Home and Garden Lighting Design Guide
Indoor Lighting Design
Choosing the correct type of lighting and lamp bulbs for your home is an important aspect in creating a practical yet comfortable feature in all rooms of the house. Each room has to be looked at from different approaches from the style of light you will choose to the effect of light the fitting will create.
Lighting is the most important key feature that will dramatically change the appearance and atmosphere of your home, clever choice will add value and style to your home. This section of our website will help you choose and consider the importance when choosing lights for each individual room. There are three different types of lighting to consider for each room of your home. These are general lighting, task lighting, and accent lighting.
General Lighting
General lighting is the most well-known and widely used type of lighting you have in your room. It will either be the centre light fitting, suspended from your ceiling or your main source of light maybe from wall lights if there is no centre fixture. General lighting in the room is considered to be the most important of all the lighting categories. It has to be functional to light a room for a sufficient light that will ensure people are able to see properly from a safety point of view.
Task Lighting
Task lighting is used to illuminate specific targets of the home where light is needed in addition or on its own to assist where the general lighting is not able to reach. For example, a desk used for reading may need an extra reading lamp or desk lamp to give light aimed at a certain place to enable the reader to view paper work clearly without impeding the eyesight.
Another important area of task lighting very often overlooked is under cabinet lighting in kitchens where the general light is often blocked by a person preparing food on a work surface. The use of under cabinet lights will generate the perfect illumination for task lighting in a kitchen.
Bathroom lighting is very often over looked for task lights. The same situation occurs when a bathroom mirror is used and a person’s body will block out the general light impeding the view. This is remedied with the use of either wall lights or mirror lights. A few important aspects should be considered when choosing a task light for bathroom use, one is to only use a light suitable intended for that particular bathroom zone, and the other is to consider the illumination glare from the chosen light.
Depending on the wattage used, type of lamp bulb and positioning of the light, thought must be given to stop the glare from a light actually impeding vision rather than assisting it. Task lighting in a sitting room can be in the use of a floor standard lamp positioned behind a chair or settee to light up a specific area for reading. Bedroom task lights would be in the similar theme either table lamps or wall lights again for lighting targeted areas.
Accent Lighting
Accent lighting is by far the most creative and interesting of all three categories. Accent lighting is not used at all for practical use; instead it is used to create moods, to highlight certain features in a home for instance an alcove or fireplace, or a feature plant or ornament.
Accent Lighting has become more and more creative over the past few years and with new products becoming available it is the most imaginative type of lighting that can be used to create many wonderful features around any home, which can make dramatic statements to any home or subtle effects, which can be striking.
One aspect to be considered when choosing accent lighting is to consider the energy consumption of the fitting you choose to create this ambient type of lighting. With the cost of energy bills and the awareness we all have regarding our carbon footprint the way we choose accent lighting should be towards looking at low energy products which will create effective features without damaging our wallets as well as the planet. Lighting the house is a very important aspect regarding style and light output the fittings we choose will give us, however another very important issue is the concern of energy cost and emissions from incandescent lamp bulbs.
In the UK alone it has been estimated that using energy saving lamps will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by 2.3 million tonnes a year. Please see our special information pages regarding low energy and energy saving tips and advice.
Accent lighting will give your home an individual and unique personal touch from the use of LED's that are very low wattage and can highlight any feature in your home such as curtain pelmets. A dark gloomy corner of any room can be transformed into an array of different colours. The only thing that can hold you back on accent lighting is your own imagination.
Garden Lighting Design
This is a brief guide to help you understand the appropriate garden lighting effects and the types of lamps and garden lights needed to achieve them.
Safety First
Garden lighting is perfectly safe provided you follow some basic steps. All garden and outside lighting must be suitably IP rated for its function. For example, submersible pond lights are IP68 rated whilst outside garden lamp posts should be a minimum of IP44 rated, Please see IP ratings at the bottom of this page for further information.
Garden and outside mains voltage electrical installations should only be undertaken by a qualified electrician. DIY electrics are a potential source of injury or worse in gardens where lights and sockets are at the mercy of the elements. In England you need your electrician to provide a Part P certificate to comply with building regulations.
Design
Remember that the garden lights themselves are only a means to an end - providing a weatherproof or waterproof housing which will contain the right lamp in the right position to do its job, and protect it against impact and the elements. So choosing the right type of fitting comes next. That is the stage at which you can choose a garden light that will suit your taste and the requirement to blend with garden plants or materials.
Function
First you need to define your garden lighting needs by function. Most garden lighting is predominantly decorative and is used to highlight features such as trees, shrubs, water features and so on. You may also need to consider path and step lighting for safety or aesthetic reasons and to guide visitors to your front door. Wall lights for general illumination and security around the house, patio lighting for alfresco dining, barbecue lighting so you can see what you're cooking, and so on. This will also help you to define what you may want to connect to separate switches or circuits.
Positioning
Good garden lighting depends upon correct positioning of garden lights, and selecting the correct type of fitting for the effect you are trying to achieve. You should consider type, material, wattage, light coverage and beam angle. Garden lights should be hidden or camouflaged to blend in with the surrounding garden and plants wherever possible. If you are making a design statement then the lights should be more prominent and visible. For example, step lighting, patio walkover lights and deck lighting.
