WHICH TYPE OF LIGHTING TO USE?
Inventing the light bulb was a huge milestone in our era. A new panorama was achieved in which the setting of the sun no longer meant there will be absolute darkness. This broke the barrier between day and night, sleep, and wakefulness. Before, almost all activity stopped at nightfall. It was not possible to continue with most of the tasks because of the lack of light, especially indoors. Little by little, we mastered the technique to bring light home. It ceased to be simply an instrument to overcome the darkness and became an element to handle at will.
Light is an essential component in any environment because it allows visualising our surroundings. Given the fact that light also interacts with objects, colours, and surfaces, it also influences the aesthetics and the way a person perceives the room and every element in it. Lighting design requires full comprehension of the space, the technologies, and the latest trends to create and produce certain glows and illumination effects and a lot of intuition and creativity to design them.
Good use of the latest technologies and the adequate use of energy to minimise ecological impact are also a plus, not to mention the costs and expenses of each kind of lighting.
THREE TYPES OF LIGHTING
Today we have a wide range of varieties, designs, and types of light for any specific need. Being an expert in decoration isn’t mandatory when we’re about to design the illumination of a project; you need to understand the three types of illumination you can use, in which space and within what budget because lighting can make or break the perfect living room or bedroom. The perfect lighting design in a space is achieved by layering the three types of lighting.
First layer: Ambient Lighting
Also known as general lighting, this type of illumination is the most basic kind to simply provide visibility to a room without a specific direction. They are two kinds of general lighting: natural light, which comes from windows or ceiling skylights is a very valuable source because of its positive impact and helps reduce electricity expenses. On the other hand, we have artificial lighting. This is the kind of light we can manipulate to suit our needs. General artificial lighting has two kinds of sources which could be down-lights or up-lights:
Down-lights project light towards the floor from a higher point like the ceiling or a wall, bouncing on walls and furniture to create a multiplying effect — even if we don’t want to. Chandeliers, track lights, ceiling and wall fixtures are examples of down-light luminaries.
Up-lights point straight towards the ceiling, creating a soft an indirect glow in a room as it bounces on the walls and ceiling. Floor embedded lamps and wall sconces are a great example of up-light fixtures.
To manipulate the mood of an environment, there are control and automation systems based on an intelligent network that allows the definition of different atmospheres from a device at the tip of your fingers. This is an excellent option for social areas and bedroom because it allows the user to create a more cosy and dimmed light depending on the occasion.
The second layer: Task lighting
Some activities require a directed light to have better visibility and control of the task at hand. Cooking, reading, and studying are examples of tasks that need a more intense and bright light. Task lighting should be up to three times brighter than the general lighting, preferably using non-heating light bulbs. Though overly bright task lights can be a burden to your eyes.
Common task lights are track lights, pendants, under-cabinet lighting strips or embedded lights amongst others.
The third layer: Accent lighting
This kind of light is used to emphasise, draw attention to a specific area within a space. It usually is placed facing architectural features, paintings, or sculptures. Just as the task lighting, the power of the light bulb shouldn’t be more than three times the surrounding general light.
The focus point determines the position and placement of this type of light. The rule of thumb is to place the light at a 30-degree angle towards the focus point to cast dramatic shadows, prevent glares and hot spots.
Architecture and lighting design always go hand in hand. The way the luminaries are arranged in a space always has a why and a reason behind its layout. It is essential to use light as an emphasising element to highlight the areas and objects that have a starring role, leaving with less intensity or shadow those that are in the background to create contrast and avoid an excessively bright space.
Common accent lights are directed track or recessed lights can light, chandeliers with dimmers.
To achieve the perfect lighting design, first, make a list of the activities that take place in a room, keeping in mind the decoration of its interior. These aspects determine the positioning, amount, and types of lights to use so that every activity can be performed comfortably and achieve a striking environment.
OTHER FACTORS TO CONSIDER
Lighting efficiency
With more lighting comes more expense, therefore it has become a popular necessity to use efficient energy savers and follow the breakthroughs in technology that help reduce these costs without sacrificing the quality of the light.
A simple dimmer switch can allow one to have a space that plays with the light. In moments of romantic moods the lights can be dimmed and when entertaining large numbers the light can be brightened to its peak. This useful switch allows one to be economical without having to invest in multiple lights and the other most ideal option, used in a variety of forms in many peoples homes is the LEDs. Known for the advantages they offer (Low energy consumption, higher performance, reduced size, no mercury, reduced heat emission, no magnetic fields, very short turn-on time, a variety of colours). However, often its high cost may limit the use of them but this investment is remunerated when we receive the electric bill.
Colour of light
As a rule of thumb in lighting, for an object to have enhanced colour, the light should contain that colour. In this sense, we suggest the following recommendations: use warm colours to illuminate surfaces where there is a lot of red, sepia, amber and yellow; and cool colours to illuminate surfaces of blue or green shades.
Warm-yellow bulbs are best suited for residential use, especially in social areas and bedrooms, while cool-white bulbs can be used in the bathroom or kitchen for better visibility. The combinations of light colours and their tonal quality are basic principles to consider when doing a good job of lighting.