To fully understand how to make the most of your home lighting, using the correct indoor light fixtures for the different types of light requirements, (i.
e.
task lighting, accent and general lighting), it helps to understand the basic types of light being given out by each.
Task lighting is that lighting which allows you to carry out your "tasks" around the house - for example, reading, knitting and playing the piano.
All of these tasks require you to concentrate on the work at hand and in order to do this work you need good light.
Task lighting is more often than not provided by fluorescent overhead lights and can be supplemented by other lamps, commonly adjustable table lamps which the worker can adjust to a more suitable angle.
Adjustable lamps can be desk lamps, as well as floor lamps, or other portable lights that can be clipped onto shelves or other surfaces.
Accent Lighting is lighting that is used to focus on an art object such as a painting or a sculpture, or any other object that you want to highlight.
Perhaps even to highlight a coffee table or a certain corner of a room.
Picture lights for example, can be used to highlight a painting.
A hanging pendant or a table lamp can be used to highlight a small table.
Sometimes it can prove difficult to obtain the exact effect you are after because lamps have different sizes of beams and trying to make the beam fit the object is not always easy.
Low voltage lights or spotlights are other good ways of using lighting to highlight objects.
As well as having lighting pertinent to a particular use or task, the other side of the coin is to look at the types of light being emitted by different light fixtures and to see where this light might be better used.
We briefly examine neon, fluorescent and low voltage lighting although there are obviously many other types of lighting available.
Whilst we are more accustomed to seeing neon signs and lighting in malls and streets, neon lighting is becoming more popular for special effects lighting at home.
The ability to bend the neon lighting tube into different shapes at will is the principle reason why this type of lighting was so prevalent in the signs and streets for many years.
The downside to using this type of lighting fixture is that it uses a high voltage and is quite vulnerable to breakage - hence for this reason it is not recommended to have neon lighting in children's bedrooms.
Whilst neon lighting can be very efficient and cheap to run once it is installed, the initial cost of buying this type of lighting is relatively expensive.
Fluorescent lighting is a cheap and efficient lighting form.
This is because fluorescent light uses about five times less electricity than its incandescent counterparts but still gives the same amount of light.
Also, this type of lighting is longer lasting and doesn't radiate as much heat from the tube.
Fluorescent lighting is a popular choice for task lighting.
Low voltage lighting is another popular lighting choice as these lights do not give off a lot of glare and can still be used to provide sufficient light for your surroundings.
Also, this type of lighting is cheap and efficient and the low voltage bulbs last a lot longer than the conventional GLS bulbs.
An added bonus is that that low voltage bulbs tend to be quite small, which means they can be tucked away inside small light fittings designed for a variety of purposes.