Do you know how many lights you need in your space? Do you know about the right intensity of light that’s best for your eyes as well as your room? If you are confused about these questions, then you need to know about different types of lightings. You should calculate the number of lights that fit best in your space.
Every person has different opinions regarding the illumination in an area. Sometimes, you cannot place enough lights, and your room still looks dark. Consider different places for installing the lights so the brightness can equally distribute everywhere. The amount and intensity of light in a room depends on the space.
If you want to install some lights in your house, you must consider the type of room and lights that suit it. There is a wide range of lights that will illuminate your space brightly and make it look more comfortable for your eyes. In the following article, we will discuss different types of lighting and how much light you need to brighten your room.
Different Types of Lights for Different Room Spaces
Whenever you visit the lighting store or section, you will observe that there are different types of lighting to decorate different room spaces. Here is the list of lighting types.
Task Lighting
If you want to accomplish any task in good light, then you must go for task lighting. These lights are helpful for reading, cooking, office work, school homework, grooming yourself, and more. It is easy to see and concentrate on things carefully with these lights. Such lights generally look like pendant lights, table lamps, or under-cabinet lighting.
Natural Lighting
We get natural light from the sun, which can lighten your room through windows, doors, or skylights. You can install these lights with adjustable brightness. You can modify according to your mood, weather, and other occasions.
Ambient Lighting
It is like general lighting, which consists of illuminations like soffit, track, recessed, chandeliers, sconces, and pendant lights.
Accent Lighting
You can use this lighting when you have to focus on a single area or an object. These lights are three times as bright as compared to ambient lighting. If you are looking to place a small object under bright and clear light, then accent lighting is a must in your room.
What is the Formula to Calculate the Lighting for the Room or Area?
You need to consider the dimensions of the room before calculating the amount of light required. Here is the formula for calculating the needed light in your space.
Power Wattage to Brighten Up Your Room = Length of the Room x Width of the Room x 1.5
You can understand the above formula through a simple example. Suppose the length of your room is 16 feet, and the width is 12 feet. You need to multiply the length and width by 1.5. You will get 288 Watts. The light with this much power wattage is required in your room to light it adequately. You can install two lamps of 150 Watts. The light will be equally distributed to all the corners of the space.
What are the Different ways to Illuminate the Space?
Generally, you can choose between two options to illuminate your rooms. One is to install more light sources, and the other one is to install brighter lamps. You may prefer to use more lights of less wattage instead of few ones with high wattage. The main reason to avoid more fluorescent bulbs is that it can harm or cause eye strain.
You should not compromise your health to get a better lighting effect in your home. Before buying the lights for space, check the number of sockets on the fixture, and consider the lumen count. For instance, five sockets that are installed with bulbs of 800 lumens can produce 4000 lumens. If you find it not enough for your room, you must get a fixture with more sockets.
How to Determine the Lumens of Lights Required in Your Space?
The brightness of the light is measured in lumens. It is calculated by considering the amount of emitting light from the source. There is a formula to get an estimation of lumens required in a space. You have to multiply the square footage of the room (length of the room x width of the room) by the number of foot-candles (Number of lumens required to cast the area of one square foot).
How to Determine the Amount of Lighting in Different Places?
Your house consists of many rooms and spaces. It is essential to install lights in every corner to get adequate light in the dark. You have to consider all the areas from your house’s entry to your kitchen. You have to decorate every room with different types of lights. Let us consider every kind of space and check how much light is required to attain enough brightness.
House Entry
It is not necessary to have a bright light in the entry space. Make sure that it should be fancy and look like a decorative piece. When any person enters your house, they should find it attractive and appealing. The decorative piece will make your home entrance more beautiful. You can try a chandelier or a hanging ceiling light.
You must add the width and the height of the house entrance and then choose the chandelier with a diameter between the sum. For example, if the height and the foyer’s width are 12 and 18, then the sum is 30. The diameter of the hanging light should not exceed 30. You can quickly determine the power wattage with the formula mentioned above. If your entrance space is small, you should try small pendant lights, buffet lamps, wall sconces, etc.
Lobby and Staircase
The stairwell and lobby are the paths that need to be illuminated to reach from the source to destination. You can use pendant lighting to get sufficient light in that area. Make sure that you place the fixture in every 8 to 10 feet distance. Semi-flush and complete flush ceiling lights are also in trend. If you want to try a different or simple light, then you can use wall sconces. It will give a more simple and pleasant appearance than stylish pendant lights.
