Issue No. 30, June 2012

Lighting can make a big difference in your home. Good lighting helps you see better and perform tasks more easily. It also provides safety, security and a sense of comfort. Lighting, as well as lighting controls, provides the flexibility to adjust and adapt the mood and ambiance of your home.

Here are some tips for planning an effective lighting scheme:

• Identify the activities that occur in each room (reading, cooking, grooming, laundry, homework, etc.).
• Identify the mood or ambience desired.
• Identify the decorative elements you wish to emphasize.
• Keep in mind dark colors absorb much light, so dark wall colors and finishes need supplementary light.
• When remodeling, identify existing electrical locations.
• Identify areas serving more than one purpose and those that require more than one type of lighting.

Lighting Your Life, a new publication from ALA, explains how to use lighting to add beauty and drama to a room, as well as save energy and create a functional environment. Click here to view Lighting Your Life and see how beautiful your home can be.

To bring your lighting ideas to life, visit your local ALA-member retail lighting showroom.

Lighting Your Life brochure offers lighting tips and design ideas.


View videos of design pros discussing the latest trends for your home.

Lighting uses seven to 10 percent of the total energy consumed in a home. Here are a few ways you can reduce your electric energy consumption from lighting:

• Use dimmers.

• Use photoelectric lighting controls, such as motion or occupancy sensors or timers to turn outdoor lighting on and off automatically.

• Use the more efficient PAR bulbs, especially for task and accent lighting. A 50-watt PAR30 bulb produces more than three times more light than a 65-watt BR30 bulb.

• Use energy-saving LED or fluorescent bulbs wherever possible. They produce significantly more light for every watt consumed compared to incandescent sources, and now have excellent color qualities equal to incandescent sources.

• Look for products with the ENERGY STAR^® symbol.

For more ideas about saving energy and creating your perfect home, see ALA's Lighting Your Life brochure.

See all the latest lighting products at a nearby ALA-member showroom.

Photo courtesy of WAC Lighting


View a video about innovations in LED lighting.

I have a wall with a fireplace, a bookcase on each side and a painting over the fireplace. Will four recessed lights in the ceiling be a good way to light the painting?         - Karen B.

If the recessed lights are not adjustable, they will be pointing straight down. This is often done with bookcases with the recessed fixtures spaced approximately 24 inches away from the bookcases. For the painting, you should consider recessed adjustable or track fixtures that can be aimed toward the painting. The bulb type is also very important. You can see the different bulbs available at an ALA-member showroom.

Do you have questions about lighting your home?
Click here to submit your questions for an ALA-trained lighting professional.

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For more information about lighting your home, click here to visit ALA online.

Photo courtesy of Kichler