Learning Center Basics

Lighting can make a difference

Lighting can make a big difference in how you feel about your home. It helps you perform tasks more easily, makes you feel safer and more comfortable, and allows you to enjoy your home to its full potential. Lighting adds beauty and drama to a room. It can make a small room look open and airy, and a large room appear cozy and inviting. It can create a stimulating atmosphere for a night of entertaining, or a quiet feeling of relaxation after a long, tiring day. In so many ways, lighting can make a difference. And, it does so inexpensively compared to other home decorating or remodeling options.

Determining your needs

Lighting should be planned to complement your lifestyle. So, first you need to develop a home lighting plan that suits your individual needs and those of your family. When planning your lighting, look at the activities that occur in each room, the atmosphere you want to create and the decorative elements you wish to emphasize. Keep in mind that light can be absorbed and even wasted in dark-colored rooms, or reflected and used as additional illumination in light-colored rooms. Also, take note of those areas serving more than a single purpose and those that will require more than one type of lighting.

The fundamentals

There are three basic types of lighting that work together to light your home as well as add general ambiance to your living areas.........

1) General 2) Task and 3) Accent

A good lighting plan combines all three types to light an area, according to function and style.

General Lighting

General Lighting provides an area with overall illumination. Also known as ambient lighting, general lighting radiates a comfortable level of brightness, enabling one to see and walk about safely. It can be accomplished with chandeliers, ceiling or wall-mounted fixtures, recessed or track lights, and with lanterns outside your home. A basic form of lighting that replaces sunlight, general lighting is fundamental to a lighting plan.

	Task Lighting
	Task lighting helps you perform specific tasks such as reading, sewing, cooking, homework, hobbies, games, or balancing your checkbook. It can be provided by recessed and track lighting, pendant lighting, and portable lamps. Task lighting should be free of distracting glare and shadows and should be bright enough to prevent eyestrain.

Accent Lighting

Accent Lighting adds drama by creating visual interest. As part of a decorating theme, it is used to spotlight paintings, houseplants and other feature items, or to highlight wall texture, drapery or outdoor landscaping. Accent lighting requires at least three times as much light on the focal point as the general lighting around it. This usually is provided by track, recessed, or wall-mounted fixtures.

THE SHAPES & FORMS OF LIGHTING

Once you've selected what you want to light, you'll have to decide how you're going to light it. Thereare many different styles, sizes and shapes of lighting fixtures that are available to deliver thegeneral, task, and accent light you need.

	Hall/Foyer Fixtures
	Hall/Foyer Fixtures can create a congenial atmosphere, while providing you with the general lighting you need to greet guests and assure safe passage into other areas of your home. Use ceiling, chain-hung, or close-to-ceiling fixtures in hallways, stairways, and entranceways.

Chandeliers

Chandeliers can add sparkle and style to your dining room while giving you the general lighting you need for dining and entertaining. They are also used in bedrooms, foyers, or over a living room grouping or a grand piano. Some are designed with downlights to provide task lighting for homework or table games, or to accent table settings.Chandeliers are available in both incandescent and tungsten-halogen light sources. The addition of a dimmer control lets you alter the intensity of light to suit the moodand activity.

	Pendants
	Pendants can provide both task and general lighting. Equipped with shades or globes to avoid glare, they are suspended from the ceiling over dinette tables, game tables, kitchen counters, or other work areas. When used over end or night tables, they free up the space occupied bytable lamps. The use of a dimmer control gives you theflexibility to vary the light.

	Ceiling Fixtures
	Ceiling Fixtures usually provide general lighting. They are practical in busy areas such as foyers, hallways, bedrooms,kitchens, baths, laundry rooms, playrooms, and dens. Theyare available with incandescent, fluorescent, and energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.

	Wall-Mounted Fixtures
	Wall-Mounted Fixtures can furnish general, task, and accent lighting. Many are designed to match and supplement dining room chandeliers, or to provide hallway, bedroom, or living room lighting. Wall brackets are often used for task lighting at the bathroom mirror. They are available with a choice of incandescent, tungsten-halogen, and energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.

