With all those choices of bulbs available on the market, most of us never understand which bulbs are perfect for a particular room. We mostly buy a single bulb type and use them in our home.
The result, in most cases, is inadequate light, which affects our overall mood and productivity. Many of us work from home, at least for some days of the week; the lighting can surely impact our work efficiency too.
Multiple studies have highlighted the importance of lighting on employee productivity. These studies are also relevant to office space and apply to home workspaces.
So, what’s the right way to choose the light bulbs for different areas in your home? We’ll discuss it in this article and guide you with your next purchase of bulbs.
Process of choosing the light bulb:
Below are the main steps to follow when choosing the light bulb:
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Step 1: Decide what you use the room for:
The first step to finalizing the selection of the right bulb is deciding the functionality of each room at your home.
For example, you might have a separate work area in your home that requires proper lighting, while in your separate space, you want dim lights. Making such a selection will help you analyze your needs before you purchase the bulb.
Here are some of the lighting types to fit different functionalities:
Task lighting:
Such lighting suits the best when you need light specified to a certain point, for example, over the kitchen counters. This light type is brighter and ensures you get all the required lighting for the specific task.
Accent Lighting:
Accent lighting is specifically for highlighting a particular area or art piece placed at a position. You can consider it as lighting for creating a dramatic effect.
You can find landscape lights and wall lights in this category.
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Ambient Lighting:
This is the general lighting for any room or place. Also known as natural lighting, it offers everyday lighting to our rooms. It might not be highly focused on an object or wall, but it ensures all the areas get a bit of the light emitted from the source.
Now you understand different forms of lighting; you can decide the functionality required in each room and the exact lighting location. You don’t have to worry about the appearance of the lighting for now, as that can be decided later.
Your priority must be to have the lighting cables and outlets at points where you need the lighting.
Step 2: Selection of the right bulb:
Once you have decided on the type of lighting for each location, now is the time to choose the bulb to consider in every situation.
Based on technology, you’ll find four basic types of light bulbs in the market. Let us explain each a bit to help you make your decision easier.
Incandescent – these traditional light bulbs emit warm and glowing light. It is easier to remember them because they were used for decades until the discovery of new energy-efficient bulbs.
Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) – these bulbs got the hype because of their 75% power requirement usage. They had a cooler tone of light, offering multiple levels of brightness and tones.
LED Bulbs – they are energy efficient, but apart from being energy efficient, they also offer a three times longer lifetime. The initial LEDs only had the cooler white tone, but now you can also find them with the same warmth as the incandescent bulbs. One of the drawbacks of these bulb types is that they are highly expensive compared to the other options.
Halogen Bulbs – these bulbs provide bright white light like natural light. They are not as energy efficient as CFLs or LEDs but are still better than incandescent light bulbs.
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There is some other basis for the categorization of the bulbs, too. These include the bulb’s brightness and light appearance. We’ll briefly discuss these categorizations here so you have all the information for effective decision-making.
Soft white/warm white – these light bulbs provide a warm, cozy look with a traditional feel. Using them in the living room and bedroom seems to be the best option.
Bright white/cool white – this light type gives you a clear and energetic feel. Using them in the garage, kitchen, and bathrooms is a good idea
Daylight – these lights emit light similar to daylight, which is important for carrying on detailed-oriented tasks, including reading.
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Step 3: Selection of lighting fixtures:
Different lighting fixtures serve different purposes and have different aesthetic appearances.
Let’s have a look at some of the common options available.
Pendant Lighting:
These types of fixtures hang from the ceilings and come with shades to emit distributed light.
Chandeliers:
This lighting type involves a lot of bulbs within a single fixture. It is perfect in situations when you need ambient lighting. Living rooms are the best places where you can use this lighting fixture.
Recessed Lighting:
It is the type of lighting fixed in the ceiling facing downwards. The light type and brightness can vary in this lighting type, and you can use it at different locations for achieving different purposes.
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Table lamps:
One of the other lighting types is table lamps. You can put them anywhere on the table with different forms of lighting bulbs, and they can emit the right kind of light for you.
Step 4: Make the room-specific call:
Now that you have all the information about types of lighting, types of light bulbs, and lighting fixtures available, you must utilize the functionality of each area of your home as the first step of the process and decide according to your needs.
It is better to buy lighting according to these functionality types instead of going the other way around. It will save you money, time, and effort.
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Call the electrician:
Once you have purchased the right lighting type for the different parts of your home, you can call Chicago Electricians. Our expert team will do all the connections for you, making it easier to enjoy the lighting. By making the right selection of lighting bulbs and fixtures for each room, you can enhance your productivity and the room’s utility in the best possible manner.
