Considering Home Renovations? Here are 7 Home Lighting Renovations to Consider
Why Renovate Home Lights?
When thinking of home renovation, the common changes that come to mind are paint and furniture. Lights are often overlooked as an additional cost, but if done right, is a smarter option that can increase your energy efficiency in the long run, and can completely change the look of your house.
Those old CFLs, tubelights, and incandescents can make your home look outdated, and if this is the case, it’s time for a smart upgrade. Modern lighting solutions are also energy efficient.
For example, an average LED light bulb consumes around 90% less energy than an incandescent bulb.
In this article, we bring you 7 tips for lighting that should be a part of your overall renovation plan, with a special focus on lighting renovations.
Tips for Lighting up your Home
- Pick lights according to the living space:- Look at the size of the room, the purpose of the room, and the vibe that you want to give with the lighting installation. Some room lighting ideas are; keeping bright lights in common areas like the living room, kitchen and passageways, while having them less luminous yet focused in bedrooms and study rooms.
Follow the approach of ambient, accent and task lighting; use a mix of the three to achieve the best combination.
Ambient Lights – For general lighting to illuminate areas equally
Accent Lights – To focus on the special elements in the room
Task Lights – To focus on an area where a task is performed - Select lights before selecting the finishing and furnishing:- This is true for both new and renovated homes. Before finalizing paint, wallpaper finishing, and furnishings like upholstery and curtains, it’s important to visualize the effects and impact of various colors of a light with the elements in your house. It is advised to finalize your light selection before you finalize the other elements of the home.
Bright white lights make bright colors like red, orange, and yellow slightly more intense, whereas cool colors like green, blue and grey appear a bit darker and duller. So based on your interior settings, you can decide whether to go for a regular white light, or warm lights. - Consider Replacing Faulty Wiring:- Lighting renovations are an opportunity to replace old, worn-out, and faulty wiring within the house. The last thing you need on your new lighting fixtures is flickering and fluctuations. Review the power load requirements in each room, and if required reinforce wiring in places where there is a higher power consumption.
This will not only help you be safe with lighting, but also prevent electrical leakages. It will also increase the life and efficiency of all your electrical devices. - LED and their different forms:- Ah! The era of LEDs. The power efficiency and capabilities of the modern LED have LED us to recommend this option. While you are spoilt for choices, it can also be overwhelming when we consider the multitude of options available today.
As with all lights, understand the best function of each type of LED and then decide.
Use LED Surface lights for general lighting in common areas, and if you have the liberty to make some structural changes as a part of your renovations, concealed lights look quite neat and bring out a much modern effect.
Foot lights can really help for staircases and narrow passages, while strip lights can highlight the important elements in the room. - Use Technology to your advantage:- Mention of modern lighting is incomplete without harnessing the full power of technology which is at our disposal today. Motion sensor lights which turn on and off can be a good option in connecting areas of the house, as also wardrobes. Dimmer switches can be used to adjust the amount of brightness in a room, and colorful LEDs can be placed as a part of mood lighting or also as highlights. IoT-enabled lighting can self-adjust the light intensity and color based on the amount of light available, time of the day or as per your desired configuration.
- The Demographics of the residents:- Lighting renovations can have a more personalized approach when you understand the personal requirements of every individual. If you have an elder member of the family living with you, their living space should be designed to have ample of bright light in all areas. Young adults will appreciate and better operate remote-controlled or automatic functions in modern lighting today. If you have a small kid, it’s better to have warmer colors of light and include a very dim night light which can give them a feeling of safety without interfering with their sleep.
- Deploy a Licensed Electrician:- The statement speaks for itself. Have a skilled licensed technician perform your installations, to avoid damage to your lighting’s. Prefer someone whom you can reach out to in the future for any repair work or problems since they will already know the electrical plan of your house.
Conclusion
Finally, set a budget with a list of the pros and cons of all the home lighting ideas available at your convenience and what suits your home the best. Hopefully, the above tips shall help you gauge the best among the lot.
There is no standard template for lighting renovations. You get to decide whether you want your living space to look minimalistic, regal, or high-tech.