⚡ Measurement of basic photometric data of lamps and luminaires for lighting applications and the CEN file format for electronic data exchange — spherical coordinate system centred on the photometric centre, B planes (angles B, β) and C planes (angles C, γ), data per 1 000 lm of lamp flux, rated voltage, mean ambient temperature (25 ± 1) °C measured within 1,5 m of the source, PN-EN 13032-1

Electronics and EMC PN-EN 13032-1

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. The PKN catalogue card of PN-EN 13032-1+A1:2012 (English version) gives the scope: “This European Standard specifies the general principles for the measurement of basic photometric data for lighting application purposes. It establishes the measurement criteria needed for the standardization of basic photometric data and details of the CEN file format for electronic data transfer. It is part 1 of a multi-part standard. Part 1 deals with basic photometric measurements and the file format. Other parts deal with data of lamps and luminaires depending on the applications” (our translation from the Polish text of the card). We read the text in the sample of SIST EN 13032-1:2004+A1:2012 (the text of EN 13032-1:2004+A1:2012 without changes) from the cover to the end of 5.2.3 (page 13, ambient temperature); we do not have 5.2.4–5.8 (air movement, stabilization, power supply, measurement of intensity distribution, flux and luminance, factors, luminaires for test), Clauses 6–8 (measurement requirements for goniophotometers, integrating photometers, illuminance meters and luminance meters, uncertainties, data format, transfer) or Annexes A–F (A — stray light, B — normative, photometer characteristics, C — mirrors, D — CEN file format, E — examples, F — normative, added by amendment A1: T16 lamps and compact fluorescent lamps) — we know only their titles from the table of contents; Table 2 (voltage tolerances) is not in the sample.

ACCORDING TO THE TEXT OF EN 13032-1:2004+A1:2012 (foreword, introduction, Clauses 1–5.2.3, table of contents). The standard was prepared by CEN/TC 169 “Light and lighting”; EN 13032-1 was approved on 16 January 2004, corrigendum AC on 26 January 2005 and amendment A1 on 15 January 2012; text altered by A1 is marked with tags. The foreword lists the parts of the series: 1 — measurement and file format, 2 — presentation of data for indoor and outdoor work places, 3, 4 and 6 (emergency, sports and tunnel lighting) — “in preparation” according to the 2012 text. Introduction: reliable photometric data are the basis of lighting design; the standard gives a common basis of European practice so that luminaire data from one country can be compared and used in another; the reliability of data also depends on the management, organization, measurement traceability of the laboratory and the skills of the staff; amendment A1 treats T16 lamps and compact fluorescent lamps separately (Annex F). Scope (1): general principles for the measurement of basic photometric data for lighting applications, measurement criteria and details of the CEN file format for electronic data exchange. References (2): EN 12665:2002; added by amendment A1 — EN 60081, EN 60901; ISO 9660. Definitions (3): light source (lamp or luminaire); photometric centre — the point from which the inverse square law most closely holds in the direction of maximum intensity, the origin of the coordinate system, which shall be stated; limiting photometric distance — the minimum distance at which luminous intensity is determined from illuminance; relative measurement (CIE 121:1996, 2.3.2) — relative to the flux of the bare lamp; luminaire data per 1 000 lm of lamp flux (lamps measured outside the luminaire under reference conditions with the same ballast); luminous intensity distribution (usually in cd/1 000 lm); added by amendment A1 — measurement lamp and the “cold spot” of a fluorescent lamp, the coolest point of the tube that determines the mercury vapour pressure. Coordinate system (4.1): spherical, centred on the photometric centre; the planes have one common line of intersection (the polar axis) and a direction is defined by two angles; the orientation of axes 1 and 2 is defined by the manufacturer or the laboratory, axis 3 is perpendicular to them; axis 1 is usually perpendicular to the luminous surface and its relationship to a mechanical feature of the luminaire shall be stated. Plane systems (4.2.1): CIE knows three — A, B and C; A is omitted, C is the recommended standard, B is used among others for floodlights; two half-planes differing by 180° form one mathematical plane. B planes (4.2.2): polar axis through the photometric centre parallel to axis 2, planes Bx from −180° to +180°, angle β from −90° to +90°; the system is fixed to the luminaire (tilts with it); axis 1 lies in B0 at β = 0°; conventions for choosing axes for floodlights (axis 2 parallel to the tilt axis), luminaires with linear lamps (lamp axis = axis 3, transverse plane in B0) and others (maximum intensity in B0, or B0/B180 as the plane of highest symmetry). C planes (4.2.3): vertical polar axis through the photometric centre (when tilted it need not coincide with axis 1), planes Cx from 0° to 360°, angle γ from 0° to 180°, γ = 0° at nadir; the system is fixed in space and does not follow the tilt of the luminaire, so the tilt angle shall be stated; in road lighting the C0/C180 planes are usually parallel to the road axis (this does not apply to luminaires with linear lamps mounted along the road). Conversions (4.2.4, Table 1): between the angles B, β and C, γ — only at zero tilt in the C system; in some countries the B system was called A — the standard does not recommend this. Test conditions (5): the aim is to measure the luminaire characteristics under conditions comparable between laboratories and as close as possible to typical operating conditions (5.1); the photometer head shall receive only light from the luminaire — direct or with intended reflection — and stray light is limited according to Annex A (5.2.1); the test voltage equals the rated voltage of the lamp or of the circuit with control gear and is controlled according to Table 2 (5.2.2); the mean ambient temperature during the test of the source is (25 ± 1) °C unless Table 2 permits wider tolerances; if the rated flux of a fluorescent lamp is published for a temperature other than 25 °C, the laboratory applies a correction factor supplied by the lamp manufacturer; the temperature is measured at a horizontal distance not exceeding 1,5 m from the surface of the source with the lamps switched on; measurements made at another mean temperature have correction factors applied to the individual readings (5.2.3) — here the sample ends.

