Luminous efficacy 2026-10-14
The luminous efficacy of radiation is luminous flux divided by total radiant flux, in , for the specified visual conditions. For nonzero radiant flux, it is a spectral weighted mean of spectral luminous efficacy. Specify the denominator: a lamp's luminous efficacy relative to electrical input power also includes conversion losses and is a different ratio. [ref]
Spectral luminous efficacy 2026-10-14
Spectral luminous efficacy converts radiant flux at one wavelength to luminous flux. The candela convention fixes exactly at , not at an exactly specified wavelength of . [ref]
In vacuum, that frequency corresponds to , using the speed of light. In standard air it is approximately , close to the maximum of the photopic luminous efficiency function. Thus is slightly larger than ; using in ordinary calculations is a rounded convention. The exact anchor is . [ref]