Home Lighting Tips [INFOGRAPHIC]

Safety First

Make sure all outdoor lights are UL listed for damp or wet use.

Never change a bulb by standing on a chair.

Always turn off light fixtures prior to changing a bulb, cleaning the fixture, or any other maintenance.

Follow all listed regulations and safety guidelines from the product manufacturer.

Choosing Directional Light Flow

Downlight is ideal for task lighting, general lighting, and more focused illumination as needed. It is ideal for kitchens, offices, and other areas in need of concentrated light spread.

Uplight is primarily used for accent lighting such as wall sconces. This is usually used in bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms, closets, and other areas looking for ambiance as opposed to as the main light source of a space.

A mix of uplight and downlight can create a gentle light flow that is less concentrated. This can be useful in bedrooms or living rooms.

What is color temperature?

When looking at light bulbs, light temperature is denoted on the Kelvin scale. Lights are denoted as being either warm or cool temperatures. A warm temperature tends to be visible to the human eye as a yellow to yellowish white color whereas a cool temperature is seen as white to an almost blue tone.

Warmer color temperatures are recorded as being 2000K-3000K on the scale. This is a noticeably yellow light. Use this temperature range when you want to create a warm, inviting space in areas such as the bedrooms, living rooms, and decorative or ambiance lighting.

Cool temperatures are recorded from 3100K-6500K on the scale. Within the range of 3100K-4500K, the illumination produces a bright vibrant light that is white making it ideal for areas such as task lighting, bathrooms, kitchens, or anywhere that focus is more important than ambiance.

On the higher end of the scale, from 4600K-6500K, you will find a blue-white light that mimics daylight. This temperature range is ideal for task lighting, outdoor lighting, garages, or anywhere where you want to encourage focus or concentration with the right lighting.

Height of Fixtures

Kitchen

Allow for 28-34 inches between the bottom of the fixture and the kitchen island or counters for pendant or suspended fixture styles. Fixtures should also be placed about 72 inches above the floor for ample light spread.

Bedroom

Allow for 7 feet between the light fixture and the floor for the best result. The fixture can be placed either in the center of the room or over the bed. If it is placed over the bed, make sure you take that into account and have the fixture feet accounted for with the bed, rather than from the floor.

Living Room

If using overhead lighting, center it in the middle of the room with a suggested height of 7 feet from the floor.

Bathroom

For bathroom vanity fixtures, make sure the bottom of the fixture is 75 to 80 inches from the floor. For wall sconces, aim for around 60 to 65 inches from the bottom of the fixture to the floor.

Dining Room

The fixture should be placed over the table in the center of the room with the bottom of the fixture to the surface of the table measuring around 30 to 34 inches.

Saving Money and the Environment with LED products

Switching from incandescent to LED is a great money saver. In fact, incandescent use 90% of the energy consumed to produce heat and only 10% to produce the visible illumination. LED products use only 25% of the energy consumed by incandescent.

LED saves money because it is longer lasting. An LED lamp will last 25 times longer than an incandescent lamp.

Switching to LEDs will also help the environment because they are mercury free, last longer, and consume less energy overall.