The importance of room illumination
Light for humans has always been of great importance, since it is the visual analyzer provides us with almost 90% of the information about the world around us. And in a computerized society, to maintain at an appropriate level of visual acuity is not possible for everyone.
But even if you don’t work at the computer for 8 hours a day, your eyesight can be seriously impaired. It’s enough to make your home poorly lit and you will get a set of wounds in a couple of years.
Just the right lighting that is created in the house by different types of lighting fixtures will allow you to increase your productivity, normalize the microclimate in the family and more effectively rest from work.
Light in the home can be provided in the following ways:
- directional. This lighting creates ceiling chandeliers and wall sconces with floor lamps;
- diffused. Such light is possible from hidden lights, which have recently become very popular. They look especially beautiful on plasterboard and stretch ceiling constructions. Unlike directional lighting, diffuse lighting alone cannot provide the required level of light in a room on its own. Therefore, it often acts as additional lighting.
Separately, it is worth noting that such a room in the house as the kitchen requires additional lighting of certain areas. It is with the kitchen that many have problems in terms of forming the proper lighting. This is due to the fact that the kitchen is often small and always filled with all kinds of kitchen appliances, devices and cabinets. As a result, there are a lot of dark and poorly lit places. This problem can be solved with the help of:
- Spotlights installed over the work area (countertop, sink, stove);
- LED cabinet lighting.
But in any case, before installing those or other lighting fixtures, you need to figure out what degree of illumination you need.
Types of lighting
Modern technology allows you to install in the room not only the central lighting, but also additional. This approach allows you to control the light flux, setting the desired lighting power. There are the following types of lighting:
- Directional – the main sources – chandeliers, floor lamps, lamps;
- Diffused – additional light sources mounted on ceilings and walls.
A combination of these two types of lighting in the room allows you to create the ideal conditions in the room for work and leisure.
The influence of incorrect light
Light is a prerequisite for comfortable human life. Sanitary physicians have calculated standards and criteria for living spaces that are beneficial to human health and mental well-being.
The norms require windows in apartments for natural light, but artificial light must be turned on during the hours of darkness. Lack of light in living rooms can lead to the following abnormalities:
- irritability and fear;
- headaches;
- decreased ability to work;
- fatigue;
- insomnia;
- tiredness and red eyes;
- exacerbation of chronic diseases.
Children are the most affected by the lack of light in living rooms. If they have to do homework, read or play, use gadgets in the wrong light, they can develop visual impairment.
Over the years, the problem will only get worse. Therefore, in the nursery, it is important to think of multi-level lighting of the room to illuminate the room, work and play space.
Artificial light
You can’t do without natural light these days. It is an objective reality of our time. Mankind is becoming more and more active in the evening or at night. This is due to the fact that most of the daylight hours we are at work, while the family and leisure remain only in the evening and at weekends. Therefore, to rest properly, and communication with friends and family brought only positive emotions, you need to make sure that your home has optimal lighting.
A distinctive feature of artificial lighting is the ability to independently control the level of light available in each room of the house.
Artificial lighting for a residential home can be created by the following types of lighting fixtures:
- ceiling fixtures. Most often, their role is either one large chandelier or a lot of spotlights;
- wall sconces;
- table lamps;
- floor standing floor lamps.
Thanks to the excellent range of lighting fixtures market for home lighting, you can use a variety of light sources:
- Incandescent lamps;
- Halogen and metal halite lamps;
- Fluorescent light bulbs;
- Discharge lamps;
- LEDs.
Each of the above light sources has both pros and cons. So be very careful when choosing bulbs for your home, as not all bulbs will give you the level of light you need.
All of the above light sources, except incandescent light bulbs, are energy-saving. To date, the undoubted leader are LED models, because they are most economical in terms of energy consumption and have a long service life. But their disadvantage is quite high cost.
Lamps and indicators of light exposure
Lighting standards are specified in lux. And the luminous flux is measured in Lumens. 1 Lux = 1 Lm/m² (Lumens per meter squared).
Manufacturers produce halogen, fluorescent, led, LED and discharge lamps.
They consume less power according to the standards, giving a greater light flux.
Is the type of lighting and surface characteristics important
Interior design involves three types of lighting: accent lighting, functional lighting, and general lighting. Each of them to a greater or lesser extent affects the illumination. Knowing the peculiarities of the types, calculate the necessary indicator.
Accent lighting is used in the interior to highlight objects, creating the desired atmosphere. Various lighting effects are used, shades obtained from economical sources: LED strips, small lamps. There are no special requirements to the level of illumination.
