Friday 8 December 2017

Tips for Choosing the Best Office Lighting







Regardless of whether you work in an office or a desk area, the quality and character of lighting in your workplace can assist build your product. Inadequate light can diminish your energy, produce eyestrain, dampen morale and headaches, and eventually debilitate your capacity to work efficiently.

If you do not have a lot of natural light, at that point artificial lights are much more critical while thinking about work space brightening. Many home workplaces have surrounding lighting that incorporates recessed or overhead lights. However, it's an error to imagine that those will get the job done. However, these lights frequently cause many issues than they are worth, for example, producing flickers and glares. Luckily, you can enhance your office with ideal office lighting,choosing lighting for office for most excellent work performance.

1. Pick the right bulbs
Lights bulbs range in color and intensity of the Kelvin scale. Most workplaces utilize fluorescent lighting with around 6500K bulbs, which take after the lighting intensity of customary sunlight. Ensure each light in the workplace has a similar color temperature to ensure balanced lighting all through the workspace. Moreover, acquainting surrounding light to space. Open a window, or put a lamp on the desk with a low-power halogen bulb to render your workspace with greater lucidity.

2. Supplement overhead lights with errand lighting
Reports from Healthcare that overhead fluorescent lighting can lead everything from hyperactivity to sleep issues. Change to task lighting with low-glare bulbs, and position the illumination far from your PC screen and toward your work surface. Low color lamps are perfect for circumstances when you have to cast pretty much light on a zone.

3. Use indirect lighting
Direct lighting joined with a brilliant PC screen prompts eye fatigue, headaches, and low profitability. If you can turn off the direct overhead lighting and replace it with aberrant lighting from lamps. Space the light fixtures equally around the workplace for the uniform scope.



4. Choose neutral colors for the office
Regardless of whether you light your space with wall sconces, task lighting or overhead lights, improve the lighting consistency with a neutral room shading. Abstain from utilizing bright or dark colors for floors and walls. Instead, use neutral tones with low-run reflectance.

5. Introduce natural light space
Is natural light free, as well as enables your body to deliver vitamin D for lightening misery and another mood issue. Join natural light with the low-wattage task, warm-colored lights for better visual clearness and increased core focus. If your office does not have a window, consider a Happy Light or comparative lamp that copies natural daylight to hoist your state of mind while you work. Having the right office lighting can increase execution and make for a considerably more joyful workplace.

When you are making a home office, you will need to make a lighting outline that is both useful and alluring. With private electrical services from a repairman, you can make the ideal lighting plan for your home office.

If you are preparing to talk with your repairman, here are some useful hints for picking the best home office lighting.

Consider Task Lighting
Among the most critical factors that you should consider when you are making lighting for your office is your task lighting. Task lighting is a light source that is explicitly coordinated at a workstation or PC region. By making efficient assignment lighting, you can keep away from eye strain when you are working more extended hours or during the evening.

Choose Beautiful Ambient Lighting
Task lighting isn't the main kind of illumination that ought to be fused into your home office. When you are arranging a lighting design for your space, you will likewise need to consider what sorts of encompassing lighting will look the best in your home office. A few cases of surrounding lighting incorporate pendant lights, recessed lights, or even simple overhead lights. Your encompassing lighting will make a warm and welcoming air into your office.

Incorporate Natural Lighting
When you are counseling with your electrician to make a lighting plan for your home office, it is likewise basic to consider how you will consolidate natural lighting into your space. Presentation to natural lighting has been connected to increased profitability and center amid the workday. Remembering to build the measure of natural light that enters your home office, you might need to consider introducing honeycomb shades or sheer curtains that ensure your windows while likewise giving daylight access to your office space.

Space-Making Lighting
Make cooperation zones within more significant territories with space-defining lights. Intended to bring down ceiling statures in open workplaces, Big Lamp gives delicate light to clients while flagging a "space inside a space.



Overhead lighting.
How frequently have you been in an office, at a desk, and you see the mosquito-buzz of a glaring light crackling end above you. The sound does not move away and you at that point see the cool, practically green light it produces and the slight strobing impact it has. At that point your productivity has gone; you understand how tired you are... Fluorescent lights are valuable, however, should be excellent quality and all around kept up. Utilizing bright lights in the blend of natural lighting is a decent choice.

Floor lamps.
If you work in an innovative environment, these lamps may help with boosting productivity. Floor lamps are astounding where high permeability and fixation are required. Besides, utilizing a floor lamp will advance the sentiment arise in which you're working. This "in the zone" sensation can be an enormous lift to hard-working ethic and efficiency.

Track lighting.
This term refers to any number of autonomously flexible lamps all associated with a similar circuit. Track lighting can be customised to the space of your office and its lighting you require. For example, track lighting can concentrate light on the workstations or a bit of workmanship and not focus on nonpartisan territories. This delivers a normal light all through the workplace, while as yet highlighting specific zones, like floor lamps. Track lighting works exceptionally well with the blend of natural lighting.

