How to Convert Footcandles to Watts

A foot-candle is a measurement of illumination equal to the light produced by one candle at a distance of one foot. A watt measures the rate of energy conversion, which can also be described as the speed at which something such as a candle or light bulb consumes energy. Converting foot candles to watts is easy, but requires an intermediate step, which involves converting foot-candles to lumens, abbreviated as lux. A lumen is another measurement of light power.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Determine the number of foot-candles for the conversion into watts. For this example, the number of foot-candles is 50.

2. Convert foot-candles into lumens. One foot-candle equals to 10.76 lumens. In this example, 50 foot-candles multiplied by 10.76 equals 538 lumens, or lux (50 x 10.76 = 538).

3. Convert the lumens into watts. One lumen equals 0.001496 watts of energy per square meter. In this example, 538 lumens multiplied by 0.001496 equals 0.804808 watts.

4. Use this formula for your own calculations: Number of foot-candles x 10.76 x 0.001496 to convert foot-candles into watts.

References

• Definition of a Lumen
• Online Calculator for Converting Illumination Measurements

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