Bath/Vanity Lighting Strips

Portable Lamps can deliver general, task, and accentlighting, while giving you the flexibility to move the lightwhenever you want. Table lamps, floor lamps, and torchiers are available in a variety of styles to complement yourdecor. Small specialty lamps, such as clip-on lights, uplightcans, adjustable task lights, mini-reflector spotlights, deskand piano lamps fill a variety of task and accent light needs.These lamps are available with incandescent, tungsten-halogen, and energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.

Portable Lamps

Track Lighting

Track Lighting can provide general, task, or accent lighting all at once in one flexible lighting system. You can move,swivel, rotate, and aim the individual fixtures in anydirection along the track, giving you the versatility tochange your lighting scheme when the need arises. You can also hang chandeliers and pendants from the track. Track fixtures are available in standard or low-voltage current, and a choice of incandescent, tungsten-halogen, and energy-efficient compact fluorescent light sources.

Recessed Lighting

Recessed Lighting can provide general, task, or accentlighting inconspicuously. Installed in the ceiling with only the trim showing, recessed fixtures can be used anywhere in the home, including outdoors under eaves. They are ideal for low-ceiling areas, and with a special adapter they can also be used in cathedral ceilings. They are available as downlights, adjustable accent lights, and wall washers in both standard and low-voltage current and a choice of incandescent, tungsten-halogen, and energy-efficient compact fluorescents

	Undercabinet/ Undershelf Fixtures
	Undercabinet/ Undershelf Fixtures offer both task and accent lighting. Under kitchen cabinets they light acountertop. In a display cabinet they show off prizedpossessions. They're used in a workshop or anywhere you need lighting right at hand. They include slim, energy-efficient fluorescents, miniature track lighting, and strips oflow-voltage mini-lights.

LIGHTING CONTROLS

Lighting controls give you the flexibility to design a lighting plan with multiple uses and decorative effects. With the touch of a button, today's sophisticated dimming systems enable you to:

Lower light level to conserve energy and increase bulb life.
Vary the mood of a room.
Alter the intensity of the light to suit the activity.
Create and save a number of different lighting scenes in each room.
Lighting controls should be an integral part of the lighting design of each room. There are four basic type of controls.

	Rotary dimmers
	Rotary dimmers provide full-range, manual dimming control. Some are equipped with a push-button operation that allows you to turn the light on and off and return to the previous lighting level.

	Slide dimmers
	Slide dimmers provide full-range, manual dimming control. Some are equipped with a touch-button that allows you to return to the previous lighting level. Others have an indicator light that glows in the dark for easy location.

	T ouch dimmers
	Touch dimmers allow you to vary the intensity of thelighting while depressing a button. These systems permit one-touch recall of the previous lighting level. Some are equipped with indicator lights that provide a continual readout of the lighting intensity.

	Integrated dimming systems
	Integrated dimming systems allow you to create multiplepreset lighting scenes within a room. Scenes can be recalled with the touch of a button from a single wall box or with hand held wireless remote controls.

LIGHT SOURCES

The performance of any light fixture depends very much on the light source (bulb) used. Different sources produce different effects. Light is measured in the following terms ........

Light Source (Bulb) efficiency measurement
Wattage: The amount of electricity used or consumed by a bulb. Electric lighting burns up to 25% of the average home energy budget. CFL bulbs of lower wattage offer efficiency and lower energy costs.	Footcandles: The amount of light reaching a subject. This can be thought of as the amount of light that actually falls on a given surface. One foot-candle is equal to one lumen per square foot.
Lumens: The amount of light that a bulb produces. A standard North American 100 watt incandescent light bulb emits approximately 1700 lumens, while a 23-28 watt Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) emits about the same 1700 lumens. This makes CFL a growing choice in todays energy conscious world.	Kelvins: Standard unit for color temperature and in simple terms, bulbs with a lower "K rating" have a low color temperature providing warmer (more yellow/red) light while bulbs with a higher "K rating" have a high color temperature providing a cooler (more blue) light. For ambiance lean more towards the warm colours. For utility areas, you may prefer a cooler brighter light.