Lighting controls
If your workplace is energy-cognizant, you may be keen on putting resources into introducing clocks or sensors into your office. This implies lights are just on in zones where individuals are currently working, and territory like lunch rooms and lounges will stay dull until the point when some person goes into the places.

Conclusion

The correct sort of lighting is so critical for you in your office. An interesting approach to getting the best sort of lights is to research about specific plans and based on the kind of wall colors you have selected on. If you have been considering approaches to get your home overhauled, this is ideal ways!

Wednesday 4 October 2017

Tips for Choosing Lighting for Home and Office





















Choosing right lighting for an office as well as a home is quite different. While choosing it for your office you will have to focus on the functional lights that can help in doing various types of works like work focused light, for reading and writing emails or relaxing etc. Similarly while choosing light for your home you will have to consider different types of moods depending upon for which room you are selecting it. Some tips are provided in this write-up to help you in choosing right lighting for home as well as office. 

Lighting for home

Lighting for entryway
The lighting at the entry of your home should look very inviting. So it is important to choose a light that can set right mood of the guest right at the entry of your home. One pendant light like a chandelier can be sufficient for your entryway if it is bigger in size otherwise a large sized floor lamp in the corner of your entryway can also change the mood of the person entering it. You can also use traditional lights to focus on the artwork you have displayed on the walls of your entryway.

Lighting for living Room
While lighting your living room you should use balanced lighting so that they can be used flexibly not only for the entertainment of the people there but also for relaxing them. So you can consider using pendant lamps or chandeliers as focal point of your living room but it should be according to the style of that room. You can also use sconces and floor lamps in your living room as their dim light can change your mood within seconds.

Lighting in dining room
It is very easy to choose right lighting for your dining room as the focal point of this room is your dining table. You can use pedant light or chandelier hanging low on the dining table for this purpose. A large chandelier can be suitable on a large size dining table. You can also add accent lights or a task lamp to focus certain important features of the room.

















Lighting for Kitchen
A kitchen is very important part of a home as you have to focus at various points in this area. So you will have to choose complex lighting system for your kitchen. You should use various types of lighting fixtures like pendant lamps and a chandelier or ceiling embedded spotlights so that you can get light at all the important areas n this room. Overhead lights will provide you light for basic tasks whereas pendant lights on your sink, bar or island in the kitchen can provide additional lighting on these areas. Instead of pendent lights you can also use spotlights for this purpose.

Lighting in bedroom
While choosing lighting for your bedroom you should choose one that can give you warm and cosy feeling to make it more relaxing and restful place. Pendant lighting in bedroom can be more suitable as compared to lamps. In order to set a relaxing mood in your bedroom you can also use sconces or task lightings. You can make your backdrop look more attractive by using accent lighting to highlight an art work or a photo hanging there. In order to create perfect mood in your bedroom you can use dimmer switch.

Lighting in bathroom
Though people do not care much about the lighting of their bathroom still it is very important to use task lights besides or above the vanity mirror to give you proper lighting while using it. However it gives more flattering light you should put the tasks lights at the height of your face. You can also use a pendant light or chandelier on your bath tub to give your bathroom more welcoming look. You can use a dimmer switch in the morning to make your eyes used to the lighting in your bathroom.

Tips to choose lighting for office

Choose right bulbs for your office
The bulbs used for lighting offices or homes are available in different colours and intensities. So while choosing bulbs for your office you should focus on bulbs that are equivalent to natural daylight like the fluorescent light with bulbs up to 6500K. In order to provide balanced lighting in the entire office it is important to use the bulbs that produce same level of temperature and colour. You can also use ambient lights like light coming from an open window or from a desk lamp with low intensity halogen bulb to give more clarity to your workplace.

















Support overhead lights with task lighting
As per various studies the use of fluorescent lighting in the offices can cause various health problems like sleep disorder or hyperactivity etc. So to avoid such condition you can use task lighting with low glare bulbs towards your work counter or away from your computer screen to support your overhead lights.

Use indirect lights
Direct lighting can strain your eyes and cause headaches and reduce your productivity in combination with the bright light of your computer screen. So you can use indirect lighting coming from desk lamp instead of direct light coming from overhead lights to avoid such situation. Lighting fixtures giving indirect light should be placed around the office to cover the entire space evenly.

Paint the office with neutral colours
Neutral colours in your room can increase the consistency of any lighting used in your office, whether they are task lights, wall sconces or overhead lights. You should use neutral colours instead of bright and dark colours on the floors and walls of you office to reduce their reflection.

Induce natural light in to the office
It will allow you to use not only free light but healthy light also as it will help your body to produce more vitamin D to improve your mood and reduce depression. You can improve visual clarity and focus by using low watt task lights with natural light.

In this way, you can improve the mood and your performance by using correct lighting whether it is your home or office. The tips provided in this write-up can help you in choosing right lighting for home as well as office.

