How Much Light Will You Really Need for Your Living Room Design?

Transcript:

 Alright, let’s design the lighting for a living room.

Okay, so the first step we need to take is to figure out how large our living room is going to be.

Okay, so I’ll round up to 338. Next we’re going to go to our calculator. And for this room, I think we’re going to do Medium finishes, which most projects kind of fall in that category where it’s kind of medium tones. It’s not too bright. It’s not too dark. Um, we’re already on living rooms. That’s great. How many square feet did I say?

Three 38. Next I’m going to put in the ceiling heights 10 feet. So that increases the amount of light we need a little bit. Ok, bring this back to the plan.

Okay, so now I can refer back to this and keep in mind how many lumens we need. All right, so What I like to do before I really get into the lighting is to look at the floor plan and see if there’s any logical alignments, centering on window panes, centering on the fireplace, what kind of cues can we take from the space that will help us organize our lighting?

So it looks like we do probably have two end tables here. So we’re going to put that in here. I don’t know what those are going to be yet, but a good estimate is that these are going to be about. 800 lumens. Next up, let’s let’s make sure to highlight this fireplace. I’m sure we’re going to spend some money on some nice finishes here.

So let’s grab an adjustable light,

which can be aimed up to, uh, highlight that surface. And then I suspect we’ll probably have some artwork above this sofa. So why not add a light that is centered with the other one? And then over the coffee table, let’s plan on searching for a decorative light that is cohesive with these table lamps.

Alright, so let’s, let’s see where we’re at from a lumen perspective. Let’s go back to the calculator and find a placeholder for this adjustable light. So let’s do. I’m going to do, let’s do a warm dim and then let’s do this flange list option so that we can downplay this light. So 900 lumens. Let’s go back over here, paste that in.

Okay. So, so far we have 800, 800, 900, 900. So 1600 plus, so

that is 3, 400 lumens so far, which would mean. So let’s take a look at the difference there.

Okay. So that would mean that this decorative light needs to be about 2, 000 lumens, 1, 800, 2, 000, right in that range. Um, if I wanted to give myself some extra freedom to choose whatever I want for that decorative light, maybe, maybe it could be a little bit less bright. And what we could do instead is add some additional lights here and here. So then that.

Okay, so that basically would bring us to our total to where this decorative light could now be pretty dim. If we wanted, it could just be this beautiful, sparkling object, and we’re not limited in what we choose for that fixture. So, That kind of that gives maximum freedom to the interior designer and the homeowner with making their selections for that lights.

Now, if we go back to these placeholders over here, as a general rule, I’d like to start with these and then about 50 percent of the time, We do actually stay with these through to the end. But, for those, those other instances, usually there’s a, uh, engaged electrician or a GC, or maybe the homeowner has some specific ideas about lighting and they want to kind of swap that out.

And so we go that direction instead. If you do want to go find your own lights, just keep in mind that you want to make sure that the lights are dimmable and that they are UL listed for the Country that you’re working in. And finally, make sure that you find a light with a high color rendering. So, that’ll bring out the true color of the materials in your space.

So, in this image here, I have 2 lights. They’re both Warm white, 2700 Kelvin. But the one on the left has an inferior color rendering at 80. That’s a little bit closer to what you’d see with like a fluorescent light. And then the light on the right, that is kind of bringing out the, the reds and the warm tones in the wood because it has a higher color rendering score right at 90.

So that’s our target. Okay. Well, give the calculator a shot. And if you’d like me to double check your work, just send me a note through my website and, uh, have an awesome day. Next video is going to be on dining rooms.

Works Cited: Quality Living Room Lighting​

Duncan, Steve. “Why Is It Important to Do a Lighting Calculation?” Lighting Design Insights. [LightingJUMP.com, https://www.lightingjump.com/how-many-lights-forest-vibe]. 

The author emphasizes the necessity of conducting lighting calculations to ensure effective lighting design in various spaces. He cites the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) and the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) for their established footcandle targets that help determine appropriate lighting levels. Duncan also mentions the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Department of Energy’s publicly available footcandle targets, which he uses for residential projects.

He shares a personal anecdote about the complications that arise from inadequate lighting, stressing the importance of precise calculations to avoid costly adjustments and excessive spending. The lighting estimator featured on his webpage is designed to assist clients in achieving optimal lighting without overspending. 

References – Quality Residential Lighting Design​

• Duncan, Steve. “Why Is It Important to Do a Lighting Calculation?” Lighting Design Insights. .
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory. “Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) in Residential Lighting.” NREL/TP-53467. 2012. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy12osti/53467.pdf.
• Illuminating Engineering Society. “Standards.” https://store.ies.org/individual-standards/?v=0b3b97fa6688.
• International Association of Lighting Designers. “About the IALD.” https://iald.org/IALD/IALD/About/About-

Create the Best Designs: How Much Dining Room Light?