Functional Lighting

Lighting sets the ambience of any space or room. It also improves the functionality of any space. While the role of decorative lighting is to add style and flair to a space, functional lighting makes a workspace practical and efficient. With functional lighting, you can create a good-looking and practical environment. It helps you go about your daily activities.

What’s Functional Lighting?

Functional lighting or task lighting provides adequate illumination to perform specific tasks. From reading spaces and cooking areas to bathing places, you need functional lighting to perform common tasks. Functional lighting provides enough light for these tasks, ensuring safety and comfort.

Types of Functional Lighting

Functional lighting can be divided into the following main types.

Task Lighting

Task lighting provides direct light to specific surfaces, areas, or settings, which explains why it’s used for high-precision activities. Desk lamps, kitchen island lights, under-cabinet lights, bathroom vanity lights, etc. are common examples of task lighting.

Ambient Lighting

Commonly known as general lighting, ambient lighting illuminates a space with uniform light. A space draws its primary light from general lighting. It makes spaces warm, inviting, and lively. Common examples of ambient lighting include ceiling lighting fixtures like chandeliers, recessed lighting, and pendants.

Accent Lighting

When you want to highlight certain features like pieces of artwork, architectural details, and furniture, use accent lighting. Besides serving as a decorative light, accent lighting can also add functionality to a space. This enhances a space’s overall brightness.

How To Choose the Right Functional Lighting

Like other types of lighting, it’s important to choose the right functional lighting for your home or office. Here are the top factors you should consider to get it right with your choice.

• Purpose: First, determine the tasks and activities you want to perform in a space. For instance, reading and cooking cannot use the same type of functional lighting. Thus, list down the activities. Then, evaluate the needs of each activity. There are three different types of lighting; general, ambient, and task lighting. It’s important to note that a good lighting scheme blends all three. Consider supplementing the general lighting from pendants or overhead chandeliers with task lighting from suspended or dimmable LED task lamps.
• Function of the room: How do you intend to use the room? Is it for family life, entertainment, or work? What zones do you need to illuminate? Once you’re certain about this, install the right light. Set the right mood for decorative LED fixtures and have fun.
• Placement: When wrongly placed, lighting can cause shadows. Thus, it’s important to position your lighting in the right spaces. Your lighting shouldn’t create shadows. Enhance visibility and eye-related issues by placing your lighting in the right places.
• Color Choice: With the right lights in place, fabrics, patterned surfaces, and carpets pop. On the contrary, installing the wrong lighting can dull vibrant colours, making them appear distorted. So, it’s important to choose colour temperatures that perfectly match specific situations.
• Brightness Levels: Choose the most appropriate brightness level. Check the lighting fixture and read the number of lumens indicated for each task. Remember, don’t choose too much or too little light. Too much lighting can overwhelm while too light cannot sufficiently illuminate a space. Modern high-tech LEDs consume less power and produce as much light as incandescent lights. Previously, brightness was measured in wattage. However, with the emergence of LEDs, brightness is now being measured in lumens. Determine the amount of lighting required in different rooms in your home. Are you wondering how to go about it? Don’t worry. According to the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), you need 20 lumens per foot to illuminate a floor. For tables and raised surfaces, you’ll need 30 lumens per square foot. To light your desk, figure out around 50 to 75 lumens per square foot.
• Energy Efficiency: Choose energy-efficient lighting fixtures. This includes LED bulbs, which save up to 80 percent of energy.

What Is Style Lighting?

Style lighting entails establishing an aesthetically driven environment and creating a unique personality using lighting fixtures. From sconces, pendants, chandeliers, flush mounts, and tracks, to portable accessory lights, lighting can provide utilitarian detail, accentuate the wall textures with pieces of art, and cast a touch to dim corners.

When it comes to style lighting, the primary goal is to inject a particular personality and ambience into your space. Therefore, fixture design plays an important role. That’s why you must understand your space or work with a lighting expert when choosing a lighting system. Choose a lighting design that offers both functionality and aesthetics in a space.

While attractive décor elements, floor lamps, and table lamps are designed to brighten up dark areas and deliver sufficient illumination to a particular spot, it’s important to decide the positioning of functional and style lighting fixtures before permanently sealing the walls. Check to ensure that an electrician can easily access an existing wiring setup. This is important because it facilitates the supply of adequate light for various rooms. For more aesthetic appeal, consider enhancing the ambient light with classic sconces and chandeliers.

Your structure’s overall architectural theme influences the lighting style you choose. Both the interior and exterior elements give you the perfect opportunity to create unique expressions and styles. The lighting fixtures you choose speak a lot about your personality. Thus, make the right decisions to set a creative tone for each room.

Lighting up the Kitchen Island and tables is an art. Plus, there are several options you can opt for. From graceful modern designs, and traditional arts and crafts, to bodacious glamour, you can light up your kitchen islands and tables in different ways. Be sure to choose a fixture that makes a bold statement. Alternatively, work with a lighting expert for professional guidance. The bottom line is to install lighting fixtures that make these spaces functional and aesthetically appealing.

A Guide To LUX Light Levels

When it comes to lighting design, it’s important to get it right with the required lighting levels for each space. Remember, different spaces require different levels of light. The following table provides a guide to different LUX levels and their applications.

Analyze each space’s usage patterns and requirements. From here, you can choose the right design that offers adequate lighting (use the LUX level requirements) to the space.

Office Simulation Example

Here is an example to help you understand office lighting simulation. In this example, we will use 600x600mm LED panels to light an office space. The first step involves selecting a luminaire (in this case we use a 600x600mmm LED panel). Next, we will load the necessary light output data for this unit into the simulation. According to the industry standards, we will opt for an IES file (which provides details of lumens output and all angles from the lamp centre).

In this example, we use DIALux as the simulation tool. From here, we will position the panels in the ceiling in the initial desired position. We will select a working level, typically 0.75m above the floor. This will help simulate the light level (ensure the simulation runs).

Normally, the output should be reviewed. This will help optimize the positioning and determine the number of panels required to get the desired LUX level on the working plane. In this case, we are looking for an average maintained LUX level of 500. The following diagram illustrates the lighting design for the office area (which can be seen with 14 LED panels placed in the ceiling to obtain the required illumination).

As shown at the base of the chart, we have achieved a maintained LUX level of 499 (which is ideal). The concept (of maintained LUX level) means that we have allowed a light depreciation of 20% over the life of the luminaire. That’s why we have selected a maintenance factor of 0.8. This means that the LUX level at the start of usage will be 625 LUX.

Office Lighting Rendering

The illustration below provides a 3D visual rendering, which pictorially presents the lighting level in the space.

Benefits of Functional Lighting

Functional lighting comes with a myriad of benefits. They include.

• Enhanced Productivity: Eye strain, fatigue, sickness, etc. can be reduced through proper lighting. This makes it easier and more comfortable to perform tasks.
• Improves Safety: Stairways, kitchen spaces, bathrooms, etc. must be well-lit to optimize safety. Functional lighting provides the right level of lighting to make these spaces safe.
• They Are Versatile: You can adjust functional lighting to suit virtually any activity or mood. This gives you the flexibility of using your space the way you want.
• Aesthetic Appeal: Even though functional lighting provides practical illumination, you can also use it to enhance the aesthetics of a space. Plus, modern lighting designs encourage homeowners to combine different forms and functions seamlessly.

Bottom Line

Functional lighting provides practical illumination and creates a comfortable and efficient home environment. To get it right, you must understand the different types of functional lighting, choose the right fixture, and how they can be used more effectively. This way, you can optimize the functionality and aesthetics of any space.