Today, we depend on artificial lighting, to light up our lives. Lighting is both a combination of science and art. Lighting has improved since the days of a candle and oil lamp, however many of us are unaware of what good lighting can do.

Many homes are too bright inside, but often have too few lights. Often the light in your living room or bedroom is too harsh, and often you end up squinting due to the amount of glare. This can be uncomfortable for everyday living and working. A room that is lit by a single unshaded source is a classic example of this problem.

See the effect of light, not the light
Putting a light fitting in the middle of the room diminishes a feeling of space. In contrast, lighting up walls and other surfaces, creates a sense of space and mood. The objective is to use the elements of the room to create an atmosphere for well being.

Your atmosphere
The most effective way to create your atmosphere is to use a combination of lighting methods.

Wall washing spot lights can be used to flood walls with light. The wall will be used as a reflector, to bounce the indirect light into the room.

Adjustable and fixed spot lights can be used in conjunction with each other to create pockets of light using a narrow beam halogen bulb, or a general distribution of light using wider beam halogen bulbs. Adjustable spot lights give you the flexibility to change your atmosphere over time.

Wall mounted uplights create a sense of drama, and add dynamics to the shape and feel of a room. Using halogen bulbs, gives a very warm white glowing light.

How much light and how to direct it?
Poor lighting is often the result of having too few lights. But many of us have the perception that the room is already bright enough, so we don’t require any more lights. However, increasing the number of lights, allows each light to be of a lower wattage, consume less power, and give an even spread of light.
The lower the wattage, the lower the brightness, and hence we reduce the risk of glare. Having more light sources, allows us to control and direct the light to where we want it, rather than having one powerful uncomfortable source of light.

Useful light
Task lighting is what we define when we want to use light for specific activities, such as reading or cooking. A simple example is using a bedside lamp for reading.
Effect lighting is used to create stimulating scenes. Using a coloured bulb is simple example of adding colour to a room.
Accent lighting is using focused light on objects or surfaces specifically to illuminate them. Using an adjustable spot light and focusing it on a painting or photo is an example of accent lighting.
Ambient lighting is used to illuminate the background space so that the area feels as if its lit, however, often the lighting is relatively subdued and hidden. This can be achieved using wall washers around the edges of the room, to illuminate the walls and create a sense of light, with no direct light falling on the eye.

Choosing the right light fitting
There are two important considerations. It must look good and be a part of your space, either blend in, or contrast depending on your design. The light fitting must also function in its job to provide the correct type of useful light that you require.

Ceiling lights
This is a very popular choice as most wiring is concealed in the ceiling, and can provide an excellent general spread of light onto the floor and surfaces below. Examples of this are spot lights, ceiling fixtures and pendants. Using many spot lights allows you to use lower wattage bulbs to achieve a uniform spread of light and reduce glare. Ceiling fixtures are almost part of the architecture where they can be used as an attractive piece in their own right, but also provide useful light. Pendant fixtures can be subtle or striking and are often used over dining tables, kitchen island worktops, bar areas and in high ceiling hallways.

Wall lights
They provide both a convenient and practical surface for mounting fittings and a reflective plane to create a gentle source of ambient light. Wall lights can be directional, as in the case of uplighters or downlighters, or can emit light in a variety of directions.
Wall lighting can provide a subtle form of background lighting, that can be calming and glare free.

Low level lights
This is dramatic but highly practical way of illuminating hallways, staircases and other areas. This can generate an effect without compromising on space or having to illuminate the whole area. It can also be used to safely illuminate a flight of stairs. LED lights can be left on, as they consume very little power and remain relatively cool compared to halogen bulbs.

Lighting Design
We approach lighting design in a professional creative and dynamic way. There are several important considerations in attempting to get to a solution.

Objective
This is the guide for the lighting design and brings all elements of the process together. This will define the purpose of the lighting. There are three basic human requirements
1. Visual comfort – to provide a sense of well being
2. Visual performance – to allow people to carry out their tasks, under all circumstances and to allow people to continue activities for longer periods
3. Safety

Glare is defined as a situation where one part of an interior or surrounding is much brighter than the general brightness of the same area. Looking a the sun directly causes discomfort and is an example of glare. The most common causes of glare or excessive brightness today is direct lighting and reflection from windows or reflective surfaces.

Safety
Lighting must be electrically and mechanically safe, and allow the occupants to use that space safely. This is part of the statutory regulations that have to be met. Any hazards that may be present have to be taken into account for, and a consideration for emergency lighting be made, especially for commercial and public lighting.

Visual Tasks
Often there may be more than one visual task that needs to be performed. We have to take into consideration, contrast, colour discrimination to determine the quantity and quality of the lighting that we want to achieve.

Guidelines for lighting design are published by the Chartered Institute of Building Service Engineers (CIBSE). There are a total of 11 guides.
Lighting Guide 1: The Industrial Environment (2002)
Lighting Guide 2: Hospitals and Healthcare Buildings (1989, addendum 1999)
Lighting Guide 3: The Visual Environment for Display Screen Use (2nd Edition, 1996, addendum 2001)
Lighting Guide 4: Sports (1990, addendum 2000)
Lighting Guide 5: Lecture, Teaching and Conference Rooms (1991)
Lighting Guide 6: The Outdoor Environment (1992)
Lighting Guide 7: Lighting for Offices (1993)
Lighting Guide 8: Museums and Galleries (1994)
Lighting Guide 9: Lighting for Commercial Residential Buildings (1997)
Lighting Guide 10: Daylighting and Window Design (1999)
Lighting Guide 11: Surface Reflectance and Colour – Its Specification and Measurement for Lighting Engineers)