The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standard pertaining to perimeter protection states that critical areas should be illuminated eight feet high with at least two foot-candles.
It can also be referred to as illuminating to a height of eight feet, with a BRIGHTNESS of two foot-candles.
One footcandle ≈ 10.764 lux. The footcandle (or lumen per square foot) is a non-SI unit of illuminance. Like the BTU, it is obsolete but it is still in fairly common use in the United States, particularly in construction-related engineering and in building codes. Because lux and footcandles are different units of the same quantity, it is perfectly valid to convert footcandles to lux and vice versa.
The name “footcandle” conveys “the illuminance cast on a surface by a one-candela source one foot away.” As natural as this sounds, this style of name is now frowned upon, because the dimensional formula for the unit is not foot • candela, but lumens per square foot.
Some sources do however note that the “lux” can be thought of as a “metre-candle” (i.e. the illuminance cast on a surface by a one-candela source one meter away). A source that is farther away casts less illumination than one that is close, so one lux is less illuminance than one footcandle. Since illuminance follows the inverse-square law, and since one foot = 0.3048 m, one lux = 0.30482 footcandle ≈ 1/10.764 footcandle.
TIPS FROM CLEMENT: Illuminance (light level) – The amount of light, measured in foot-candles (US unit), that falls n a surface, either horizontal or vertical.
Parking lots lighting needs to be an average of 2 foot candles; uniformity of not more than 3:1, no area less than 1 fc.
All illuminance measurements are to be made on the horizontal plane with a certified light meter calibrated to NIST standards using traceable light sources.
The CISSP Exam Cram 2 from Michael Gregg says: Lighting is a commonly used form of perimeter protection.
Some studies have found that up to 80% of criminal acts at businesses and shopping centers happen in adjacent parking lots. Therefore, it’s easy to see why lighting can be such an important concern.
Outside lighting discourages prowlers and thieves. The National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST) states that, for effective perimeter control, buildings should be illuminated 8 feet high, with 2-foot candle power.
Reference used for this question:
HARRIS, Shon, All-In-One CISSP Certification Exam Guide, McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2001, Page 325. and Shon’s AIO v5 pg 459 and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot-candle