(Newswire.net — March 2, 2018) — Matters pertaining to buying new headlights to ride your bike into the night, as well as different poor visibility conditions can always be met with confusion between the bombastic terms Lux & Lumen. Different manufacturers often throw most buyers off the understanding wavelength by using either of the terms in their marketing vocabularies without making clear definition of their meaning. Some of the 5 things we are segmenting to make the two terms comprehensible include;
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Lux & Lumen bear different meanings
Here, we will have to get a bit scientific, but never mind, it doesn’t at all call for the cracking of knuckles. Lux is a measure of the intensity of illumination on a given surface at a particular distance from the light emitting source; on the other hand, Lumen is the measure of the total amount of visible light present, other definitions term it as the measure of how much light is emitted by a given source.
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Lumen is constant for a given light and setting whereas lux varies
Lumen, defined as the total amount of visible light present, can also be considered as the total light energy emitted from a given source. Whereas Lumen would remain constant for a given light and setting, Lux varies with distance from the source and gets dimmer as one draws farther away from the source.
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Different Lumens can produce the same amount of lux
When subjected to different conditions such as the type of lens, beam angles, and hot spot angles, different lumens can give yield to the same amount of lux. That is why the most cutting edge lighting solutions such as those from OutboundLighting.com are able to provide the finest lighting options tailored for even the toughest off-road cycling.
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1 lux = 1 lumen per square metre
In simpler terms, we can take the example of a 100 lumen source that puts all its emitted light onto a 1 square metre surface which will illuminate the surface at 100 lux. In a different scenario, the same amount of lumen cast onto a 10 square metre surface will illuminate the surface at only 10 lux. In a nutshell, the larger the distance and surface being met by a given beam of light the lower the lux at which the surface will be illuminated.
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The amount of lux and lumen you choose should be tagged to a category that best describes your riding experience
If you are riding on well-lit areas such as urban areas and well built up suburbs, your main priority should be to ensure that you are visible to other road users. If you are a more adventurous commuter hitting some unlit roads and paths, you will need a more powerful front light. A source with over 200 lumens can offer sufficient light to safely ride at a sensible speed. If your terrain is a bit more rugged, you can always opt for something even more brighter to help you quickly identify potential hazards on the road.