Tuesday 26 September 2017

Restaurant Lighting: Tips and Recommendations





Right illumination can create any mood anywhere. A properly placed light in a restaurant can add warmth and hospitality, letting your guests feel well and comfortable. At the same time, light can add solemnity and even officiality - depending on how you position your restaurant in general or in a certain situation.

General Concept of Restaurant Lighting

What is the goal of the proper lighting in general, and the restaurant lighting in particular? Speaking of high-quality lighting, we usually mean the following:

1. Visibility, safety, and convenience for staff and guests;

2. Perception of space and forms. With the help of light, you can make a large cold room cozy, and a small one - more spacious, objects can be visually zoomed in and distanced with the help of a backlight;

3. Color transfer. It is very important! Not to mention the decor of restaurants, but the color of dishes, the right color, which the cook so diligently seeks to achieve, the color that should arouse the appetite must be conveyed without distortion;

4. Atmosphere. This is an elusive feature that makes some restaurants successful, and others - boring.

The atmosphere at least on 50% depends on the lighting of the restaurant.
It should be considered that light plays an important role for sense organs, acting not only in direct way. For example, lack of light exacerbates the sense of touch; the brain strengthens this feeling due to lack of incoming information - that's why we like to eat delicious dishes in a soft, muted light. However, it is important not to overdo it with mystery, because a person should not guess what he picked up with a fork, and therefore do not use dim light instead of soft light.


















Lamps for Restaurant Lighting

Lamps for lighting restaurant do different functions: general lighting, lighting of decorative elements, and the creation of special effects.

General lighting creates a basic level of illumination of the whole space. It is achieved in various ways: built-in lamps, indirect (masked) lighting, where the lamp itself is hidden, and the surface of the wall or ceiling becomes a source of light or a combination of these methods. The basic lighting for a restaurant should be uniform. Large shaded areas are inadmissible, in principle, there should not be any shadows at all – shaded areas should be perceived as dimly highlighted areas.

Additional lighting is directed streams of light, illumination of architectural elements, sculptures, and art objects. The backlight should be brighter than the general, basic lighting.

Decorative lamps, such as chandeliers, are used to designate a spatial and visual hierarchy. It is desirable that they are of the same type, and, of course, in harmony with the general style. Decorative lamps can create iridescent streams of light, or cozy light spots, indicating individual spaces in a common room.

An interesting solution will be elegant table lamps. Sometimes electric lighting is supplemented with candles for this purpose - they create the impression of a personal, intimate space between two people. But a table lamp or a small wall lamp can cope with this task even better, and with give additional calmness for the staff. In addition, all the same, the candlelight is not enough for the normal lighting of dishes, lamps will deal with it much better, after all, the main thing that people come to your restaurant is to eat, and not just look at each other's eyes, is not it true. Not to mention the fact that in a cozy company of people might be more than two persons.

It is strongly not recommended to use ceiling neon and fluorescent lighting, no matter how beautiful they are, their cold ultra bright light suits bathrooms, bus stations, operating rooms, banks, but not restaurants or any premises. The cold light changes the color of dishes; they acquire deadly pale or dark blue shades and kill appetite.

Level of Lighting for Restaurants

The level of lighting should vary from area to area, depending on the purpose of the room. Hall, saloons, bars, and kitchens - each of the areas has its own requirements for lighting. The light should help to use the space, whether it is a convenient menu browsing or enjoying a night cocktail at the bar. The correct change in the level of illumination can imperceptibly change the mood and even the level of energy when moving through the various zones of the restaurant.

Lighting Control

Lighting control is a key factor in the rational use of light, in addition, shadows and lightning variations create the unique atmosphere.

For lighting to be relevant at any time of the day and year, it is recommended to use dimmers (light regulators), they control the intensity of lighting depending on the level of natural light, and in addition, they can create a different mood. Unfortunately, dimmers reduce the lifespan of lamps, so use them is desirable only in main areas, for example, in basic lighting.

The automated control system allows you to gently flow around the times of day, and programming coverage of the "scene" lighting, central, guest space of the restaurant. The time between lunch, dinner, and late at night is gently and imperceptibly washed away, contributing to the relaxation of people, the desire to stay in a pleasant environment for longer. In addition, such management is great to save electricity.
















Energy Saving and Lighting Standards

There are certain energy saving and lighting standards for public premises, which must be taken into account at the stage of designing a restaurant lighting project. Here one cannot do without awareness and technical knowledge regarding modern light sources. When developing the concept of lighting, these and other points are taken into account.

Designer can try several different types of illumination, choosing a compatibility between their color, color rendering capabilities, and brightness to create a single and understandable visual environment that will ideally perform its functions in accordance with the restaurant concept. It is important to see and compare the real patterns of lamps and their combination in the design. Decisions about where and how to spend each watt can be a difficult task, but an important step in the design process.

Conclusion

The ultimate goal of a well-thought-out atmosphere of any restaurant, either an elite one or quiet family establishment is to provide a cozy environment in which guests can enjoy food and be satisfied in every way. Lighting is an important component of the overall aesthetic design of any restaurant and an important tool in achieving this goal.