Functional lighting is used for additional lighting of workplaces in the kitchen, in the workshop, office, by the mirror, etc. Designers use it to zoning rooms.
The purpose of general lighting is to give the amount of light needed for the room. Sources are placed on the ceiling, walls, use floor lamps, etc. The type of fixtures does not play a role. General lighting is used when calculating the necessary level, without taking into account the accent lighting, sometimes taking into account the local.
Sometimes, after all the calculations, it turns out that the illumination is insufficient. This happens when they do not take into account the reflectivity of surfaces. If the walls or floor of the room are dark and the ceiling is matte, the illumination is reduced. For example, the light above the desk is bright, it is enough for work. For reading a book on the couch, the light intensity is not enough, because the rays are poorly reflected from the dark walls.
There is a reflection coefficient (ROC), which depends on the color of the surface:
- white walls and ceiling reflect 70% of the light;
- light walls – 50%;
- gray: 30%;
- dark walls reflect 10%.
Black surfaces reflect nothing, absorbing the rays. Determine illuminance taking into account the reflection, using tables. There is a simplified formula, according to which the average reflectance coefficient is equal to the sum of DO of walls, ceiling, floor divided by 3. This factor is used in calculations.
Why do the calculation of lighting?
Firstly, this calculation is necessary to create sufficient room illumination, which in turn provides a favorable and comfortable conditions for human life.
Lack of lighting or its excessiveness, causes intense eye strain, rapid fatigue and has a noticeable psychological discomfort, which adversely affects human health in general.
The ideal lighting for our eyes is natural light (daylight, morning or evening sun, the sun behind the clouds).
The main task of calculating the room illumination is to bring the artificial lighting as close to natural as possible. Artificial light refers to such light, which a person has the ability to control.
Electric light is artificial, it is the result of conversion of electric energy into one of the types of electromagnetic radiation, which is perceived by the human eye as light. This transformation takes place inside the lamps installed in the bodies of electrical lighting installations (lamps, chandeliers, sconces, floor lamps and so on).
What data are required for the calculation
Calculate the number of fixtures for the room by simple methods: by electrical power and light power. The main thing that distinguishes the methods is the units of measurement. For calculations on electrical power it is watts, on light – lumens.
In addition to these parameters, take into account:
- The dimensions of the room: length, width. Multiplying them, find the area.
- The required power.
- The height of the ceiling. If more than 2,7 m, the coefficient is applied.
- Reflectivity of surfaces. Find an average value using the above formula.
How to check the level of illumination
Light intensity in different rooms is determined by the formula F=E×S×K. The letters stand for:
- E – illuminance norm from the table, Lk;
- S – area of the room, m²;
- K – correction factor.
The latter figure depends on the reflectivity of the surface, the height of installation of fixtures. For professional determination of the level, use special tables. They indicate the reflective properties of many objects. In everyday life, more simple calculations are used. Coefficient for residential areas with LED lighting is taken 1.1.
Artificial and natural light are measured separately. The work of the device is based on the fact that the built-in photocell captures light rays, which are converted into electricity. Its value is directly proportional to the level of illumination. The readings are displayed on a scale or screen.
Measurements are made in places with different intensity of light streams. Only horizontal surfaces remote from devices with electromagnetic radiation are checked for illumination. First check the total illumination, then – the workplace. The data is checked against the standards.
With insufficient lighting to bring the indicator to the required level. Most of the work consists of installing additional lighting fixtures. When planning the construction of a new building, determine the level of illumination, which depends on the comfort of living and working.
Important points
Lighting has long been an integral part of our daily lives. When organizing a technically and ergonomically correct system of artificial lighting of living space, you should take into account the following recommendations:
- Maximum uniform illumination of the entire room. The best option here is to use spotlights, located at equal intervals throughout the ceiling;
- Absence of sudden changes in lighting and its pulsation;
- pleasant light emitted by a light source;
- no “glare” when a person enters;
- pleasing to the eye, spectrum of light emitted by the bulbs;
- optimal conditions for shading;
- it is necessary to take into account the light reflectance of all surfaces of the room – ceiling, walls and floor.
In order to take all this into account, it is necessary to carry out a qualified design for each room in the house. There are many programs for this purpose. You can also seek help from residential light level design experts.
From all of the above, you can see that planning the light levels for each room in the house is a complex and time-consuming process. There are so many different parameters to consider if you want to get quality and comfortable lighting. The main thing here is patience, which will be rewarded with excellent health and well-being.