Lighting Design specialists

Which light source to use?

Before we begin planning the lighting design, the light source needs to be selected. There is a large range available, each with their own benefits. Here are the most commonly encountered:

LED: modern, low energy light source based on electronic ‘Light Emitting Diodes’. This lighting technology is very long lasting (up to 50,000 hours) and versatile, available as lamps, modules and tapes.

Fluorescent: another low energy technology, although not quite as efficient as LED. The average life of these lamps is around 10,000 hours. Fluorescent lighting is characterised by the brief period it takes for these lamps to reach full brightness after switching them on.

Halogen Incandescent: a high energy technology available in either extra low or main supply voltage. They last an average of 4,000 hours. Despite being costly to run, halogen lamps have a high colour rendition index and dim very well with a wide variety of equipment.

What is the lighting’s purpose?

When considering the layout of lighting, it’s vital to consider its purpose. Doing so creates an efficient and effective lighting scheme.

Eaton Electrical always focus on making sure the design fits the purpose before making it aesthetically appealing. Of course, aesthetics are important but making sure that the lighting is functional comes as paramount importance for our designers.

Lighting design techniques

To create a state of the art lighting scheme, there are various techniques that can be used. This includes layering, grazing, silhouetting and wall washing.

Light layering

Light layering uses four primary layers of light: ambient, task, accent and decorative. Ambient is the natural light entering the room, task is the illumination required to complete an activity (spotlights in the kitchen), accent lighting highlights and adds emphasis to items and structural features, and decorative lighting uses fixtures that are chosen for their aesthetics over their functional performance.

Eaton Electrical uses layers to create an atmosphere in a room.

Wall washing

A standard lighting layout in the home is often spotlights in a grid layout. By moving these to the edges of the room, the light bounces off walls and surfaces to illuminate the room. This gives a more of an ambient illumination rather than harsh direct beams. This technique is referred to as wall washing.

Silhouetting and grazing

Silhouetting and grazing are both techniques we can employ to enhance the visual appeal of a room. Shining a light on an object in an alcove or niche creates added interest and drama, whilst accentuating your prized possessions. Grazing involves passing a narrow, beamed light source over a texture to create stunning visual effects.

A combination of the techniques will be used to best light your space. Professional design software packages such as AutoCAD and Relux help us to plan the lighting scheme.

Lighting control

The final step is choosing a method of controlling the lighting. This again is done by understanding how you will be used the space on a day to day basis. What events take place? Is the room used for more than one purpose? Are different areas of the room used at different times? These questions will enable us to specify an appropriate lighting control system.

Eaton Electrical can install a range of lighting control systems so that the lighting can be adapted to suit certain occasions or moods. The most popular are dimmers and movement sensors.

Lighting installation

Considerations must be given when selecting a suitably qualified, reputable installer for your lighting. Eaton Electrical is accredited to the NICEIC and ECA, all equipment that we use it CE marked and approved for safe use.