STATUS (PKN catalogue cards as of 02.10.2026). The card of PN-EN 13032-1+A1:2012 (English version, published 04-05-2012, 65 pages, price group V) has no “Withdrawn” heading: Electrical Sector, KT 4 Lighting Technology, ICS 17.180.20 and 29.140.01, “Introduces: EN 13032-1:2004+A1:2012 [IDT]”, “Replaces: PN-EN 13032-1:2010 – Polish version”. The card of PN-EN 13032-1:2010 (Polish version, 61 pages) has the “Withdrawn” heading: withdrawal date 04-05-2012, “Replaced by: PN-EN 13032-1+A1:2012 – English version”; it introduced EN 13032-1:2004 and EN 13032-1:2004/AC:2005 and itself replaced PN-EN 13032-1:2005 with corrigendum AC:2005 (English versions).

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database, data up to 17.09.2026, read 02.10.2026). The number 13032-1 appears in 46 records at 7 laboratories: AB 003, AB 022, AB 044, AB 128, AB 310, AB 1714, AB 1932. In the current scopes on the PCA website (read 02.10.2026, issues from 17.03.2023 to 08.09.2026) six laboratories give “PN-EN 13032-1+A1:2012” (AB 1714 with a space, “+A1: 2012”), AB 003 and AB 044 additionally “EN 13032-1:2004+A1:2012”, and AB 128 only the number “PN-EN 13032-1” without year. In none of the seven scopes are the lines with this number marked as suspended. The “Laboratories” tab (“PN-EN 13032-1”) shows 7 laboratories — checked with the tab query on the production server labcoda.pl on 02.10.2026.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (PCA entries). AB 003 — modules and luminaires: luminous intensity distribution (0–9 000 000) cd, luminous flux (0–500 000) lm, colour rendering index and correlated colour temperature. AB 044 — lamps and luminaires: measurement of photometric quantities. AB 128 — vehicle lighting and luminous devices supplied with direct or alternating voltage: photometric and spectral parameters. AB 310 — railway signalling devices: signal lamps (directional luminous intensity, useful beam angle δ0,5, chromaticity) and illuminated indicators (luminance). AB 1714 — portable, hand-held, outdoor, emergency, fixed, garden, road, ground-recessed luminaires, floodlights, night lights and LED modules: luminous flux (0–50 000) lm, luminance (0–500 000) cd/m², directional luminous intensity (0–50 000) cd, intensity distribution curve, luminous efficacy (calculated), colour temperature, chromaticity, illuminance and its uniformity. AB 1932 — luminaires, light sources and modules supplied with direct or alternating voltage: illuminance (0–9 000) lx, luminous flux (0–19 400) lm, directional luminous intensity (0–1 296 000) cd, luminance (0–400) cd/m², correlated colour temperature, chromaticity. At AB 022 the number appears in 19 blocks of reference documents shared by many characteristics — for incandescent, halogen, sodium and metal halide lamps, fluorescent lamps, luminaires, floodlights, emergency luminaires, the train head and tail signal, and also for medical electrical equipment; the layout of the table does not show which characteristic it corresponds to.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. Coordinate system: the orientation of axes 1 and 2 is chosen by the manufacturer or the laboratory, and the photometric centre and the relationship of axis 1 to a mechanical feature of the luminaire shall be stated (4.1, 3); without this the distribution cannot be reproduced. C planes: the system does not follow the tilt of the luminaire, so the tilt angle shall be stated; the conversion B, β ↔ C, γ from Table 1 holds only at zero tilt (4.2.3, 4.2.4). Names: the B system was sometimes called A — the standard does not recommend this (4.2.4). Relative data: data per 1 000 lm refer to the flux of lamps measured outside the luminaire with the same ballast (3). Temperature: (25 ± 1) °C, measured within 1,5 m of the source with the lamps switched on; a fluorescent lamp with rated flux published for another temperature needs the manufacturer’s factor (5.2.3). Edition: AB 128 gives the number without year — the entry does not show whether it is the edition with A1.

