that OSHA has specific foot candle requirements for certain spaces and industries.

Recommended Light Levels

Lighting systems are not equal. What may be ideal for one location may be unsuitable for another. For instance, a big box store does not need the same amount of light as a packaging warehouse. Even if two facilities have the same square feet, the activities carried out may be different. The work done in a building typically determines the fixtures needed for its associated lighting. This is why choosing lighting for a space should not be a “one size fits all” approach. Foot candles are required by OSHA for workplace lighting measurements. In this article, we’ll give foot candle recommendations for different types of environments.

 

Foot Candles Versus Lux – What’s the Difference?

Foot candles and lux are both light measurement readings. They are just represented by different scales.

1 Foot Candle 10.77 Lux
1 Lux 0.0929 Foot Candles

Understanding Lighting Plans

A Photometric Study, or Lighting Plan, is a report detailing the light levels and light distribution for a location, either indoors or outdoors. It’s done by software that’s specifically created to do so.

Lighting Plans allow you to simulate space, add lighting fixtures, and set mounting heights and fixture locations within the software model.

The software calculates light levels and how balanced the light is and produces a report showing average, maximum, and minimum foot candles.

For this discussion, the numbers we discuss are the average recommended foot candles. Just as important is the max/min ratio the study calculates. The higher this number is, the spottier the lighting.

So, it’s one thing to hit the recommended average. It’s another to design a lighting solution with even light distribution. A lighting plan study will provide you with this information.

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How Do Lumens Become a Foot Candle?

Understanding Lumens

What is a lumen? A lumen is a measurement of light created by one bulb, lamp, or fixture. We use lumens to indicate the brightness of a bulb or fixture – how much light it produces.
Lumens are a far more accurate representation of the light’s capacity than watts used to make light.

Converting Lumens to Fc – or – Foot Candles to Lumens

A foot candle (also known as fc, ft-c, or lm/ft2) is a light intensity measurement. One foot candle equals 10.76 lumens. You can convert foot candles to lumens by multiplying the number of foot candles by 10.76.

The calculation of foot candles for industrial lighting is made by taking the total number of lumens and multiplying that by 0.001496. For example, 538 lumens x 0.001496 watts = 0.805 watts per square meter so your 50 foot-candles would equal 0.805 watts per square meter.

In the simplest sense, you can install one light in a room above the floor and, while using a light meter, walk around the floor and take foot candle measurements. The amount of light directly under the installed fixture will be brighter than the light in the corners.

Using this same room, you can install four fixtures evenly throughout the room. As you walk around the room, everything is brighter. The light meter is showing higher foot candle measurements throughout the room. The corners are brighter.

That’s all this is. Lights produce lumens, and as you add more lights, the foot candle measurements will increase throughout the space.

The takeaway: the more lights you add, the higher the foot candle readings will be.

Lumens Per Square Foot

What are lumens per square foot? By definition, one lumen per square foot is one foot candle. This means that:

20 lumens per square foot 20 foot candles
40 lumens per square foot 40 foot candles
80 lumens per square foot 80 foot candles

Like the previous discussion of lux, lumens per square foot is an additional description of what a foot candle is. So why do we think of lighting in terms of foot candles and not lumens per square foot?

Mostly because the tools we use to create lighting plans provide us with results in foot candles. However, it’s easy to convert the foot candle measurements we provide to lumens per square foot measurements.

Lighting Plan Software – How it Works

Lighting plan software is a computer-generated lighting model that understands the physical characteristics of how many lumens a light produces and how it distributes its light. The software allows you to install lights in a software “space” and run calculations by simulating foot candle readings on the ground. It’s extremely accurate, and the report generated provides details on light levels and light balance within the space.

The takeaway: we provide free lighting plans for our commercial and industrial customers, electricians, and electrical contractors. Scroll to the bottom of this page to ask for yours.

Understanding Light Efficiency – This is What Saves You Money

Even amongst LEDs, not all bulbs are created equal. Though they are all more efficient than options like fluorescents and metal halides, not every LED is equally efficient.

This is another reason why it’s important to pay attention to the lumens of an LED light instead of the watts. In many cases, a higher quality LED with a lower wattage can produce a brighter light than one that has a higher wattage.

Let’s explain this by showing two different LED Lights.

Lumens Per Watt Electricity Per 20.000 Lumens
LED Light #1 130 Lumens/Watt 153.84 watts
LED Light #2 180 Lumens/Watt 111.11 watts
Difference
42.73 Watts
THIS IS WHAT SAVES YOU MONEY

Both lighting products above create the same amount of light, or lumens.

Efficacy, or light efficiency, is another important thing to factor into a light purchase. A more efficient light may cost more at the time of purchase, but over the life of the product, your utility bill will be lower. And the amount you save with a lower utility bill will far exceed any additional purchase cost. If you want to learn more about LED lumens and all that goes into them, we’ve summed it up nicely in this post.

How to Choose the Right Fixture to Meet the Foot Candle Requirements

Now that you understand of what the foot candle levels might be for your project, how does that translate into buying the right fixture, or the right type of fixture? That’s where we can help. LED Lighting Supply provides two distinct services:

We provide free lighting plans.
We supply the lights for your project.

Determining the right light to produce the right amount of foot candles is not guesswork. We use industry-leading lighting plan software to calculate light levels within indoor and outdoor spaces to meet specific light levels the customer may have. Understanding foot candles is one thing. Picking the right fixture, the right number of fixtures, and achieving the right light levels with even, balanced, non-shadow lighting is another. That is why we provide lighting plans for our industrial and commercial end users, contractors, and electricians.

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About the Author

Cory Peterson is Director of Sales & Marketing at LED Lighting Supply where he focuses on improving customer experience and revenue operations. Cory writes about commercial & industrial lighting, along with topics important to contractors and facility managers. In his free time, Cory enjoys traveling, snorkeling, exercise and cooking.

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