BHASL003C19: Advanced Diploma in Illumination Engineering & Lighting Design e-Learning Course  

International Day of Light Discount – Offer ends 31 May 2026 T’s & C’s apply

Regular Course Fee: USD1500.00  NOW 20% Off Course Fee: US$1200.00 – Pay in full and save US$300.00.

10% off all payment plans, pay over:

• 3 months: US$520.00 (Total US$1560.00) Now US$468.00 (Total US$1404)
• 6 months: US$270.00 (Total US$1620.00) Now US$243 (Total US$1458)
• 12 months: US$140.00 (Total US$1680.00) Now US$126 (Total US$1512)
• 24 months: US$75.00 (Total US$1800.00) Now US$67.50 (Total US$1620)

About: BHA School of Lighting’s Advanced Diploma in Illumination Engineering & Lighting Design course is regarded by build environment professionals as the premier e-learning lighting course in the world. The curriculum meets international standards and covers all aspects of illumination engineering including the history of lighting, light sources, lighting controls & systems, standards & compliance, interior & exterior lighting applications, lighting in the fourth industrial revolution, human-centric lighting, lighting design software and more. Scroll down for full course curriculum.

Academic Accreditation & Lighting Industry Recognition: BHA School of Lighting is an accredited online education provider and has satisfactorily met all the educational standards set by the European Association for Higher Education Advancement (EAHEA) regarding administrative responsibility, institutional integrity, and academic quality. The EAHEA is a non-governmental, independent, and globally recognised quality assurance body based in Europe. It provides international accreditation to universities, colleges, institutions, online learning centres, and corporations across more than 170 countries. For more EAHEA accreditation information click HERE. Additionally, BHA School of Lighting is recognised as an education provider by the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) Education Trust through its Learn2Light project.

COURSE INFORMATION

Qualification:  Advanced Diploma in Illumination Engineering & Lighting Design

Language: English

Duration: 24 Months e-Learning (Flexible start date, you decide when to begin your learning journey!)

CPD Credits: Students who are registered with SAIA, SAIAT & CESA may apply for CPD credits for part-time study.

Entry Criteria: Minimum National Senior Certificate (NSC) or High School Diploma/Matriculation Pass or international equivalent (Mathematics & Physical Science is advantageous, however not essential)

How to apply: Click the “ENROL NOW – APPLY HERE” button and complete the application form. Thereafter, a payment link and bank account details will be sent to you via email to process payment. Once payment has been received, your student account will be setup and you can immediately start your e-learning experience.

Additional Terms & Conditions: All course fees are non-refundable & if students overrun their 2 year study period to complete the course material, assignments & final exams, the cost per additional month of study is US$90.00.

VALUE ADD-ONS

Autodesk Product Value Add-Ons: As part of our commitment to professional readiness, BHA School of Lighting provides enrolled students with free access to two Autodesk software packages – AutoCAD (valued at USD2095 per year) and Revit (valued at USD3005 per year), which are two of the most widely used design tools in the architecture & engineering industries. This represents a total software value of $5100 USD per student.

Relux Desktop Third Party License Value Add-On: As part of our commitment to equipping students with practical skills in lighting design software, we are proud to partner with Relux. Through this collaboration, all students enrolled in this course will receive a Relux Third Party Licence for the full duration of their enrolment, valued at approximately $84 USD per student.

Join a Professional Lighting Institution: BHA School of Lighting is proud to be affiliated with the the International Association of Lighting Designers, the Institute of Lighting Professionals (UK), the Virtual Lighting Design Community , The Lighting Police, Women in Lighting and the Illumination Engineering Society of South Africa. All students who enrol for this course can apply for student membership at local & international professional lighting institutions & communities. By becoming a member you will gain access to network opportunities, workshops & more. More info about how you can join can be found here.

CURRICULUM

First Year

Module 1: Introduction: Nature of light, radiation, visible spectrum, production of the visible spectrum, the prism spectroscope, spectra of common light sources, spectral energy distribution diagrams, energy distribution diagrams, colour of light, polarisation, production and absorption of polarised light, polarisation of reflection, uses of polarisation.

Module 2: Production of Light: Forms of luminesence: 1.  Thermo-luminesence; 2. Electro-luminesence; 3.  Photo-luminesence; 4. Chemi-luminesence.

Module 3: Controlling Light: Absorption, transmission, reflection, factors of each, refraction, critical angle and total internal reflection, refraction by parallel-sided blocks and by prisms.

