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Calcimator

Artifact Lighting Calculator

Calculate safe lux levels and annual light exposure limits for museum artifacts by material sensitivity class.

Inputs

Results

Recommended max lux

50

Safe operating lux50
Annual exposure at proposed lux (lux-hr)120,000
Max annual dose (lux-hr)150,000
Max hours/day at proposed lux10
Est. years to noticeable fading1.3
Over-exposed?0
Over-exposure %0%
UV within limits?1
UV damage multiplier1
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter Material sensitivity, Proposed illuminance (lux), and Display hours per day.
  2. Set Open days per year and UV level (µW/lm).
  3. Review the Recommended max lux result.
  4. Use Safe operating lux and Annual exposure at proposed lux (lux-hr) to inform your decision.

What each input means

Material sensitivity
1 = High (textiles, watercolours, photos); 2 = Medium (oil paintings, leather, wood); 3 = Low (stone, metal, ceramics).
Proposed illuminance (lux)
Lux level you plan to use at the artwork surface.
Display hours per day
Hours per day the lights are on in the gallery.
Open days per year
Number of days per year the gallery is open.
UV level (µW/lm)
Ultraviolet content of the light source. Recommended max is 75 µW/lm; best practice is < 10 µW/lm.

What each result means

Recommended max lux
Maximum illuminance for the selected material class.
Safe operating lux
Your proposed lux clamped to the safe maximum.
Annual exposure at proposed lux (lux-hr)
Total lux-hours per year at your proposed illuminance.
Max annual dose (lux-hr)
Maximum recommended annual lux-hours for this material class (-1 = no limit).
Max hours/day at proposed lux
Maximum display hours per day to stay within the annual dose limit.
Est. years to noticeable fading
Approximate years until one just-noticeable difference in colour change at your proposed exposure.
Over-exposed?
1 = annual dose exceeds recommendation; 0 = within safe limits.
Over-exposure %
Percentage by which the proposed exposure exceeds the safe annual dose.
UV within limits?
1 = UV level is acceptable (≤ 75 µW/lm); 0 = excessive UV.
UV damage multiplier
Factor above the 75 µW/lm threshold (1.0 = safe).

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Material sensitivity = 1, Proposed illuminance (lux) = 50, Display hours per day = 8, Open days per year = 300 = 5 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Recommended max lux
    50 = 50
  3. Calculate Safe operating lux
    Safe operating lux = min(proposedLux, maxLux)
    50 = 50
  4. Calculate Annual exposure at proposed lux
    Annual exposure at proposed lux = proposedLux * hoursPerDay * daysPerYear
    120000 = 120000

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