How Many Lights Do I Need Per Room?
Friday 11th January 2019 12:07pm
When installing light the main things to consider are the size of the room and the what you are using the room for.
Some key terms you’ll come across is lumens and watts. Lumens is a measure of brightness; the higher the lumen output, the brighter the light. Wattage relates to how much power is being used to run the light. For your reference, an old school 100W incandescent globe produced around 1,500-1,700 lumens. The main thing to know is that as lighting evolves and becomes more and more efficient; high wattage does not always equate to brightness.
Let’s break it down by room, generally speaking you’ll need more lighting in bathrooms, kitchens and office spaces.
Room Type
|
Lumens per square meter (Lux)
|
Bathroom General Lighting
Examples: Downlight, 3-in-1 Exhaust Fan Units, CTC and Oyster.
|
170-180
|
Bathroom Task Lighting
Examples: Cabinet Lighting, Vanity Lighting, Spot/Track Lighting, Strip Lighting and Wall Lighting.
|
500
|
Bedroom or Living General Lighting
Examples: Downlight, Oyster, Pendant, Wall Lighting, Spot/Track Lighting and Ceiling Fan Lighting.
|
170-180
|
Bedroom or Living Task Lighting
Examples: Lamps, Cabinet Lighting, Low Hanging Pendants, Strip Lighting and Wall Lighting.
|
400
|
Dining General Lighting
Examples: Downlight, Pendant and Spot/Track Lighting.
|
170-180
|
Garage General Lighting
Examples: Downlights, Batten Lighting and Oyster Lighting.
|
170-180
|
Garage Task Lighting
Examples: Cabinet Lighting, Strip Lighting and Batten Lighting.
|
400
|
Kitchen and Laundry General Lighting
Examples: Downlight, Oyster, 3-in-1 Exhaust Fan Units, CTC and Spot/Track Lighting.
|
250
|
Kitchen and Laundry Task Lighting
Examples: Cabinet Lighting, Pendants and Strip Lighting.
|
400
|
Hallway and Stair General Lighting
Examples: Sensor Lighting, Wall Lighting, Downlights, CTC, Stair Lighting, Pendant Lighting and Oyster Lighting.
|
100-150
|
Outdoor General Lighting
Examples: Sensor Lighting, Spotlights, Downlights, Batten Lighting, Ceiling Fan Lighting, Bunker Lights, Oyster Lighting, Wall Lighting and Deck Lighting.
|
170-180
|
Outdoor Decorative Lighting
Examples: Deck Lighting, Garden Lighting, Bollard Lighting, Wall Lighting, Submersed Pool Lighting and Recessed Lighting.
|
50
|
|
|
For example, you're looking at putting downlight in your bedroom which is 4 x 5 m (20m2), you should have 180 (lux) x 20 (m2) = 3,600 Lumens in your space which is around 4 x downlights.
Because every home and style is different; get in touch with our expert staff in-store or online to get personalised advice on lighting up your space.