Sunday 27 August 2017

Tips For Proper Lighting For Your Home Office



















There are various reasons why you've decided to turn a part of your home into a space dedicated to work. For example, you may be working in a field where your entire activity takes place at home. Perhaps you are a freelance artist, a writer or a programmer. Or maybe, although most of your work is done elsewhere, you constantly work long hours. Some people can dedicate an entire room in their home to work and they set it up accordingly.

The many, however, have only one corner in the living room, the bedroom or the kitchen to dedicate to this purpose. Whatever the reason or the resources available, the organization of an work space inside your house, deserves to be treated with the utmost care. In furnishing and decorating your home office, one of the most important aspects to consider is providing adequate lighting. I would like to offer you some suggestions on this.

Before proceeding to some practical tips, I want to insist a bit on the reasons why you should pay a special attention to the lighting of this space. When it comes to lighting, interior design specialists make the difference between ambient lighting and task-focused lighting. Ambient lighting aims to provide a level of brightness that would be enough for the spatial orientation and for some general activities taking place in the room, such as walking, cleaning or eating. Also, ambient lighting gives a particular air or a certain atmosphere to the room. On the other hand, task-focused lighting aims to provide the light needed to achieve more targeted tasks, which usually require more visual attention, such as reading, computer work, etc.

In many rooms of your house, you already use both ambient light sources and task-centered lighting. For example, in the bedroom you might have a branch light,providing ambient light and also a lamp, turned on for reading before bedtime, providing task- focused lighting. If you think about creating a space for work, it’s most likely to be about an activity requiring high concentration. This means there’s a great chance
that ambient lighting won’t be enough and you’d need a special light source.

If you neglect this, the consequences can be quite serious. In the short term, insufficient illumination leads to attention problems, headaches or premature fatigue. In other words, the quality of your work would significantly decrease. In the long run, the consequences may be even more unpleasant, for visual acuity could be irreversibly affected.



Having said that, here are some aspects worth considering while planning the lighting of the working space. 

Take the best out of the natural light.
This aspect may even influence the place where you decide to arrange your work
space inside the house. First of all, make a review of all the available spaces in the house and analyze them from the point of view of the natural light sources. Take into account the intensity of the natural light but also its direction. For example, some specialists recommend that you point your desk facing north or south, so that the natural light doesn’t fall in different angles at different times of the day.

Secondly, it is important to consider the time of day when you are the most likely to work and the amount of light you have at those hours.
As you know, in Singapore, daylight lasts about twelve hours over a day. However, the number of bright sunshine hours is about four and a half (in November) and six and a half (in July), which means an average of about 5 and a half hours a day. For the rest of the day the sky is cloudy and there is much less light. This aspect is worth considering because it shows that the amount of natural light that you can use varies from one day to another or from one hour to the next. Under these circumstances, you could consider using multiple sources of illumination. For example, you could have a light source to activate when working at night, and natural light is missing absolutely and another source to use during cloudy days to boost natural light.

Third, you might need some strategies to reduce the intensity of natural light, at certain times.
The sun of Singapore is very shining. If the space you are using is facing south, for example, you might need some screens to reduce the amount of light to an optimum level, some days.

When choosing the light sources, think about the functionality of the space that you’re organizing. As noted above, your space might be quite small, meaning that you have to put every little corner to good use. First of all, the fittings should occupy as little space as possible. There are some modern designs that provide optimal lighting without consuming anything from the space you have at your disposal. For example, some fittings incorporated into the furniture pieces, allow the light to fall vertically on the work space. Another option could be a branch light hanging from the ceiling. If you want a more mobile, more flexible alternative, you can choose a lamp. For example, a floor lamp with a thin leg and a flexible head would allow you to change the angle from which the light falls, without taking much space.

There is one more aspect worth considering. If you look into the websites of some prestigious lighting products and services companies in Singapore, you notice that many offer some design and planning services. That means they are ready to assist you in choosing those lighting solutions that fit the best in your space.

Thirdly, the quality of light is also very important. If you use a computer, you have to take this into account when setting the lighting. For example, some specialists recommend that the light falls from one side of the computer, and not perpendicular to the screen and neither from behind.



With regard to the type of light source, you find at least three models on the Singapore market : the incandescent bulbs, the T-lamps and the LEDs. Some people prefer the incandescent bulbs because they are more shiny. The T-5 laps have the advantage of being cheap and long lasting. On the other hand, some people find the T- lamps tiresome because they don’t ignite at once, after a certain period of functioning they set to make a specific noise and they also have a cold light.

The LEDs use another
technology and have become more popular lately. They produce more light, in a wider range of colors and don’t make any noise. The LEDs also generate less heat, meaning that it takes less energy to the air conditioner for cooling them. It seems that more advantages add up in favor of the LEDs, but, ultimately, it remains a matter of preference.

