Illumination Converter

Convert between various units of illumination (e.g., lux, foot-candle, phot).

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Understanding Illumination

Illumination is the total luminous flux incident on a surface, per unit area. It is a measure of how much the incident light illuminates the surface, wavelength-weighted by the luminosity function to correlate with human brightness perception.

The SI unit for illumination is lux (lx), which is lumens per square meter (lm/m²).

Common Illumination Units & Typical Values
SituationIllumination (lux)Illumination (foot-candle)
Overcast Day~1000 lux~93 fc
Office Lighting300 – 500 lux28 – 46 fc
Full Daylight (not direct sun)10,000 – 25,000 lux930 – 2300 fc
Direct Sunlight32,000 – 100,000 lux3000 – 9300 fc
Full Moon (clear night)~0.1 – 0.3 lux~0.01 – 0.03 fc