Lighting Tips:

When deciding on lighting fixtures for your home, here are some lighting tips to keep in mind.

Determine Wattage Needed:
   
Example: 12' x 16' Room
        1. Multiply the room dimensions to get your total square footage. (12 x 16= 192sqft.)
        2. Multiply Square footage by 1.5 for total illumination needed.
(192 x 1.5= 288watts.)
        3. A total of 288watts are needed to light a 12' x 16' Room

Determine Specific Task Lighting:
   
Example: Island in your Kitchen is measured 8' x 4'
        1. Multiply for Square footage of the Kitchen Island.
(8 x 4= 32sqft.)
        2. Multiply Square footage by 2.5 for the Task Lighting needed.
(32 x 2.5= 80watts.)
        3. A total of 80watts are needed to light a 8' x 4' Kitchen Island.

Bathrooms:
  To avoid shadows on your face.
  -Use Incandescent bulbs
   -Position sconces on both sides of the mirror at least 28" apart and 60" above the floor.
   -To fully surround you face with light install at least 24" wide fixture over the mirror. (Add a ceiling mounted fixture to balance the lighting throughout the  room.)

Chandeliers/Dining Room/Foyers
 
Determing Chandelier Size
  -
Chandelier's diameter should be half the width of the table.
  -If you have a large table. Your chandelier's width should be half the width of the table.

-Add room dimensions together for the width.
    Example: 12' x 16' Room
(12 + 16= 28)
    - Chandelier's diameter should be 28" and 6" narrower than the table on each side.
  -The width of the chandelier should not be less than the diagonal measurement of the room.

Hanging Chandeliers
-Dining Room: The bottom of the chandelier should hang 30" above the table top, for an 8' ceiling. (Go up 3" for each additional foot of the ceiling.)
       8' Ceiling: 30" above table top
       9' Ceiling: 33" above table top
     10' Ceiling: 36" above table top
     11' Ceiling: 39" above table top
     12' Ceiling: 42" above table top
     13' Ceiling: 45" above table top
     14' Ceiling: 48" above table top
     15' Ceiling: 51" above table top
  -Foyer: The bottom of the fixture does not hang more than 7' from the floor. If windows are present, center the fixture in the window so it can be seen from outside.

Kitchens
 
-If the kitchen is less than 100 square feet use a 2 light fluorescent
  -If the kitchen is up to 250 square feet use a 4 light fluorescent
  -If the kitchen is over 250 square feet use a 4 light fluorescent plus supplemental lighting such as under cabinet lights or recessed and/or track lighting.
  -If the kitchen is 200 square feet or less another option besides fluorescent would be a semi flush fixture that holds up to 3-100watt bulbs. (These are common in most lighting fixture catalogs)

Make a Free Website with Yola.