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To develop a basic lighting design plan, the following steps are
recommended.
- Decide whether the room will be
"designed", or whether ordinary or utility lighting is adequate.
- Decide upon the style and décor
of the room.
- Choose your decorative lighting
and decide where it goes.
- Locate your tasks and illuminate
them.
- Locate the displays and
illuminate them.
- Determine if additional ambient
lighting is needed.
- Prepare and make lighting
calculations as a check and balance.
- Add switching and dimming as
needed to control the lighting.
For many spaces, such as garages and closets, a simple lighting
solution is the most appropriate one. In storage rooms, basements,
and other places, basic lighting may be all that is needed. These
are excellent opportunities for energy efficient lighting
fixtures, especially if lights are left on for extended periods of
time during the day. Choose a light that is right for the room and
the style.
If the room is a living space, dining room,
kitchen or other finished space that is likely to have lighting
design elements, then move on to steps 2-6.
A lighting design begins with architecture, style and décor. Some
things just look right, feel right, and fit well with the overall
design of the room. Decorative lighting such as chandeliers,
sconces, and table lamps are part of our culture, and they provide
at least some portion of the light needed for certain tasks.
As a general rule, designers should choose the decorative lighting
that fits the space. Traditional locations include a chandelier
over the dining room table, a pendant light over the breakfast
table, a lamp on a side table in the living room or a lantern by
the front door. Keep in mind that other lighting may also be
needed (to illuminate tasks or displays), but due to the important
role that decorative lighting plays, it comes first.
If the decorative lighting does not sufficiently illuminate a
task, provide "task lighting". Two of the most common task lights
are recessed downlights and undercabinet lights.
Recessed downlights are located over task
locations, especially in the kitchen, bath, shower, or at a desk.
One recessed light may be all that is needed in a shower stall or
tub, but in a kitchen a group of downlights often provides more
flexible task lighting. It is best to locate downlights directly
over a task, but in the kitchen keep in mind that the downlight
will need to illuminate into the base cabinets as well, making
fixture locations over the center of the room equally important.
Undercabinet lights are used whenever there is an
overhead cabinet above a counter, such as in a kitchen, laundry
room or home office. Fluorescent undercabinet lights produce
significantly more light than incandescent strips and use much
less energy.
A specific type of task light fixture is used in
the bathroom, called a "vanity light". The purpose of this fixture
is to illuminate the face - allowing grooming, shaving and makeup.
There are a growing number of appealing fluorescent options
available to designers, and many choices of styles using ordinary
incandescent lamps. As a rule of thumb, provide 60 watts of
fluorescent light or 150 watts of incandescent light for every 5'
of sink or vanity width.
Some homes don't have displays, others have many. Determine
whether you want to highlight objects of art, memorabilia,
bookcases, or other things that you may wish to have stand out.
For many families, the fireplace mantel and the wall above the
mantel are primary locations for display items.
A popular accent lighting system is recessed
lighting and track lighting. Modern CFL technology can now be
effectively employed with this system. Paintings can be
illuminated with a warm tone CFL, using at least 23 watts.
As a rule of thumb, mount the light 21" from the
wall with an 8' ceiling, 27" from the wall with a 9' ceiling, 34"
from the wall with a 10' ceiling, and so on. One accent light will
illuminate anything from a small object (with a 10-15 degree
"spot" lamp) to a painting up to 3' wide (with a 35-35 degree
"flood" lamp). Add a second light for every 30-36" of width of the
object your lighting.
This step can often be the most difficult part of all. Even if
your design produces the right amount of light for each task and
display and you have sconces or chandeliers, there is sometimes
the chance that more "ambient" light is needed. Ambient light is
intentionally not very obvious, and as such it can be difficult to
determine when more is necessary. Often the best way to provide
ambient light is with hidden lights.
Ambient light is a primary concern in the kitchen,
where table lamps and floor lamps aren't welcome because they get
in the way. Some common ways to introduce ambient light in the
kitchen are:
- Fluorescent uplights atop
cabinets
- Central fluorescent lights on the
ceiling
- Wall sconces, especially those
with uplight
- Decorative lights with an open
top that place most of the light on the ceiling
In other rooms, such as bedrooms or living rooms,
ambient light can be introduced by portable lighting fixtures such
as torchieres, floor lamps or table lamps. As an alternative to
halogen torchieres there are now compact fluorescent torchieres.
These fluorescent torchieres generate good quality dimmable light
without the energy consumption and safety hazard of ordinary
halogen torchieres.
As a check in balance you can quickly assess whether you have the
right amount of light using the following formulas:
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