indoor lighting project

What does that mean exactly? It means that you should ask first to yourself some basic questions concerning…

1) The look and the type of light you need for your rooms;
2) The specific lighting needs of the several areas or rooms;
3) The type of lights, lamps and fixtures you need to achieve your project;
4) Energy-efficiency and the daylighting.

The type of lighting and specific needs

In many rooms or spaces you need more than just one type of lighting or fixture... In other words, you have to consider at least three basic lighting techniques: ambient (general) lighting, but also task lighting (to enhance working and reading areas, for instance) and accent lighting (to highlight architectural, artistic and decoration points in the room)…

And you may also want to consider lighting techniques like indirect lighting, decorative lighting, wash-wall lighting… to avoid glare or to add a mood to your spaces…

Types of light bulbs and lamps

After defining a project, you need to decide about the type of light bulbs and lamps.

Lamps and lights differ. LEDs are directional (they shine in a given direction), while common incandescents or fluorescents shine in all directions; some can be focused, others are even in their lighting, while others can create shadows and contrast; track lights are ideal to accent lighting, while under cabinet lights are good as task lights….

See: LEDs, Compact Fluorescent and also Light Quality

Energy efficiency

The way the fixture looks is important, but should not be the only feature to consider. Performance and quality of light shouldn’t be forgotten.

Energy-efficiency is a major element to consider. The quality of the light and their power, or the lifespan of the lamp are important features. Electric lighting bills are more important in the long run than the initial investment…

See: Energy-efficient lighting

Location

Once the lighting plan defined and the right type of lamps considered, the location issue should also be addressed.

To get the best results, issues like the task lighting points or the accent lighting points, or wall-washing lighting and indirect lighting should also be defined, as well as the exact location of the lamps.

Some examples, on the location of the lamps: highlighting a painting is usually done by focusing it from above at about a 50-60º angle; lighting a bathroom vanity should be achieved by lamps located behind where people will stand; lighting a kitchen working areas should be done by placing the lights over the elements to be illuminated, and close enough to them...

Most of these principles are rather obvious, but setting the right location requires some careful assessment and some trying.