Types of Bulbs

There are four basic classes of bulbs:
a) Incandescent: These are the standard residential bulb of choice for many years
b) Fluorescent: Recent advancement has brought them to residential prominence as CFL's
(Compact Fluorescent Lamp) offer significant savings vs Incandescent.
c) Halogen (or Tungsten-Halogen): also used in residential lighting, brighter and hotter
d) High-Intensity Discharge: Used com

in outdoor and security applications.

Incandescent Types

General service: bulbs are inexpensive and readilyavailable in a variety of wattages and shapes. They produce yellow-white light that is emitted in all directions. Availablein either clear or frost.

Types : General (A) Globe (G) Decorative (D)

Reflectorized : Reflective coating inside the bulb directslight forward, giving you better beam control than general service bulbs. Flood types (FL) spread light. Spot types (SP) concentrate the light. Reflector (R) bulbs put approximately two times the amount of light (footcandles) on the subject as General Service (A) of same wattage. Parabolic Reflector (PAR) bulbs control light more precisely. They produce about four times the light ofGeneral Service (A) and are used in recessed and track lighting. Weatherproof casing makes them suitable for outdoor use.

Fluorescent and Compact Fluorescent (CFL)

Fluorescent lighting uses just 1/5 to 1/3 as much electricityas their incandescent cousins and with comparable lumen ratings while lasting up to 20 times longer. Compact typesare used in smaller, trimmer fixtures such as recesseddownlights, wall sconces, close-to-ceiling fixtures, and track lights. Screw-in types can be used in place ofincandescents in standard lamp sockets. Available in a widespectrum of colors. Warm white tones best duplicate thecolor of incandescents. For ambiance look for lower K ratings, for utility areas, look for higher K ratings (brighter)

Tungsten-Halogen

A bright, white light with longer life & more light (lumens) per watt thanregular incandescent bulbs. Maintains maximum efficiency throughoutlife of bulb. Available in both line (120 volts) and low-voltage (12volts). Low-voltage types require a transformer to step down thevoltage. The most popular tungsten-halogen bulbs are: LINE VOLTAGE PAR 16, 20, 30 and 38 reflectorized bulbs provide better beam control than regular incandescent PAR bulbs. Available in numerousspot and flood beam spreads. Used in track, recessed, and outdoor spot, and floodlights. T-3 Double-Ended bulbs are available in a variety of base types and are used in wall sconces, torchiers, and outdoor flood lights. Thedirection of the light is controlled by the fixture. T-4 Single-Ended bulbs come in both "mini-can" and "bayonet" basetypes and are used in wall sconces, bath brackets, torchiers, and pendants. The direction of the light is controlled by the fixture. LOW-VOLTAGE MR-11, MR-16 (Mini-Reflectors) provide excellent beam control.Available in numerous spot and flood beam spread. Miniature sizepermits use in smaller track, recessed fixtures and outdoor spotlights. PAR-36 provides superior beam control, especially over longerdistances. Available in a broad selection of spot and flood beamspread. Used in track, recessed, and outdoor fixtures. T-4 Bipin, also known as a "peanut" bulb, is a miniature lamp used inpendants, halogen desk lamps, and some track fixtures. The directionof the light is controlled by the fixture

	High-Intensity Discharge
	High-intensity discharge (hid) bulbs have a longer life and provide more light (lumens) per watt than any other light source. Available in mercury vapor, metal halide, high- and low-pressure sodium types. Used residentially for outdoor security and landscape lighting.

Summary

The most prominent light source manufacturers such as Standard, GE and Philips produce thousands of "lamps" (or what most of us refer to a "bulbs"). The selection of bulbs shown here is an overview of the wide variety of lightsources that are on the market and represent what most residential consumers would require. Ultimately, it is wisefor any homeowner to "map out" your own home and identify which bulbs would fit where and better still, wherecan you save energy and contribute to a greener world by planning in the use of CFL replacements.