Dining Room and Kitchen
The place where you cook food must be bright enough to see everything. It is also essential that the lights do not emit heat. Task and general lighting are both excellent options. If you want to install pendant lighting, it should be quite above the surface to avoid catching fire. The lights should be bright and should not be hung near doors, shelves, cupboards, etc.
For example, let’s say the area of the counter is 60 inches in length. If you have three pendant lights, then divide the area by 3. Now, you should place the center pendant at a distance of 30 inches. The end pendants should be placed at 10 inches on one side and 50 inches to the opposite side.
When you are preparing your food, you should use under-counter or task lighting. Make sure that you pull the lights in the forward direction to the front side of the cabinet. In this way, you will get maximum illumination in your room. It helps in looking out for everything correctly and carefully.
If you have a separate dining room and kitchen, then you can install a chandelier, which should not be over ½ or ¾ in width to the diameter of the table. It will provide lighting capacity to a maximum of 150 watts.
Ensure that you hang the chandelier so that it should be 30 to 32 inches above the table. Remember to install a dimmer switch in the case of high wattage pendant lights or chandeliers. You can change the intensity of light easily.
Bath Lighting
In a bathroom, you can have two types of lighting, bright or soothing. Taking a shower gives peace to your mind, soul, and your body. You may need soft and soothing lights that help your body to relax. If you want to shave your hair, cut your nails, and other grooming tasks, you may need bright lights to do your jobs carefully.
The intensity of light depends on how it is designed. You can install sconces above mirrors to brighten your vanity or bathroom. There are different types of sconces available in the market. You can use whatever you like in places which require more light. These sconces are easy to mount on the wall. Make sure that the light size is proportionate to the mirror size.
You can also use overhead lighting if you have spa rooms by installing a chandelier. There will be the best combination of vanity lighting with chandeliers. Make sure that you add a dimmer switch to automate the intensity of light in your bathroom space according to your mood and preference.
Living Room
The living room is the main room in every house. Your family spends quality time in this room. It is the best place to watch TV, read books, welcome guests and play around. It is essential to have anti-glare lights to prevent reflection while watching TV. The room should be well-illuminated because everyone will come and sit here.
So, you have to be very specific about the lighting. You can calculate the amount of lighting in the room by using the wattage formula, as mentioned above. You have to ensure that there is an adequate intensity of light in the room. Try out installing lamps that are quite proportional to the tables for clear reading. It should have a 3-way switch to get different intensity lights.
Make sure that the bottom part of the lamp is placed at eye level. You can use overhead lights or another decorative accent lighting in your living room. It is easy to change the intensity of light by using a dimmer switch. You should place lights in such a way that it covers all the corners and provides equal light everywhere.
Home Office
A small office in your home requires an adequate amount of lighting. In this space, you might have to read some office documents or access the computer. The lights must be sufficiently bright so that they do not affect your eyes. You can consider desk lamps that should be placed 16 inches above the table.
It will help in completing your work efficiently. Ensure that the lights are anti-glare because its reflection on the computer screen will not let you see everything. You can also consider overhead lights if you want to get illumination on a focused area. A dimmer switch helps you in controlling the light intensity.
Bedrooms
Nowadays, many modern people prefer to have overhead lighting in their bedrooms. Try to get a decorative fixture for your bedroom that makes it look stylish. You can buy semi or complete flush mount fixtures and chandeliers, because this is a preferable choice for many individuals.
Adding a dimmer switch allows you to change the light setting according to your mood. Many people prefer reading before going to sleep. You can have an overhead light or side lamp to get sufficient illumination while reading. The lamp should not be more than 20 inches away from the bed. You can also install stylish sconces to read magazines in an adequate light.
The Bottom Line
Our houses consist of different rooms, and the lighting requirement is quite different in all the spaces. You can calculate the room area and determine the number of lumens and lights required to illuminate the space with sufficient light. Nowadays, it is essential to decorate your house with good-looking, effective, and brighter lights.
Your rooms must have the light of the right intensity. It will not only decorate your space but also provide enough light to accomplish your daily tasks efficiently. Consider using different lights in different rooms. You can also install lights with adjustable intensity according to your mood and preference. Start calculating and looking for the best suitable lights in your space.
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