A common mistake that occurs when installing lights in the structure is that there is a feeling that the job needs to be completed quickly. In other words, they rush to complete the job. While the obvious safety concerns should lead to a more thoughtful approach, there are also other thoughts that need to be considered when developing the lighting system for a structure. This is why the lighting design process is so essential.
What Is the Lighting Design Process?
You may not have known that there is an actual process that occurs to design the lighting system for a home, office, warehouse, or other structure. This not only ensures of the greatest safety is being applied, but that costs and the proper lighting are considered as well. All the considerations that go into developing the lighting system for a structure is referred to as a lighting process. In this process, there are six steps.
What Are the Requirements?
The first step is to consider the requirements that are necessary for the structure. What is the amount of light that is needed? What is the direction of light? What kind of mood are you looking for with the lighting? Does the light need to emphasize certain parts of the room? Answering all these questions helps to develop a plan on how the lighting is to be developed.
What Types of Lighting Will Be Used?
The next consideration is what types of light will be used to deliver illumination to the room. In some instances, you may be installing recess or surface mounted lights. Will there be more passive are mellow lights included. How much of daylight is available in the room through windows during the day? It may be found that a large amount of light is not necessary because the sunlight provides a good deal of light during the day and that is when the space will be used the most.
What Lighting Equipment Will Be Used?
What types of light will be used in the structure is the next determination. What’s the physical size, how will electricity be supplied, and what is the amount of light that will need to be supplied? In a room where there is minimal surface reflection, you may need a larger amount of light.
Determining the Lighting Parameters
A determination of the lighting parameters is the next step. There are three broad categories that this falls into, and one needs to approach this determination using one of these three methods: manual calculation, three-dimensional, or visualisation.
Determine the Control System
How will the lighting system be controlled. Are there multiple switches that will be used or will one switch illuminates several different lights? Will smart light fixtures be installed? Will there be dimmer switches that alter the amount of light that is available? Some systems are even controlled by software.
Choosing the Luminaire
Your next step is to determine the performance of the luminaire. This is where cost plays a significant factor. Not only are you concerned about the cost of the lights that you are installing, but also the cost of illuminating the lights. What you may find is that high luminance lamps may be adequate for the structure but may cost far more than the budget can tolerate each month.