What I want to emphasize is that considering all these aspects, you can make a more informed decision. Anyway, the lighting products companies from Singapore have very rich offers and it's worth examining it in detail.

Saturday 29 July 2017

About Home and Office Lighting







If you live in a house with a single chandelier suspended in your living room and a single fluorescent light bar in your kitchen for almost a decade, I guess it's time for you to set up a plan of renovating your house especially your home lighting scheme. It is also the time for you to cope with the latest trends in home innovations.

Make a plan and list down all the things that you wish to change from your foyer up to your bathroom. If you need to repair or change the overall set up of your house, do it. It would help you create the beautiful new look of the home. Change some parts of the wooden wall into a glass and provide your house with enough supply of natural light by having large dimension windows. A glass wall in your living room will give sufficient amount of light from the sun to the place. And for your home furnishings, purchase that elegantly designed furniture.

Most importantly, don't forget the thing that lifts up all the features of the house, the home lighting system of the whole of Parliament. Every part of the house must be adequately illuminated to get the desired look of the room. Proper coordination of lighting fixtures is required to create moods in the home since lighting can either lift up or pull down the appearance of the decorations.

With the home lighting innovation, you will already find different types and styles of lighting fixtures that will give additional elegance to your decoration aside from the enticing effect that the light provides. And again, with the proper plan of the lighting system in your home, certainly is yours to achieve the look of the modern houses featured in home improvement and lifestyle magazines and T.V. shows.

Home Office Lighting to Enhance Productivity

Not long ago, the American Institute of Architects determined that the home office turned into the most famous "extra" room being requested in new living quarters. This is in part due to home-based businesses, but sometimes it is to support after-school bill-paying or just maintaining the internet in a public area and out of the basement. This allows for greater access for the everyday user.



A home office could be a simple desk tucked into a corner or one whole room that houses all the standard office equipment. The situation that both examples share, though, is lighting constraints which are unique from the rest of the home, such as Solar Security Lights. Home office lighting has the double purpose of contributing to a low-stress work environment, and including convenient task lighting for the jobs, you plan to accomplish there. Both of which are necessary.

As soon as you settle on your furniture and equipment, your task will be to evaluate both natural and artificial illumination. The primary issue in today's home office is the placement of windows compared to the location of the computer monitor. Having sun Solar Post Light for your work surface is usually an advantage, yet you won't want a glare on the screen. Orienting the screen in front of the window could be the obvious solution, but often that is not feasible. In these cases, shades offer a second-best fix. Simply play around and do your best to find the perfect solution.

The home office will require a good ambient lighting source, supplemented by components for task lighting. There should be appropriate light in the space for accomplishing the job at hand, yet space should not need to be entirely lit all the time. An energy-efficient ceiling lamp might be a useful ambient light, but spot or track lighting could be better at spreading the light throughout a spacious office. The task lighting near your desk must not glare on the monitor, and rope lighting or adjustable lamps will cut down on glare on other work surfaces, so try your best to be careful.

Home office lighting should not be only about the work areas, by the way. Accent lighting might be appropriate to complement decorative objects or awards. If you are presently relying on Solar Post Security Lights for the general purpose lighting, these lights can also be employed for accent lighting. Alternately, recessed spot lights or up lights may be strategically placed throughout the space; this can be handy.

Home offices may be convenient and productive areas in any living quarters or extensions of the place you don't want to be. Because you are really in charge of your home office, however, you can make the proper equipment and lighting decisions for the room. This will make certain that your home office is a calm place to be and a convenient place to work - which is the real purpose of home offices, and what makes these extra rooms so sought out amongst home owners.



Ways to Achieve Natural Home Lighting

Our home lighting usually depends on artificial lights. We have fluorescent bulbs, LED lights and bright bulbs. These artificial sources of light provide us with the necessary information we need especially at night.

During the day, we have natural light coming from the sun. Our artificial lights need not function during this time of day. We can direct natural light into our home and use it as a free source of illumination.

Natural home lighting can be achieved in so many ways. We don't have to box ourselves in inside our homes. Windows and doorways can be opened up to let the light flood in. During the construction part of your home, study the pattern of the sun as it moves across the sky. You can use this knowledge to put your windows in an optimum position to bring in more light.

If you desire to wake up with sunshine streaming in your bedroom, then you put your room to where the sun rises in the morning and position your windows in that direction. You can also have frosted tiles or transparent glass on top of the wall if you want to provide more natural light into any room.

Skylights can also be placed on certain areas like bathrooms, kitchens and other parts of the home that is mostly used during the day. You need to plan carefully when installing skylights as they have to include in your roofing. They are excellent sources of light because they come directly from above and can illuminate the room much like an artificial ceiling light. The skylights can also be given some tint to avoid too much glare.

Saturday 24 June 2017

The Pros and Cons of LED Lighting







There are different types of lighting lamps that you can choose to lighten up your home, office or business place. One of them is LED lighting. LED lighting is becoming more popular today than all other types of lighting for a number of reasons. They are more durable, environment friendly, and energy efficient compared to other types of lamps such as fluorescent and incandescent. In fact, some countries have banned incandescent lamps due to the dangers they pose to the environment and opted for LED lighting.

However, since every product has its downsides, LED lights are not left out. They have some drawbacks that every Singaporean should understand before opting for them. So, in this article, we shall look at both pros and cons of LED lighting to help you make an informed decision on whether to buy them or not.

Pros

There are several benefits that come with LED lamps. They include:

1. LED lights can lower your energy bills
So far, LED lamps are considered the most energy efficient. Studies show that their energy efficiency is between 80 per cent and 90 per cent, which is really amazing. Unlike incandescent and CFL lamps, they are designed to manage heat as much as possible. It is estimated that LED bulbs use 80 per cent of energy to produce light, while the remaining percentage is released as heat. This is actually opposite for incandescent lamps in which a greater percentage of energy (about 90 per cent) is released as heat while the remaining percentage is used to produce light. Indeed, a homeowner or business person can save a lot with these types of lamps.

2. Long Service
Their lighting lifespan is incredible. They can last for approximately 100,000 hours without dimming. This means about 14 months without worrying about maintenance or replacement! Fluorescent lamps can only last 20, 000 hours.

3. LED lamps are more durable than other light sources
The main reason for their durability is the kind of materials they are made of. Acrylic and polycarbonate are the materials of choice for LED light manufacturers. They are very durable and light weight and can withstand vibrations. This is why LED lights are the lights of choice in vehicles and traffic lighting.

4. Eco-friendly
LED lamps are not hazardous to environment as they don’t contain mercury. This is one area where they completely beat incandescent lamps which contain this toxic metal. This means that their disposal is also easier than incandescent lamps. Also, they can be recycled hence minimizing wastage of resources.



5. LED lamps are excellent in retail applications such as displays
This is because they don’t wash out other colors.

6. LED lamps don’t burn out but only lose brightness when their lifespan ends 
This mean that you can know when their lifespan has expired hence get prepared to replace them.

7. LED lights provide direct illumination
They can be used when you want to illuminate a certain place in your office such as your working area.

8. They have a capability to illuminate a large area as they have a lot of power
It doesn’t matter how large your office or living room is when you choose LED lighting. It will give you the light you need.

Cons

LED lights have a few drawbacks. Some of them apply to some few types of LED lamps without Energy Star rating.

1. Initial costs. 
For some people, buying LED lamps can break the bank. Even though the price has dropped, it’s still a burden for some people. However, you don’t have to worry about this high purchase price as it’s compensated by their energy efficiency in a short period of time.

2. Another problem of LED lamps is flickering.
This happens to those lamps without Energy Star rating. They are poorly designed hence with time, they begin to flicker, change their color, and eventually become dim. However, when you buy lamps with this rating, you will not experience these problems as the lamps are well designed to give a bright light for a long period of time.

3. You may need to hire an electrician to install them.
This is because they must be supplied with the right voltage and constant current. So if you thought you can just hang them in your office, think again.

4. They are known to shift color when exposed to high temperatures or when they age. 
The perception of light can also be altered especially when you are using two different types of LED lamps.

5. Another problem is installing the fixtures. Again, you may not have the skills to do this hence require an electrician. The fixtures should be correctly placed to manage heat generated by the lamps. If not well managed, the heat can destroy the lamps because of overheating.



6. Some LED lamps may be hazardous. If you thought you’re completely safe by opting for LED lamps, you may not be lucky. Some LED lamps contain some toxic metals like nickel, arsenic, and lead.

7. Blue wavelength. LED lamps emit blue wavelengths. While this light may not harm any person at daytime, it can be disruptive at night. It is believed that it can damage the eye retina.

8. The weight of the heat sink may make LED lamps heavier than some other types of light sources. 

Conclusion

It is true that LED lamps are very beneficial in our daily lives. They are eco-friendly as they don’t have some metals like mercury and can be recycled. Also, LED lamps are durable owing to the strong materials they are made of. They can last longer than other types of lamps while saving you on energy bills. Additionally, they can give you a warning signal when their lifespan expires by reducing their brightness. Other lighting lamps will suddenly burn out when they expire and this can happen when aren’t prepared to replace them. However, LED lamps have their limitations. It can be expensive to buy and install them and their blue wavelengths may hurt your eyes. Now, you know the pros and cons of LED lighting. The above pros and cons will help you choose your preferred type of lighting, all depending on your specific needs.

Sunday 14 May 2017

Types Of Lighting For Interior Design







Image is everything. Just as décor and theme determines how good a place looks, so does the type of lighting. There is more to what type of lighting is appropriate for a room. Factors like what room is in question, what purpose the lighting is meant for and the more technical factors like energy consumption level and whether the lighting is interior or exterior, all play a critical role in the type of lighting.

