What Every Homeowner Should Know About Minimum Lighting Requirements By Jessica Ackerman At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

A 1620 Plymouth Pilgrim transported in time to the future in 2009 would be pleasantly surprised to find - not the all-purpose Betty lamps lighting up homes, but lights that not only seem to issue from nowhere, and which become brighter or darker as if by magic, but lights of many kinds illuminating rooms in a variety of tones and intensities. Indeed, there's so much available in the market today that the Pilgrims of five centuries ago might be, in a sense, lucky. Having only the Betty lamp, they have a much easier task lighting their homes than any modern man.

In spite of that, it remains doubtful whether anyone would exchange places with the Pilgrims and their Betty lamps. In the area of home lighting, as in probably all other areas of endeavor, modern man never had it so good. Here are a few more things you, the modern home decorator, needs to know about lighting:

Entrance

Wall-mounted bracket lights should be enough to illuminate the area outside the door to enable those inside to see the person outside. Back entrances should be similarly lighted.

Entry Halls

A 15-watt floodlamp recessed into the ceiling should be enough to light up a 75-square foot space.

Hallways

The average hall can be lighted using 40- to 80-watt incandescents recessed into the ceiling every 10 feet.

Living Rooms

The average-sized living room must have at least four table or floor lamps of between 100- and 150-watts for table lamps, and between 150- and 500-watts for the floor lamps. To give enough background light and to eliminate shadows when using task lighting, each wall must have around 200 watts. Lamps tasked with lighting up an entire corner should deliver at least 200 watts.

Dining Rooms

Incredibly, chandeliers are best placed in dining rooms. The chandelier and the dining table are a veritable visual feast and are the piece de resistance in some homes. Of course, the chief piece of furniture, the table, has to be lighted. Do this by having low-wattage recessed downlights on either side of the chandelier or pendant. Round everything off to perfection using candles on the table, placed high enough so that the diners don't have to look through the flame. Often, the dining table doubles as a study table or a work surface, so illumination from either the center fixture or other lamps must be increased. Pendants must be 30 to 36 inches from the table top, and must have at least 150-watts.

Bedrooms

A relatively low-watt, glare-free ceiling fixture is recommended for the bedroom which is used not only for sleeping, but also for reading, writing, and sewing. Small bedrooms should make do with 40-watts, while bigger ones need 100-watts. Mirrors and dressing tables might have bracket lights. A wall candle holder on each side of your mirror or dressing table would also be perfect. It'd also be good to have retractable 100-watt reading lights on a three-way switch. This reading lamp should be installed 12 inches from the bed , level with the reader's shoulder. Use a 100-watt recessed in closets.

Kitchen

Have a central light of at least 150-watts for general illumination. To avoid the potentially dangerous shadows a single central light brings, the stove, sink, and counter tops have to be illuminated separately with at least 40-watts each.

Laundry, Workshop, Garage

In the laundry or home workshop, either fluorescent or incandescent light may be used over the work area or workbench; same with the garage.

Bathrooms

The mirror is an important lighting center in the bathroom, and is illuminated using either bracket lights or encircling light of 60-watt incandescent. Often this should be enough in a small bathroom, although recessed ceiling lights of 100-watts should be had as well. If yours is a big bathroom, consider a pair of wall candle holders bracketing your bathroom mirror.

Study Rooms or Dens

These receive the same lighting provisions as the living room if as big.

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