Module 4: Colour: Visible spectrum, colour mixing, colour rendition of light sources, colour matching, colour specification.

Module 5: Light and the Eye & The Phenomenon of Vision: Structure of the eye, defects of vision, accommodation, fixation, contrast, sensitivity, visibility curve, Purkinje effect, Adaptation, persistence of vision, glare, visual acuity, fatigue, contrast, speed of vision.

Module 6: Fundamental Photometry: Intensity Distribution Diagrams, Calculations: Photometric concepts, photometric definitions and units, relationship between units, photometric terms, primary standard of light, photometric laws, Classification of intensity distribution, polar curves, iso-candela diagrams, light flux calculations.

Module 7: Illumination Calculations: Point, line and surface sources, illumination diagrams. Students learn how to use the Lumen and Point Methods in order to calculate light levels.

Module 8: Photometry including the Integrating Sphere and the Goniophotometer: Basis of visual photometry, bench photometry, sub-standard lamps, photometer heads, screening, methods of use and measurement, calibration, measuring instruments.

Module 9: Incandescent Lamps: Types, construction, light and electrical qualities, luminance, effects of voltage variations.

Module 10: Discharge Lamps: Fluorescent tubes, construction, circuitry, operating conditions, effects of voltage variations; Basic theory, mercury vapour lamps, construction, circuitry, operating conditions, effects of voltage variations. Low pressure sodium lamps, construction, circuitry, operating conditions, effects of voltage variations; High pressure sodium lamps, construction, circuitry, operating conditions, effects of voltage variations; Metal halide lamps, construction, circuitry, operating conditions, effects of voltage variations.

Module 11: Daylight: Nature and variation factors in a room, specifications, recordings, determination of daylight and sky factors.

Module 12: LED: Introduction to LEDs: LED fundamentals, reliability of LEDs and LED luminaire reliability, important aspects affecting LED performance and lifespan, international standards and testing methodology.

Module 13: Lighting Materials: Methods of light control, absorbing materials, reflecting materials, refracting materials, luminaire construction.

Module 14: Standards and Compliance:

International Lighting Standards:

1. EN 12464-1: 2021: Light and Lighting: Lighting of work places: Part 1: Indoor work places
2. EN 12464-2: 2014: Light and Lighting: Lighting of work places: Part 1: Outdoor work places
3. EN 13201-1:2014: Road lighting- Part 1: Guidelines on selection of lighting classes
4. IS 3217: 2013: + A1: 2017: Emergency Lighting and Amendment 1: 2017

Other standards:

1. BS 5489-1: 2020: Design of road lighting: Part 1: Lighting of roads and public amenity areas: Code of Practice 18
2. Occupational Health and Safety Act, Act 85 of 1993 as 18
3. Environmental Regulations for 18
4. SANS 204: 2011: Energy efficiency in 18
5. SANS 10400: 2011: South African National Building Regulations, however, the various sub parts of this standard have more recent editions such as SANS 10400:T: 2024: Fire Prevention. 21
6. Chapter 4: IES TM-24-13: A system to take spectral performance of luminaires and light sources into account.
7. Chapter 5: CIE Position Statement, Directive and Toolbox : Non-visual Effects of Light
8. SANS 10098-1: 2011: Ed 1: Public lighting: Part 1: The lighting of public thoroughfares
9. Emergency lighting – IS 3217:1:2017.
10. What does OHS say about emergency lighting?
11. What does SANS 10400-T: 2024 say about emergency lighting?
12. A closer look at what SANS 10114-2: 2020: Ed 2: Interior lighting: Part2: Emergency Lighting.

Module 15: Interior Lighting Applications: Task analysis, design methods, average illumination, point-by-point calculations, light distributions, direct vs indirect lighting, lighting levels (SANS, OHSA, LEED, WELL and Green Building Council), uniformity, glare calculations, office, commercial, industrial, education, domestic, geriatric care, health care, lighting for hazardous environments, display, visual display units.  The learning module consists of 6 volumes, each dealing with specific interior lighting applications in detail.

Module 16: Exterior Lighting: Street lighting, SABS 095, arterial routes, pedestrian and residential areas, Floodlighting for sports, work areas, security, decorative floodlighting, parks, statues, water features.

Module 17: Over-Illumination: Definition, historical evolution of over-illumination practise, examples of over-illumination, guidelines to correct over-illumination in existing installations.