Interior designers emphasize on the importance of correct lighting as it affects the optics of a room, not forgetting to mention the effects it may have on a person’s eyesight. For home and office décor, the lighting makes all the difference. The room’s finishing plays a big role as the type of material used and the painting determines the reflector-factor and installation processes. For instance, marbled floors reflect light differently from non-polished floors.

The projections of a room matters. Correct lighting can emphasize the optics of the room, like the paint, the floors or the home or office accessories. How the lights are blended too, make a difference. Choosing the type of lighting

Factors to consider when choosing the ideal type of Lighting.

Purpose of the Lighting
This is perhaps the most important factor to consider. Different lighting serves different purposes. Lighting for security purposes involves choosing bright enough lights to illuminate a wide radius for the exterior of a building. Watts, (the amount of energy required to light the bulb) and lumens (a measure of how much light is actually produced) play a critical role.

Lighting for homes and office interior require a more detailed approach. You need to consider the architectural structuring of the room and whether the lighting is for task purposes or just for illumination. For instance, the kitchen, office or home-study room lighting is different from the lighting in the living room and the lounge, as they both serve different purposes. A kitchen, office and study room needs bright lighting, while living rooms, bedrooms and lounges require more chilled tones, hence dimmed lights.



Light Bulb type, Shape and Base
This will of course be dictated by décor and technicalities. Lighting type depends on whether one is using LED bulbs, linear florescent tubes compact fluorescent lamps, or solar powered bulbs. Light shape involves the shape of the bulb, such as a globe, reflector or spiral bulbs. The light base refers to the connection of the actual lighting type to the ceiling, wall or ballast of the room. The lighting base, shape and type also has ties to décor and purpose. Task lights need a rather flexible base to be fixed in the best fit position to illuminate the work area, for example a desk or cooking section in the kitchen.

Watts, Lumens and Energy Consumption
Different types of lighting have different consumer levels. Normal globe bulbs traditionally consume more energy than Fluorescent tubes and energy saving bulbs. The more the watts and lumens, the more the energy used to light the particular bulb.

Types of lighting

Ambient/ General Lighting
Ambient lighting is meant for the simple purpose of providing illumination. It does not focus on a particular area. Rather, it provides a uniform radius of light to the whole room, eliminating shadows. It is most common in homes for rooms such as the bedroom, laundry room, corridors and Livingroom.
Ambient lighting is provided by the traditional central hang (pedant) ceiling-mounted fixtures lighting from a bulb or chandeliers. However, current trends in décor provide more staples such as uplighters, down-lighters, wall lights, and standard lamps.

Accent Lighting
This is directional lighting that draws your attention to a specific feature or accessory in the room. A section of the light is blocked or reflected towards an accessory such as a picture or wall painting, dimming out the surrounding environment. This adds texture to the whole atmosphere by throwing shadows in some corners and light in others.
Accent lighting is achieved by forming a mixture of halogen spotlights, downlighters, and uplighters. As a general rule, it works by providing at least thrice the lumens towards the particular object than the general lighting around it.

For homes, accent lighting can be used to draw attention to family photos, paintings or treasured sculptures. For offices, this type of lighting is used to illuminate and focus on the diploma certificate hanging on the wall.

Task Lighting
This type of lighting is what is required when doing a specific job, say, cooking, reading, working at a computer, sewing, drawing, putting on make-up, shaving etc. The purpose of it is to enhance the visual clarity of the area of work so as to reduce eye strain. This works by providing a focused light onto the work area, but not as concentrated as in the case of ambient lighting. It should be free from glare and shadows.



Task lighting is provided by recessed track lighting, under-cabinet lighting, pendant lighting and portable and flexible desk lamps. The type of task light depends on the surface as its focal point comes into question. The angle-poise task light is best considered, especially those that come with a cantilever that can be raised, lowered and angled.

Working under poor lighting can bring about eyesight complications due to strain. Price plays an almost inessential role when it comes to task lighting. It’s the manoeuvrability factor that counts. For instance, the stem of the angled lamp should be high enough to hang over your work, so as to reduce shadows.

Aesthetic
This is artistic lighting, using art like a neon sculpture to offer illumination. It works almost as the accent lighting, only here, it is purely for decorative purposes. A spotlight focusing on a sculpture on the wall is also artistic in nature, thus aesthetic.

Natural Lighting
This is the daylight provided by the sun, or candle light/firelight at night. It also counts as a type of lighting. This however, is a kinetic form of lighting as the quality of the light, sunshine in particular, changes depending on what time of the day it is. In Singapore However, this isn’t greatly affected as spring and winter don’t play a role in this.

There are ways to maximize the natural light in your office or home. They include:

i. Replacing window dressings with filmy materials such as voile and muslin.
ii. Hanging mirrors opposite windows to reflect light more into the room.
iii. Installing fanlights over door frames.
iv. Trimming bushes and tree branches that overshadow the windows.
v. Using bright paintings on the wall and light-reflective surfaces such as pale floor rags.

