Lighting your home is a huge part of creating the right ambience. If the room is too bright or dark it can be very off putting. I am no expert in this subject but I thought I would collect some basic information for us all to use as a guide. I always recommend to my clients to use a lighting consultant. Most lighting stores will do this for free when you purchase a certain amount of lights from them.
Types of light:
Task lighting is mainly functional and is usually the most concentrated, for purposes such as reading or inspection of materials.
Accent lighting is mainly decorative, intended to highlight pictures, plants, or other elements of interior design.
General lighting fills in between the two and is intended for general illumination of an area.
Types of globes:
Incandescent-Old style round bulbs, filament based. These have now been phased out
Halogen- Brighter, more efficient but run very hot and tend not to last too long compared to other styles.
Some are 240 volt and can run straight off normal power, but many are 12 Volt and require a transformer which tends to come in a kit. 12V can actually be brighter and often last longer than 240V.
Lifetime: 2000 to 5000 hours
Fluorescent-compact fluorescent (CFL) fit the standard incandescent fittings.
The other variety is the dedicated fitting fluorescent globes which are typically used in commercial environments.
Most importantly they are very energy efficient-Lifetime: 10 000 to 15 000 hours
LED-the newest globes on the market and once again very energy efficient.
How much light do you need:
Lighting consultants use a complex formula involving the lumens and lux from the globe but as a general guide to provide suitable light for living rooms and bedrooms, it's recommended that you use around 15w per square metre for incandescent lamps, four times this amount in kitchens and study areas and twice this for dining areas, bathrooms and reading areas. Fluorescent lamps are more efficient than incandescent globes, so if you are using this type of lighting you can take around 25 percent off these recommended values.
HINTS
Use two-way switches and place them at the main exits of each room
to encourage people to switch off lights when leaving rooms.
Avoid having several lights activated by one switch – use separate
switches for each light.
Use task or special purpose lighting to supplement general lighting
where ever possible.
I hope this is of some help.
If you have any other tips we would love to hear them
Lighting your Home
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