WHAT WE DO NOT STATE. We do not have 5.2.4–5.8, Clauses 6–8, Table 2 or Annexes A–F: voltage and frequency tolerances, requirements for air movement and stabilization, procedures for measuring intensity distribution, flux and luminance, the limiting photometric distance in numbers, requirements for goniophotometers, integrating spheres, illuminance meters and luminance meters, rules for estimating uncertainty, the structure of the CEN file or the treatment of T16 lamps and compact fluorescent lamps — so we do not state any of these numbers or procedures. Nor do we state whether parts 3, 4 and 6 of the series have since been published — the 2012 text only says they are in preparation.

Method principle

Photometric data of a lamp or luminaire (intensity distribution, flux, luminance) are measured in a spherical coordinate system centred on the photometric centre, with directions described by angles in the C plane system (C, γ — recommended) or the B system (B, β), under conditions comparable between laboratories: at rated voltage and a mean ambient temperature of (25 ± 1) °C, with stray light limited; relative data are given per 1 000 lm of lamp flux, and the results are written in the CEN file format for electronic exchange.

Applications

• Luminaires and lamps, LED modules — luminous intensity distribution, luminous flux, luminance, data for lighting design; 7 laboratories in PCA scopes
• Railway signalling devices and vehicle lighting — directional luminous intensity, luminance, chromaticity (AB 310, AB 128)
• Electronic exchange of luminaire photometric data in the CEN file format between manufacturers, laboratories and designers

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-EN 13032-1+A1:2012 (wersja angielska; EN 13032-1:2004+A1:2012 IDT)

Title (PL)

Światło i oświetlenie — Pomiar i prezentacja danych fotometrycznych lamp i opraw oświetleniowych — Część 1: Pomiar i format pliku

Title (EN)

Light and lighting — Measurement and presentation of photometric data of lamps and luminaires — Part 1: Measurement and file format

Step-by-step procedure

1. Coordinate system

   Determine and state the photometric centre, the orientation of axes 1, 2 and 3 and the relationship of axis 1 to a mechanical feature of the luminaire; choose the C plane system (recommended) or B (4.1, 4.2). PN-EN 13032-1+A1:2012 current (PKN cards as of 02.10.2026).

2. Conditions

   Rated voltage of the lamp or circuit with control gear according to Table 2; mean ambient temperature (25 ± 1) °C measured within 1,5 m of the source; stray light limited according to Annex A (5.2.1–5.2.3).

3. Measurement

   Intensity distribution, flux and luminance according to 5.4–5.8 and the requirements of Clause 6 — outside the part we read.

4. Corrections

   Manufacturer’s factor for a fluorescent lamp with rated flux published for a temperature other than 25 °C; corrections of readings at another mean temperature (5.2.3).

5. Data and file

   Relative data per 1 000 lm of lamp flux; recording in the CEN file format according to Clauses 7–8 and Annex D — outside the part we read.

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• In the part we read (Clauses 1–5.2.3) the standard gives no safety requirements

Frequently asked questions