Lighting is one key element for your home. Lights give life, color, meaning, and safety for any home. Your home lighting needs to serve for a purpose; that is why the amount of illumination is vital. In line with protection in lighting devices, it is essential to have quality resistors. Lighting can be beautiful but can wipe out your dreams by a single accident that could have been avoided.
Lighting is a significant design element for a home. Lights can also express a statement. The spectrum can influence the overall look of the entire house.
When buying lights for your home, it is essential to consider the types of lighting your home will be needing.
Ambient Lighting
It is the primary source of lighting in the main room. Typically, these come from the overhead fixtures. The purpose of ambient lighting is basically to illuminate the room. Usually, a home builder or contractor is the one that chooses the location of the ambient lights.
To ensure that a specific room is receiving the right amount of light, you need to measure the “foot-candles.” The foot-candle is measuring how bright a light is set one-foot away from the source. Each spot of your home has its different foot-candle requirement.
The following are recommendations for you to consider:
- Kitchen sink, kitchen oven, and bathroom must be at 70-80 foot-candles
- The dining room and kitchen, in general, must be at 30-40 foot-candles
- Living room, family room, bedrooms, and hallways must be at 20 foot-candles
The measurement of foot-candle shall then be translated to lumens or watts. To convert, multiply the recommended foot-candles by the square footage of the area.
- 450 lumens = 40W
- 800 lumens = 60W
- 1100 lumens = 75W
Task Lighting
Task lights are for spots that specific activities are happening. For example, a bedside would need sufficient lighting for reading. Under-cabinet lighting has a different requirement that the goose lamp desktop is where you need to do some school homework.
Accent Lighting
Accent lighting will play the decorative function for your house. The purpose is to draw attention, such as architectural or decoration. Sample spots are the fireplace, work of art, staircase, and bookshelf. Accordingly, neon signs make fantastic accent lights. For instance, a neon astronaut light would look highly impressive in a space-themed room.
Room-Specific Lighting that you should consider
- Kitchen Island Lighting
Whether you use your kitchen for seating, storage, or cooking session, you will need the right illumination. In the space of 24”-36” of the kitchen island, you will need two to three lights. The height of the pendant of the countertop is essential. Pendants can also cause some obstruction when you are working on the island. Pendant light should be at 32”-4-“ above the island.
- Entryway Lighting
The appropriate light is vital to a grand entrance. In huge spots, large chandeliers or statement pendants will work. If you are placing a chandelier, make sure that the bottom of the light should be level or higher than the second flooring. When knowing the right size of the corona, get the length and width of your entryway then convert to inches. If the entryway is a bit small, consider a 6’ x 6’ breezeway.
- Dining Room Table Lighting
The light fixture must be proportionate to the dining table. You better consider an installation that is ⅔ – ¾ of the size of the table’s length (or diameter, if the table is round) When hanging, it must be at the bottom of the fixture that sits 30” – 34” above the table.