Sunday 23 April 2017

The Three Main Types Of Lighting







When lighting installation is done in a home or office, there is a common expectation among people. The expectation is based on the view that one type of lighting is all that is needed for all lighting functions. But is one type of lighting adequate for home lighting or office lighting? One type of lighting is neither adequate in a home or office. The different areas in a home require different types of lighting. A living room might need a combination of two or more types of lighting.

On the other end, a bed room might only need one or two types of lighting. Such lighting issues require a broad understanding of lighting as a variable of interior and exterior décor. Lighting is majorly used for illumination purposes in homes. Other than illumination, lighting is used to facilitate visual interest in a room. A lighting design that is carefully created in a home accentuates its beauty and tranquility of a home. Basically, there are three types of lighting which serve different roles as will be explained in details below.

1. General/Ambient lighting
A great lighting plan must consider general lighting since it is the one that is commonly used at home. General lighting is used to provide radiance for the entire room and is casually regarded as natural light. General lighting ensures people can see and move about in a room with utmost safety. The key purpose is to create lighting uniformity in all spaces regardless of whether there is task lighting and accent lighting or not. The amount of light that emanates from general lighting has to be of medium brightness to avoid dazzling light. This assures comfortable lighting in a home. Design experts recommend that general lighting should be given priority before considering task and accent lighting.

Basic aims of general lighting

· To provide overall lighting in a home
· To provide a relaxing feeling in a home by nurturing a calm environment

Types of lighting fixtures used for general lighting

· Ceiling mounted fixtures
Provide radiance in a space in a downward manner.

· Valance lighting
Directs light away from walls and ceilings.

· Recessed lighting
They comfortably work with high and low ceilings. However, few track light fixtures should be installed for a low ceiling. The few the track lights, the lesser the glaring effect.



· Wall sconces
They allow a lot of lighting diversity as they suit most spaces in a home. Spacing the wall scones in spaces such as hallways does the trick.

· Chandeliers
A fairly tall ceiling enables the chandeliers to be hang at the desired heights without worrying they will knock people.

· Table and floor lamps
These are portable types of lights. They supplement other types of general lighting fixtures.

2. Task lighting

This lighting is in some cases referred to as office lighting. It is lighting that is very concentrated on specific sections of a space to provide illumination in order to assist a given function. A general rule that has to be observed when using task lighting is to ensure sufficient level of brightness. In a home for instance, a study room, kitchen, dining room, bed rooms and bathrooms require task lighting. In a study room, a table lamp is necessary to enhance computer aided functions such as typing, writing and reading activities. A kitchen and dining room requires task lighting to facilitate food preparation and eating activities.

Aims of task lighting
· Increases the level of attention and concentration when doing specific activities.
· It finely illuminates the target space leading to clarity hence accuracy in performing a task.

Types of lighting fixtures for task lighting

1. Moveable table and floor lamps - They are easily carried from one area to another.

2. Swing arm lamps - They can be effortlessly adjusted according to the desired direction.

3. Pendant lighting - They can be hang above a person’s work station in an office to provide enough light when working.

4. Track lighting - Track lights harness maximum light to the defined areas as long as they are affixed within close range.

5. Vanity lighting - They are suitable for bathrooms. They can also be mounted in bedrooms on areas where dressing mirrors are fixed.

6. Under cabinet lighting - They are the best for providing additional lighting in kitchens. Under cabinet lighting enable people to engage in cooking and cleaning tasks.



3. Accent lighting (highlighting)
Indoor and outdoor accent lighting is vital in homes. Accent lighting is used for creating visual appeal which is an important factor in design. Accent lighting creates emphasis concerning a particular thing both in the interior and exterior of a home. It gives the impression of a larger space. The level of brightness in accent lighting is usually higher than that of other types of lighting. As such, it is possible for the targeted objects to become focal points and draw the attention of people. An attractive piece of furniture, book shelve or outdoor plant is capable of attracting the attention of people as a result of accent lighting. Both in a home or an office, photographs and large paintings catch the attention of people when accent lighting is used.

Aims of accent lighting

· Nurtures a stylish look in a home.
· Accords targeted objects and images prominence.

Types of lighting fixtures used in accent lighting 

· Directional recessed lighting and spot lighting
They guarantee complete wall illumination. When mounted close to the base of the wall, they are able to accent wall patterns and textures.

· Wall mounted lighting
Because they sizes vary, it is possible to emphasize large and small sculptures and artwork displayed on walls. The architectural design of walls is highlighted too.

· Landscape lighting
They are used for outdoor accent lighting. Driveways and monuments become excellently lit when landscape lighting is used.

In conclusion, one type of lighting cannot achieve home lighting and office lighting needs. As explained above, there are numerous types of lighting. Each category of lighting is meant for a unique role and works well with specific lighting fixtures. Thus all the three types of lighting should be assimilated in a home. Since it is not easy for people to professionally harmonize these three types of lighting in a home, the services of lighting designers have to be used.