Lighting Design

  

Don’t be fooled into thinking that home lighting is difficult, it isn't! 


A few hints, tips and trade secrets will have your lighting design looking good in no time. 


It is important to start thinking about a lighting scheme before you start shopping for lights. Nothing makes a room feel dated and unwelcoming like bad lighting. The first thing to know is that there are no set rules. Everyone has a different idea about what type of lights they like and the level of light that is pleasing to them.


1. Size Is Everything....

Consider the size of the room before doing anything. This may sound silly, but lots of people just don’t. Perhaps because we all remember the days when you just had a light bulb hanging in the middle of the room and that was that.


Some say a bare hanging bulb seemed to do the job. The bulb was probably a much brighter bulb than we have today. It may have been as much as a 150-watt bulb (now banned). Did it really do the job anyway?  We expect a little more from our lighting these days. The light fitting has become part of the decoration in the room and is not there just there to give light. Having said that, it is part of a light fitting's job description to provide light - so what job do you want it to provide for you.? How much light is need in the room?  


2.  Consider your room's paint colour too

  •  If the room is to be painted in dark colours you will also need to increase your light level as dark colours absorb light, whilst lighter colours help to reflect light. 
  •  If the ceiling is very high consider increasing the light level. A light fitting with more bulbs will help.  

3. What is colour temperature?

  • Colour  temperature is a way to describe the light appearance provided by a light  bulb (lamp). It is measured in degrees of Kelvin (K) on a scale from 1,000      to 10,000.
  • Typically,   commercial and residential lighting application Kelvin temperatures fall  somewhere on a scale from 2000K to 6500K.
  • A light bulb’s (lamp’s) colour temperature lets us know what the look and feel of   the light produced by the light fitting will look like.


   4. Colour Rendering Index CRI -         

 Can’t tell the difference between black and navy colours?

 Could it be that your current lighting source has a very low CRI! Not all light is made equal; some light renders colour better than others. Colour Rendering Index (CRI) is the measurement of how colours look under a light source when compared with sunlight. The index is measured from 0-100, with a perfect 100 indicating that colour under the light source appear the same as they would under natural sunlight.

  • Some down-lights have a higher lumens output but a lower CRI in the same model


5. Low Glare/high Glare down-lights 

  •  Glare is a by-product of luminaires which have excessive light spill and is considered to be visual pollution due to its detrimental effect on people.
  • Low Glare down-lights reduce glare and provide balanced, comfortable light by using a reflector, lens, or by recessing the luminaire giving a more pleasing light to the eye. 
  •  High Glare down-lights have a matte diffuser.  


6. Down light types/shapes

  • The most common size cut-out is 92mm but there is lots of other sizes out there.
  • Round or square, round down-lights are faster/easier to install as you do not need to get them in a lined up.
  • If it will be in the shower zone it will need an IP4x rating.
  • When you have a racked (angled) ceiling or need to light up a painting on the wall you will need down-lights with a gimble so you can angle the light.


 7. Deciding on lighting atmosphere and thinking about lighting layers 

  Ambient Lighting, Task Lighting, Feature Lighting, mood lighting 


Thanks for reading

 Bart Spurway


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