Musings from a Lighting Designer

Long distance low profile

Administrator — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 19:49:30 +0000

I am currently working on a number of large churches where we are hoping to use some elegant custom made hoop chandeliers with low energy low maintenance LED lamps (current favourite for these lamps is the Philips 10W MasterLED).

With beautiful spaces such as churches it is important to minimise the visual impact on the building with respect to cabling and transformers. These hoops use low voltage lamps, so with up to 4 transformers per hoop, and 13 hoops per church there is a danger that the interior will be blighted by lots of ugly boxes housing the transformers.

The solution…VoltMaster from Multiload. Their very clever technology allows the transformers to be located up to 50m away from the light sources using slender low voltage cable. A very intelligent and elegant solution.

Cheapest and best lighting tip ever

Administrator — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 19:31:34 +0000

Want to add mood lighting to your living room or bedroom? Don’t have any money to spend? No problem!

One of the best lighting effects there is happens also to be the cheapest. For most of us it is free!

Ok enough fanfare … I will cut to the chase: Take an ordinary table lamp and put it on the floor in the corner of your room, preferably behind a table, chair, or large pot plant. Turn it on and you will get a discreet plume of light up the walls and onto the ceiling, effectively silhouetting the table/chair/pot-plant. The exact effect you will get will depend on the type of lampshade you have. You may find it better to take the lamp shade off.

Give it a go. You will be surprised just how wonderful the effect is.

The end is nigh!

Administrator — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:09:41 +0000

Year by year the variety of filament lamps available gets less and less. We now hear that the wonderful low voltage halogen MR16 is doomed (2013) and even its low energy IRC cousin is destined for the bin of history (2016).

We must hope that LED technology improves fast enough so that by the time 2013 comes there are suitable LED MR16 retrofit lamps. At present those available do not quite cut the mustard for a 1 for 1 exchange. Close. Very close. But not quite close enough. Best of the crop at the moment, in my opinion, is the Philips Master LED.

The Holy Grail Has Arrived!

Administrator — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:47:05 +0000

The holy grail of LED downlighters has finally arrived! Hot off the press from Cube Lighting comes The Purple Snowflake.

This magnificent luminaire has a light output equivalent to a 45W 12V halogen but consumes only 16.8W at a very impressive 58 lumens/watt for the warm white version, and 86 lumens/watt for the cool white. Mounted in the same elegant, beautifully proportioned, low glare fitting as Cube’s other halogen downlighters it looks fabulous in the ceiling. Rated IP54 it comes with a 5 year guarantee and comes as standard with a mains dimmable driver. What’s not to love?

Cube Lighting Purple Snowflake

LEDs – Their Time Has Come

Administrator — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 12:08:43 +0000

With the building regulations requirements for high numbers of low energy fittings in domestic properties it is very good to see that LED manufacturers have started labelling some of their products as being L1A compliant. With things moving as fast as they do with LED technology there are already LED components being made with lumen per watt efficiencies far greater than compact fluorescents. It is now possible to use LED downlighters in place of halogen downlighters on an almost one for one replacement. The only barrier now to massive take-up is cost!

Dimmable Compact Fluorescent Lamps

Administrator — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 10:27:53 +0000

I was very pleased recently to discover that another manufacturer of low energy lamps has joined Megaman in developing compact fluorescent lamps which are dimmable. The range is called DigiFlux, and can be seen at:

www.varilight.co.uk

Salving My Conscience!

Administrator — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 18:06:29 +0000

Lighting design is a very fulfilling occupation. It can be tremendously exciting to see the end results of a lot of blood sweat and tears. A house well lit. Sparkling. Attractive. Welcoming. Thrilling! But often there is a little nagging voice at the back of my head that says “But what is the cost to the environment?”. I work hard to create energy sensitive schemes but there are times when low energy lamps just don’t do the job. And there are times when a lot of watts are needed to create the desired effect. There is however, I have just discovered, a simple solution to this dilemma. The answer? To encourage my clients to move to an energy supplier such as “Good Energy” who only supply energy from renewable sources (e.g. windmills and hydro-electric schemes). WowLighting is now offering a financial incentive to clients who move to “Good Energy”. I hope that many clients will choose to do this and will report back in a few months as to how this has gone. If you are interested in going green take a look at the following website:

http://www.good-energy.co.uk/

Huggable Light

Administrator — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 13:13:17 +0000

Every thought that light fittings are all well and good but that, by and large, they just arn’t huggable enough? Well now, thanks to the creative ingenuity of Diana Lin Design, you can now buy a huggable light shaped like a cushion and just as cuddly. Using the ubiquitous LED, as a light source and wrapped up in such a way as to be soft and sensual, the Rei cushion is just the thing for a cosy night in. Take a look for yourself at:

http://www.dianalindesign.com/products/rei.html

Solar Powered Table Lamp

Administrator — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 17:10:39 +0000

Yanko Design have created a stunning and hugely practical ’2D’ table lamp that uses solar energy collected during the day to provide lighting at night. The idea is to put the slender lamp close to a window so that when you get home at night there is sufficient light to find your way around the room. 10/10 for looks and 10/10 for eco friendliness. Visit the following link for a look:

http://www.yankodesign.com/solar_lamp

The Dynamics Of The Spiral

Administrator — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 09:19:44 +0000

Here is an example of corridor lighting that has a dynamic effect. It seems to almost pull you through the corridor in a slightly hypnotic way. Perhaps not suitable for viewing while under the influence of alcohol! It is nonetheless a novel idea that excites and engages the brain. Take a look at the following link to see some images: