Home Improvement Advice

Archive for the ‘lighting’ Category

Everyone’s home needs some sort of outside lighting. Whether it’s to help you get the key in the lock after a night out, or to emphasise some of your favourite garden features, outdoor lighting is a must.

The most common and practical lighting fixture is one that is activated by movement or an infra-red motion detector. These can be set to become active at dusk and any movement will turn the light on. It means that energy is saved as the light is off when not required but it switches on when someone moves.  This type of light has the added bonus of deterring unwanted visitors and also lighting up any callers who come to your door giving you added security.

Another form of exterior lighting is solar lighting. This stores energy from the sun when lights are not required, and releases it as light energy when needed. Solar lighting can take the form of individual lamps or a major lighting installation that uses a central store of solar light stored in a battery. The individual lights each have their own solar mechanism and can be used to light paths or driveways with the minimum amount of installation work as they do not need electric cabling between them and the power source.

A major garden lighting installation will need to be done by a qualified electrician who knows all of the current regulations. Cables need to be laid in ducts to prevent damage from the weather and wildlife and so they cannot be disturbed by general garden activities, digging and the like.

An overall garden lighting scheme should not be too bright so as to annoy you neighbours but must be bright enough for the purpose they are intended. Some fairy lights strung between two trees make your garden look much more inviting than a 1000W floodlight that bathes everything in harsh white light.

Many people only venture into the garden with lights at Christmas when taste and practicality gives way to neon Snowmen and flashing reindeer all done “for the children” but often a competition between homes to see who can improve on last year’s display. I say why not? It’s the holiday season and anything that brings a bit of sparkle to an otherwise unused area in the winter months is more than welcome.

Other lighting in the garden can be used to highlight specific features. A well positioned spotlight can emphasise the features of a garden statue or a particularly precious tree or shrub. Many ponds have underwater lighting to help you see your fish and outdoor swimming pools often have lights set into the sides to improve vision in the pool.

Whatever route you decide to travel down to light your garden ensure that you have a plan before you start and you will increase your enjoyment of your outside space after daylight hours.

* What are the different types of lighting?

The different types of lights are incandescent, tungsten-halogen, compact fluorescent lamps, tubular fluorescent fixtures, and HID (high-density discharge).

•Incandescent lights have a relatively short life. They can only withstand between 1000 and 3000 hours of continuous use. They are also the least efficient source of regular lights.

•Tungsten-halogen are lights that belong to cateogyr of incandescent lamps. They have become gradually popular in recent years. They generate a white light with more intense standards.

•Dense florescent lights are a kind of fluorescent light but generate color more similar to some incandescent lamps. They combine the standard features of other lights.

•Tubular fluorescent lights are in tubular shape. They have a smaller diameter but are more efficient compared to other lights. They have a magnetic ballast that the lightning features depend upon.

•HID is a type of light that has a high output of light. Its components are mercury, metal halide, vapor and high pressure of sodium lighting.

* What are the different kinds of fixtures?

An extensive diversity of fixtures is available for different purposes. In general, fixtures are practical, versatile, presentable, and durable to make the interior design colorful.

The three main groups of fixtures are end piece fixtures, ceiling lights fixtures, and landscape fixtures.

•End piece fixtures have a design to work with solid standard cable wire.

•Ceiling light fixtures are handled with modified cable with larger diameter and capacitors.

•Landscape fixtures are used for giving colors and additional attraction for the background of landscape.

* What is a fluorescent light?

A fluorescent light produces energy from the atom. It is composed of many small particle pockets that expand to cause momentum. The basic unit of lights in flourescent is “light photons.”

Atoms discharge light photons when the electrons heat up. The electrons travel around certain orbit to increase the net charge and produce energy levels. After that light is produced from the nucleus.

* What is incandescent light?

Incandescent lights produce light by a shimmering filament. The filament is heated by white-hot electric current. Incandescence is the light-giving method. A glass container or lamp encloses the bulb.

It normally has a vacuum with a low-pressure to produce oxidation of filament with a high temperature.

* What is halogen?

Halogen can provide brilliant illumination by the use of electric current to heat the filament of metal and tungsten until it burns. Halogen has a filament inside a container or envelope.

A halogen lamp works much the same way as an incandescent lamp. On the other hand, the chemical reactions between halogen lamps are proficient and brighter than incandescent lamps.

A major problem with central room lighting is that it is often not bright enough to illuminate the task you are trying to perform. There is often something between you and the source of the light, casting a shadow over what you are trying to do, making everything more difficult. The easiest way to eliminate this problem is to increase the light emitted by your current room light fixture by putting in a brighter bulb. Unfortunately this permanently increases the light in the room and can be oppressive when you do not need to see things close at hand. The solution is task lighting.

The most common form of task lighting is found in kitchens. Undercabinet lights are installed behind a facia panel and provide direct light onto work surfaces. This eliminates the problem of shadows falling across food preparation surfaces and greatly reduces the risk of accidents when using kitchen implements. Undercabinet lighting is available to purchase both online and at regular “offline” outlets.

Task lights are also extremely useful in other rooms of the house. A clip-on spotlight can be moved around a room to whoever needs it and wherever it is needed. An angle-poise lamp can be positioned differently depending on the particular task you are undertaking, whilst a floor standing lamp can be more permanently positioned to provide backlighting to compliment the primary source of light in a room.

Many manufacturers offer bathroom task lighting, mainly in the form of a light above a mirror with a shaver socket incorporated in the design. Be aware that these need to be fitted by a qualified person, water and electricity are notoriously bad bed fellows and there are many regulations governing light fittings in bathrooms.

The bedroom is another location that task lighting has many advantages over central room lighting. A couple can have a task light each, allowing one to continue to read when the other wants to go to sleep. A room that contains a display of some description will benefit hugely from the addition of task lighting. Whether it is a low voltage track lighting arrangement, that allows spotlights to be directed onto a display cabinet, or a small uplighter that bathes a painting in a natural glow both will have the desired effect. They will naturally draw the eye of the onlooker to the item or items on display.

An easier way of bringing task lighting to a room that is lit only by a central lighting fixture is to change that fixture for one that is itself a task light. Many companies offer central task lighting, a three way spotlight fitting or a track light with a central feed are just two ways of changing the whole feel of a room without great cost or expense.

As with any electrical work always ensure that it is completed by a competent person, A  badly fitted light is as dangerous as no light at all.