How Much Light Do You Need?

1. How Much Light Do You Need?

2. How much light do you need? • When redecorating, remodeling or building, lighting is typically almost an after thought, but it is as important as comfortable furniture. It will make your surroundings inviting and comfortable or convey a particular look and feel in line with your personal preferences. • Some tips to keep in mind: • While a light bulb can’t exactly replicate the sun, it does help us to function and feel better. • Cool light produces higher contrast than warm hues. Rooms should always have layers of light, not just one source. • When it comes to buying light bulbs, cheaper is not always better. Often there is a thinner filament that will burn hotter, burning out the bulb more quickly. • Light output is measured in lumens as to what a bulb produces. • Energy is the electrical power usage measured in watts. • Design Voltage – measures a bulbs capacity. • Average life-- the hours the bulb should last in use. • Well used rooms especially need good overall balanced lighting.

3. How much light do you need? • Some tips to keep in mind: • A good lighting scheme adapts to a room being used in different ways. It’s easy to add task lighting as needed. Dimmers on overheads and task lights give options for dramatic lighting when needed or desired. • Look for flow between connected rooms such as the entryway and dining/living room. • As we get older we truly do need more light – in fact according to the American Lighting Association we need four times as much light to see well at age 60 than we did at age 20. Unfortunately changing the bulbs in your home to a higher wattage isn’t the answer – especially if the fixture isn’t rated for them. • Bathrooms, Kitchens and bedrooms are the areas where seniors seem to want and need more light as they age. Under the cabinet lighting shining directly on work surfaces is a good solution or the kitchen. Floor lamps and portable lights are good options for reading areas if remodeling isn’t’ practical or feasible • Fluorescent lighting saves energy and money than regular incandescent lighting. New Compact Fluorescent Lights are mini versions of fluorescents that can screw into standard light sockets, so they can be used in any fixture. They cost more to purchase but are four times more efficient.

4. How much light do you need? • Dimmers are a great invention that makes lighting cost-effective. You can change the light level with the activity in the room. It offers a change in mood, flexibility and productivity. There are a variety of types of dimmers to suit your liking: • Touch dimmers – allow you to vary the intensity of the light while depressing a button. There is often one-touch recall of the previous lighting levels. • Slide Dimmers offer a full range of manual dimming control. Some also have glowing indicator lights. • Rotary dimmers provide full range of manual control and some have push buttons that let you turn on and off the light to the previous level. • Integrated or Multi Set dimming system allows you to create multiple preset lighting scenes within a room. They can be recalled by touching the button from a single wall box or with a wireless remote.