This professional digital light meter is cosine and color corrected for a quick and accurate response. Simply turn the light meter on with the provided safety cap in place, and the unit will zero the reading automatically. Then uncap for a quick foot-candle or lux level reading.

Measuring Levels of Light..
Light Level or Luminance, is the amount of light measured in a given area or plane. The working plane is where the most important tasks in a room or workspace space is performed. Luminance is measured in these areas in foot candles (ftcd, fc) (or lux in the metric SI system). A foot-candle is actually one lumen of light density per square foot; one Lux is one lumen per square meter.

A comfortable level of light is essential to help with everyday tasks, both at home and in the workplace.
Outdoor light level is approximately 10,000 lux on a clear day. In a building, in the area closest to windows, the light level may be reduced to approximately 1,000 lux. In the middle area its may be as low as 25 - 50 lux. Additional lighting equipment is often necessary to compensate these low levels.
Initially it was common to have light levels in the range of 100 - 300 lux for normal activities. Today the light level is more commonly in the range 500 to 1000 lux - depending on activity. For precision and detailed works, the light level may even approach 1500 to 2000 lux.

The table below is a guidance of recommended light level in different workspaces:

Activity                                                                 Illumination (lux,lumen/m2)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Warehouses, Homes, Theaters, Archives                                   150/250
Easy Office Work, Classes                                                       250/350
Normal Office Work, PC Work, Study Library,                             500/600
Groceries, Show Rooms
Supermarkets, Mechanical Workshops, Office Landscapes               750
Normal Drawing Work, Detailed Mechanical Workshops          1000/1500
Detailed Drawing Work, Very Detailed Mechanical Works        1500/2000
and in the Home
Casual Reading - 300-500lx
Workshop or intensive reading - 500-1200lx
Kitchen - 300-550lx
Dining room - 200-300lx

The light is usually measured about 78 cm from the floor (table height) unless special circumstances demand a different approach.
The CIBSE Code for Lighting recommends a maintained illuminance of 500 lux for general offices (e.g. writing, typing, reading, data processing, etc.) and for CAD workstations and conference/meetings rooms. Where the main task is less demanding, e.g. filing, a lower level of 300lux is recommended.

      Main Features of the L337 Light Meter

• 5 Digit Display
  
• Calibrated to NIST Standards (Does not come with a Certificate)
  
• Auto Ranging
  
• Response time 0.5sec
  
• Resolution 0.01lx
  
• Accuracy +/-3%
  
• Automatic Power Off
  
• Fc/Lx Function Selectable
  
• HOLD Function
  
• Range Display
  
• Battery level indicator
  
• Case included