Module 18: Light Pollution: Definition, historical evolution of light pollution practise, examples of light pollution, guidelines to correct light pollution in existing installations and good practice and considerations in outdoor lighting.

Second Year

Module 19: The Fourth Industrial Revolution: The various past “revolutions” will be examined so that they can be placed in the development periods then the precise meaning and interpretation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution will be examined to identify how lighting will not only be affected but more specifically to examine the roles that it will play.

Module 20: The Internet of Things (IoT): This fascinating subject will be examined in order to understand how and where lighting plays a role.  You will be astounded to discover how long this has been happening for and how far this technology and specifically lighting in the world of IoT has come.

Module 21: Power over Ethernet (PoE): In this module students will learn what about the technology, the components in the architecture of the system, the types of Ethernet cable and their limitations for lighting, the benefits of PoE including installation costs and much more.

Module 22: Visible Light Communication (VLC): Students will learn about the different systems that can be used in this module which include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Li-Fi, the system architecture, smart device applications and various applications which would benefit from using VLC and more.

Module 23: Indoor Positioning Systems (IPS): Students will learn about the system architecture which includes Bluetooth Beacons, Radio Frequency Identity (RFID) tagging, smart device applications and the various applications which would benefit from using IPS and more.

Module 24: Bluetooth Mesh: This amazing relatively new system (only conceived in 2015 and first adopted on 13 July 2017 and only started to take-off in 2018).  Learn what Bluetooth mesh is, how it can be used with lighting, how to install the technology, what is required in the luminaires, smart device applications to set up the system, how entire multi-storey buildings AND neighbouring buildings owned or occupied by the same company or organisation can all use the same single system.

Module 25: Lighting Control Systems: These will include DALI, DALI 2, DMX 512, KNX, LONWORKS, and of Course Bluetooth Mesh (BM).  Students will learn about each system, the benefits and limitations, how best to implement the system within the lighting design, when and how the system can or cannot be used for other essential system controls within the building as a whole.

Module 26: Human-Centric Lighting (HCL): What is human centric lighting, how can it benefit the occupants and the operators of the location?  How HCL can be used in hospitals, geriatric care facilities, education and the work place.

Module 27: Lighting Design Philosophy and Systematic route to Best Lighting Practice: Guidelines and systems evolved from years of practical experience.

Module 28: Part 1: Lighting Design Software: First Revision of manual calculation methods includes those learnt in Module 7 and additional new methods.  Students will prepare a lighting design for an entire shopping centre using manual lighting calculations.

Module 28: Part 2: Computer-aided Lighting Design: Includes the pitfalls and blind acceptance of Results

Module 28: Part 3: Practical Lighting Design using ReluxDesktop:  This module consists of 3 sets of exercises for indoor applications and 1 set of exercises entirely for exterior applications including street, flood lighting, parking areas and more.  Even seasoned professional users have been astounded at the new heights that they have attained after completing this course. The training manuals have been developed and written by BHA School of Lighting. You will learn how to incorporate IES TM-24-13 into your Relux lighting designs & how to include elements for lighting design for interior applications.  You will be challenged with some advanced lighting designs both in the interior and exterior spaces.

Module 28: Part 4: RELUX Desktop: In this module you will be introduced to Relux Desktop, learn how to incorporate IES TM-24-13 into your Relux lighting designs.

Module 29: Economics: Lighting energy audits, cost analysis, capital, installation, maintenance, energy, interest, assessments.

Module 30: Our parting gift to graduates.

END OF COURSE CURRICULUM

AT THE END OF THE FIRST YEAR, IN THE TWELFTH MONTH OF THE STUDY YEAR OF THE INDIVIDUAL STUDENT, BOTH THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL EXAMINATIONS ARE WRITTEN. THE DURATION OF EACH OF THE TWO THEORETICAL EXAMINATIONS, IS 5 HOURS EACH. THE DURATION OF THE PRACTICAL EXAMINATION IS 5 HOURS.

AT THE END OF THE  SECOND YEAR, IN THE TWENTY FOURTH MONTH OF THE STUDY YEAR OF THE INDIVIDUAL STUDENT, BOTH THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL EXAMINATIONS ARE WRITTEN. THE DURATION OF EACH OF THE THEORETICAL & PRACTICAL EXAMINATIONS, IS 8 HOURS EACH.