What You Need To Know About Light Fixtures By Danita Lickfelt At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

From the time man started to use fire for warmth and light at night, he had not stopped trying to think of ways to make it better. From the flaming faggots from his campfire he used as a torch, he had learned to use ingenious means to light up his nights. In the West Indies man learned to use glowworms, beetles, in his quest for light. In the cold regions, man found out that carcasses of oily animals - penguins, for instance -- through which a wick has been drawn make good lanterns. He discovered how olive or nut oil could be used to fuel vegetable-fiber burning wick lamps. Through his ingenuity, he removed the lack of natural light at night as an obstacle to his nocturnal pursuits.

These lighting fixtures, so novel during their time, now remain purely as items of curiosity. Today, lighting fixtures are available in such a variety that there's bound to be one for every possible purpose. To get the most out of a modern lighting fixture, there are certain rules to follow. Here are a few things you should know about the optimal placement of light fixtures:

Reading Lamps

Regardless of whether it's a floor lamp or a table tamp, reading lamps placed next to chairs are positioned with the bottom of their shades between 40 and 42 inches above the floor. That should place the bottom of the shade slightly below the seated reader's eye level . Lamps placed behind chairs are positioned higher: at least 47 inches from the floor, and 10 inches behind the reader. Bedside lamps should have the lowest part of their shades positioned around 20 inches above the pillow.

Task Lighting

Bright, focused light is needed to light work areas. The bright light prevents us from getting drowsy or having our focus wander, a dangerous thing when dicing carrots with a sharp knife, for instance. That's why task lighting is used in work areas, be it the kitchen, the office or study, the dining room, or the bathroom. Regardless of whether it's a pendant, recessed light, or a spotlight, there are optimal distances between the light and the work area surface. A pendant should be around 30 inches from the table, higher if the ceiling is over 8 feet (add 3 inches for every foot in excess). For all other tasks (sewing, writing, reading, encoding), the light source should be between 14 and 15 inches from the work.

Wall-mounted Fixtures

Generally, fairly flat wall-mounted fixtures are placed above eye level, with bulkier ones that extend more than 4 inches from the wall mounted well above eye level. The reason for this is fairly obvious: visitors run the risk of bumping their heads on your wall-mounted fixtures otherwise. This is a handy advice to remember when installing your candle wall sconce.

Track Lighting

Track lights are the most flexible fixtures in the market. Individual light fixtures can be moved anywhere along the track, and can be positioned right, left, up, or down to where precisely you want the light focused. You need tracks if you have a number of metal wall art in your living room.

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