Remember, creative garden lighting is about effects. A stunning evening and night time garden can be achieved with some thought and careful consideration.
IP Ratings
An IP rating has 2 or 3 numbers after it, for example IP 68. The first number corresponds to solid material entering the light fitting. E.g. Dust, tools, fingers etc. The second number would correspond to water or steam entering the light fitting.
The higher the IP rate is, the more protected the light is.
Protection Against Solid Objects & Dust
Protection Against Fluids
First Number
Description / Test
Second Number
Description / Test
0
No Protection
0
No Protection
1
Protection against solid objects over 50mm, e.g. accidental touch by hands.
1
Protection against vertically falling drops of water.
2
Protection against solid objects over 12mm, e.g. fingers.
2
Protection against direct sprays of water up to 15 degrees from the vertical.
3
Protection against solid objects over 2.5mm (tools / wires).
3
Protection against sprays to 60 degrees from the vertical.
4
Protection against solid objects over 1mm (tools / wires / small wires).
4
Protection against water sprayed from all directions - limited ingress permitted.
5
Protection against dust - limited ingress (no harmful deposit).
5
Protection against low pressure jets of water from all direction - limited ingress permitted.
6
Totally protected against dust.
6
Protection against strong jets of water, e.g. for use on ship decks - limited ingress permitted.
7
Protection against the effects of immersion between 15cm and 1m.
8
Protection against long periods of immersion under pressure.
Every garden and outdoor light must have an IP rating suitable for its use and function.
© Jan Foster: Universal Lighting Services Ltd 2009
Accent lighting is by far the most creative and interesting of all three categories. Accent lighting is not used at all for practical use; instead it is used to create moods, to highlight certain features in a home for instance an alcove or fireplace, or a feature plant or ornament.
Garden Lighting Design
This is a brief guide to help you understand the appropriate garden lighting effects and the types of lamps and garden lights needed to achieve them.
Safety First
Garden lighting is perfectly safe provided you follow some basic steps. All garden and outside lighting must be suitably IP rated for its function. For example, submersible pond lights are IP68 rated whilst outside garden lamp posts should be a minimum of IP44 rated, Please see IP ratings at the bottom of this page for further information.
Garden and outside mains voltage electrical installations should only be undertaken by a qualified electrician. DIY electrics are a potential source of injury or worse in gardens where lights and sockets are at the mercy of the elements. In England you need your electrician to provide a Part P certificate to comply with building regulations.
Design
Remember that the garden lights themselves are only a means to an end - providing a weatherproof or waterproof housing which will contain the right lamp in the right position to do its job, and protect it against impact and the elements. So choosing the right type of fitting comes next. That is the stage at which you can choose a garden light that will suit your taste and the requirement to blend with garden plants or materials.
Function
First you need to define your garden lighting needs by function. Most garden lighting is predominantly decorative and is used to highlight features such as trees, shrubs, water features and so on. You may also need to consider path and step lighting for safety or aesthetic reasons and to guide visitors to your front door. Wall lights for general illumination and security around the house, patio lighting for alfresco dining, barbecue lighting so you can see what you're cooking, and so on. This will also help you to define what you may want to connect to separate switches or circuits.
Positioning
Good garden lighting depends upon correct positioning of garden lights, and selecting the correct type of fitting for the effect you are trying to achieve. You should consider type, material, wattage, light coverage and beam angle. Garden lights should be hidden or camouflaged to blend in with the surrounding garden and plants wherever possible. If you are making a design statement then the lights should be more prominent and visible. For example, step lighting, patio walkover lights and deck lighting.
Remember, creative garden lighting is about effects. A stunning evening and night time garden can be achieved with some thought and careful consideration.
|
Protection Against Solid Objects & Dust
|
Protection Against Fluids
|
||
|
First Number
|
Description / Test
|
Second Number
|
Description / Test
|
|
0
|
No Protection
|
0
|
No Protection
|
|
1
|
Protection against solid objects over 50mm, e.g. accidental touch by hands.
|
1
|
Protection against vertically falling drops of water.
|
|
2
|
Protection against solid objects over 12mm, e.g. fingers.
|
2
|
Protection against direct sprays of water up to 15 degrees from the vertical.
|
|
3
|
Protection against solid objects over 2.5mm (tools / wires).
|
3
|
Protection against sprays to 60 degrees from the vertical.
|
|
4
|
Protection against solid objects over 1mm (tools / wires / small wires).
|
4
|
Protection against water sprayed from all directions - limited ingress permitted.
|
|
5
|
Protection against dust - limited ingress (no harmful deposit).
|
5
|
Protection against low pressure jets of water from all direction - limited ingress permitted.
|
|
6
|
Totally protected against dust.
|
6
|
Protection against strong jets of water, e.g. for use on ship decks - limited ingress permitted.
|
|
|
|
7
|
Protection against the effects of immersion between 15cm and 1m.
|
|
|
|
8
|
Protection against long periods of immersion under pressure.
|
© Jan Foster: Universal Lighting Services Ltd 2009
