Is it smart to use smartphones to measure illuminance for occupational health and safety purposes?

Abstract

This study reports on the accuracy of smartphone-based illuminance measurement applications and whether they may be employed for occupational lighting measurements. A sample of nine mobile phones on three platforms (Android, iOS and Windows) was assembled and 14 apps were selected for testing. Testing conditions comprised four pre-specified illuminance levels (300 lx, 500 lx, 750 lx and 1000 lx) accomplished with three light sources presenting different Correlated Color Temperatures (2700 K; 4000 K; 6500 K). The results reveal extremely variable and sometimes large deviations from the reference levels and suggest smartphones are not appropriate for use in occupational lighting assessments.