How do I know the type of light I need for my room?
Do you remember when the lighting in your house was a matter of deciding whether to choose an incandescent bulb or a fluorescent bulb, or a normal bulb or one that simulated a flame, a decorative element if ever there was one?
There were not too many options compared to what we know today, in fact there are so many and varied that buying a luminaire has become almost an act of faith.
In this blog we are going to simplify the concepts of lighting to make it easier for you to choose what type of light you need for each space and how they translate into their technical characteristics.
The main types of lighting that exist are divided into Natural, General, Environmental, Exposure, Kinetic, Focal or Spot, Decorative and Functional lighting and the projection of lighting is: direct, indirect and mixed:
HOW IS LIGHT MEASURED?
By means of the color temperature of the light, being cold light that whose color tends to blue and warm light that whose color tends to amber or orange.
This color temperature is measured in degrees KELVIN, imagine a black object exposed to a heat source between 2700 and 3000 K, the first tone that emits is orange, warm, if we raise the temperature to 4000 or 5000 K, will emit a white light, or cold and if we continue to increase to 6500 K, the object in question will emit a light with bluish tints.
It is widely demonstrated, the influence that light has on the human being, hence the need to adapt the lighting to the space, so, for activities that require greater concentration as in the kitchen, bathroom, study area ... will require a cooler or bluish color temperature, while for moments of relaxation such as watching TV, rest ... we will need a warmer type of light. In the following image we can see in general lines what color temperature has a sunny day and the activities that we realize.
In principle with these concepts we can already have a more approximate idea of what type of light we need for each space in our home, which is not little, but we need more data to illuminate a room.
HOW MUCH LIGHT DO I NEED FOR EACH ROOM?
Obviously it will depend on the square meters of the room to be illuminated and the purpose of that room, and also your personal taste, some people feel more comfortable with a warmer light temperature, remember are the orange tones or cooler, whiter tones, about tastes ... there is a formula to calculate the light of the room:
Lumens = Luxes X square meter
The lumen, in general terms, is the unit that indicates the total "amount" of light that we perceive, in short, the higher the number associated with the lumen, the more a bulb will illuminate and the lux is the amount of light we have in 1 square meter.
In the following table, we show you the amount of light per square meter that you need for a correct illumination:
WHAT TYPE OF LIGHT BULB DO I NEED?
In general and given the current situation, the most economical and efficient, the aspects to consider are:
The watt (w) consumption, obviously the more watts your light source consumes, the higher the energy bill will be, in this sense the most economical option is the LED.
The tone of the light: cold or warm.
Lumens or light intensity: Amount of light per square meter.
Type of socket.
Years of warranty.
Useful life in years.
Angle of light.
Dimmable: regulating the intensity allows you to save up to 40% of electricity.
In the following image, you will be able to see all the information offered by the labels of the different light bulbs we are talking about.
* Image information labels of the bulbs.