Environmental concerns and power efficiency point to increased use of power
efficient lamps. Different manufacturers and price targets produce a wide range of
light outputs, varying in intensity and spectral distribution. This type of apparatus
also presents a non-linear load to the electric power supply, introducing some
problems that should be taken in consideration and corrected as much as possible.
To be able to measure light quality, we propose a technique that uses a
conventional digital photographic camera and a set of colour-reference reflective
cards. By analysis of the obtained images, a colour quality index can be computed
and used to compare different type of lamps. The calibration of the set-up is crucial
for the approach and some problems need to be solved for the reliability of the
method.This work is being conducted at Algoritmi Research Centre, University of Minho and sponsored by FCT- Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal
