Introduction – Create an Expansive Feeling With Your Lighting Design

Create unforgettable designs for your clients. This guide breaks down how to create an expansive lighting design for your project, through practical strategies for architects and interior designers. Let’s get started …

Table of Contents

• Expansive & Grand Vibe
• Expansive Lighting Layout
• What to Look For In a Quality Light
• Color Rendering Index
• Dimmer Compatibility
• Why Is It Important to Do A Lighting Calculation?
• Works Cited

Create a Feeling With Light: Expansive Lighting Vibe

VIBE: Grand, visionary, satisfying.

LIGHTING STRATEGY: Most of the light in this room needs to be directed up toward the ceiling and toward the walls. 

ROOM FINISHES: Walls and ceilings should be bright tones. Matte & semi-gloss finishes are recommended. 

Creating an Expansive & Grand Lighting Layout

I feel…free.

It was the first thought that came to my mind as I stood at the edge of a mountaintop where we were going to design a home to replace the house that had burned down in the 2017 Tubbs fire.

That feeling of being able to reach out and touch the sky?… THAT is what I wanted it to home to feel like. Grand, expansive, and big… just like the surrounding landscape.

The key to pulling off this vibe is to use electric light (and daylight) to wash the ceiling and walls with light, so that when you’re in a room you feel the full dimension of the space. 

What to Look for in a Quality LED Light: Expansive Lighting

Regardless of the vibe you are going for, there are two things that can trip up designers when they are selecting LED lighting: ​

COLOR RENDERING INDEX (CRI)

If you only remember one thing from me, please remember that color rendering is EVERYTHING when it comes to lighting. If you love incandescent and halogen lights, but hate fluorescent, then color rendering is the reason.​

We always want to find lights that have a color rendering (CRI) of at least 90, so that we can bring out the true color of our room finishes and decor. Many LED lights have a color rendering of 80, and this score is actually worse than fluorescent (which has a score of 82). As you can see in the image below, the true color of the wood is brought out with the light on the right, which has a score of 90. The red tones of the wood come through and it feels warm. In contrast, the light on the left makes the wood look a bit greenish and yellow, because it has a poor color rendering score of 80.​

Trust me! It’s worth it to spend just a little bit more on lights to make sure that you’re getting LEDs with a score of 90 or higher, so that the people and finishes in your spaces feel vibrant and full of life. Make sure to pay attention to this when you find a light you like and you’re ready to hit that “order” button.

DIMMER COMPATIBILITY

Lastly, make sure that the LEDs you select are dimmable. This is something you need to check in the product cut sheet or through the web store that you are browsing. ​

Also, you’ll need to make sure that the dimmer you select will be compatible with the LED light fixture.  In the past, we could easily dim incandescent and halogen lighting with a simple rotary dimmer. This may or may not work for a new LED light fixture.  

You wouldn’t expect your television remote to be able to turn on your stereo system, would you? The same is true for LED dimmers. You have to make sure that the dimmer switch can actually communicate with the light fixture.  

There’s a variety of dimming protocols: it may be TRIAC, Electronic Low Voltage (ELV), 0-10 Volt, or DALI. So make sure to work with your electrician or a sales representative to make sure that the components of your lighting design are all compatible. 

Why it is Important to do a Lighting Calculation?

If you want to be confident in your lighting design, you have to do a lighting calculation. It’s as simple as that. ​

But how do we actually estimate how bright a room actually needs to be? Well, the footcandle targets for a room are set by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), and the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD). This professional organization has studied and analyzed the functional requirements for each kind of space designed by architects. For residential projects, I like to refer back to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory & Department of Energy’s footcandle targets, since those are made freely available to the public. These are the targets I use for my own projects, and are the basis for the lighting estimator on this webpage. ​

AVOID MISTAKES

You don’t want to have too little light. It’s expensive for a contractor and electrician to come back after the fact to revise the lighting strategy and patch the walls/ceiling. This happened to an interior designer early in my career, and it wasn’t a fun situation. For me, it was the beginning of a great collaboration with this design professional, because we worked on many projects after that – but of course it would have been better if this interior designer hadn’t made that mistake to begin with. ​

Likewise, you also don’t want to be too bright, and overspend on lighting, just because you’re unsure what is needed and just hoping for the best (yikes!). 

This is fundamentally why I created lighting estimators – to balance making sure there’s enough light, while also making sure a client isn’t paying for too many lights. Hopefully using the calculator was straightforward. Reach out with questions (before buying/building anything), if you’d like help! Good luck on your project!​​

-Steve Duncan, AIA​

Architect & Lighting Designer

Works Cited – Expansive Lighting

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

International Association of Lighting Designers. “About the IALD.” https://iald.org/IALD/IALD/About/About-the-IALD.aspx?hkey=104e951f-5da0-4cb8-8ca8-8cce8a7b4caf.

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.

Introduction – Create a Stormy Feeling With Your Lighting Design

Create unforgettable designs for your clients. This guide breaks down how to create a stormy lighting vibe with light, through practical strategies for architects and interior designers. Let’s get started …

Table of Contents

• Stormy Lighting Vibe
• Stormy Lighting Layout
• What to Look For In a Quality Light
• Color Rendering Index
• Dimmer Compatibility
• Why Is It Important to Do A Lighting Calculation?
• Works Cited

Create a Stormy Lighting Vibe

VIBE: Dramatic, turbulent, contrast.

LIGHTING STRATEGY: The key to executing this look is balance, with some light aimed upward at the ceiling, and adjustable lighting grazing across wall surfaces to mimic sunrays. 

ROOM FINISHES: Medium to bright finishes are recommended, with a flat/matte finish. 

Creating a Stormy Lighting Layout

It was the first summer after I started high school… Utah is usually pretty dry, but this was the summer of thunderstorms.

Each afternoon I could actually watch the clouds in real time as they grew and billowed into towering monsters above the valley, until the inevitable and powerful release of a thunderstorm.

Then came the calm, as the sun peaked through the clouds for fleeting moments and time stood still. It’s human to crave times like this, and the best architecture embraces the transient and imperfect quality of light.

What to Look for in a Quality LED Light: Stormy Vibe

Regardless of the vibe you are going for, there are two things that can trip up designers when they are selecting LED lighting: ​

COLOR RENDERING INDEX (CRI)

If you only remember one thing from me, please remember that color rendering is EVERYTHING when it comes to lighting. If you love incandescent and halogen lights, but hate fluorescent, then color rendering is the reason.​

We always want to find lights that have a color rendering (CRI) of at least 90, so that we can bring out the true color of our room finishes and decor. Many LED lights have a color rendering of 80, and this score is actually worse than fluorescent (which has a score of 82). As you can see in the image below, the true color of the wood is brought out with the light on the right, which has a score of 90. The red tones of the wood come through and it feels warm. In contrast, the light on the left makes the wood look a bit greenish and yellow, because it has a poor color rendering score of 80.​

Trust me! It’s worth it to spend just a little bit more on lights to make sure that you’re getting LEDs with a score of 90 or higher, so that the people and finishes in your spaces feel vibrant and full of life. Make sure to pay attention to this when you find a light you like and you’re ready to hit that “order” button.

DIMMER COMPATIBILITY

Lastly, make sure that the LEDs you select are dimmable. This is something you need to check in the product cut sheet or through the web store that you are browsing. ​

Also, you’ll need to make sure that the dimmer you select will be compatible with the LED light fixture.  In the past, we could easily dim incandescent and halogen lighting with a simple rotary dimmer. This may or may not work for a new LED light fixture.  

You wouldn’t expect your television remote to be able to turn on your stereo system, would you? The same is true for LED dimmers. You have to make sure that the dimmer switch can actually communicate with the light fixture.  

There’s a variety of dimming protocols: it may be TRIAC, Electronic Low Voltage (ELV), 0-10 Volt, or DALI. So make sure to work with your electrician or a sales representative to make sure that the components of your lighting design are all compatible. 

Why it is Important to do a Lighting Calculation?

If you want to be confident in your lighting design, you have to do a lighting calculation. It’s as simple as that. ​

But how do we actually estimate how bright a room actually needs to be? Well, the footcandle targets for a room are set by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), and the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD). This professional organization has studied and analyzed the functional requirements for each kind of space designed by architects. For residential projects, I like to refer back to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory & Department of Energy’s footcandle targets, since those are made freely available to the public. These are the targets I use for my own projects, and are the basis for the lighting estimator on this webpage. ​

You don’t want to have too little light. It’s expensive for a contractor and electrician to come back after the fact to revise the lighting strategy and patch the walls/ceiling. This happened to an interior designer early in my career, and it wasn’t a fun situation. For me, it was the beginning of a great collaboration with this design professional, because we worked on many projects after that – but of course it would have been better if this interior designer hadn’t made that mistake to begin with. ​

Likewise, you also don’t want to be too bright, and overspend on lighting, just because you’re unsure what is needed and just hoping for the best (yikes!). 

This is fundamentally why I created lighting estimators – to balance making sure there’s enough light, while also making sure a client isn’t paying for too many lights. Hopefully using the calculator was straightforward. Reach out with questions (before buying/building anything), if you’d like help! Good luck on your project!​​

-Steve Duncan, AIA​

Architect & Lighting Designer

Works Cited – Stormy Lighting Vibe

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

International Association of Lighting Designers. “About the IALD.” https://iald.org/IALD/IALD/About/About-the-IALD.aspx?hkey=104e951f-5da0-4cb8-8ca8-8cce8a7b4caf.

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.

Introduction – Create a Cozy Lighting Vibe With Your Design

Create unforgettable designs for your clients. This guide breaks down how to create a cozy lighting design for your project, through practical strategies for architects and interior designers. Let’s get started …

Table of Contents – Cozy Lighting

• Cozy & Relaxed Vibe
• Cozy Lighting Layout
• Cozy Lighting Calculation
• Cozy Lighting – Project Examples
• What to Look For In a Quality Light
• Color Rendering Index
• Dimmer Compatibility
• Why Is It Important to Do A Lighting Calculation?
• Works Cited

Create a Feeling With Light: Cozy & Relaxed Vibe

VIBE: Warm, peaceful, recharge.

LIGHTING STRATEGY: Most of the light in this room needs to be directed downward. 

ROOM FINISHES: Walls, ceilings, and floors should be medium tones. Matte finishes are recommended to make space feel softer. 

Creating a Cozy & Relaxed Lighting Layout

A few years back, I was brought in to “fix” the lighting for a beautiful home off of Lake Washington in Bellevue, Washington.

The home had wood ceilings and beams, and polished concrete floors, but the homeowner said it always felt dark and depressing. The vibe they wanted was RELAXED and soft.

The existing lighting was an eclectic hodgepodge of lights, that looked like they’d all been pulled from a clearance sales rack.

But the real issue was that there wasn’t any light directed at the walls and ceiling. No wonder everything felt dark and depressing! To achieve a soft, cozy, relaxed vibe we had to introduct additional light directed at soft surfaces like the wood ceiling, matte painted walls, and new area rugs.

We traded out the sea of “spotlights”, and we introduced new lighting to wash the walls and ceiling with light, so that most of the light was REFLECTED off of room was reflected light. WHERE you aim the light is just as important as HOW MUCH light there is. Hope this helps…

How Many Lights for a Cozy & Relaxed Lighting Design?

To figure out how much illumination is needed for the whole room, we can do a quick calculation. It only takes a couple minutes. First follow the link to our cozy & relaxed lighting estimator here.

Example Relaxed Lighting Calculation

Cozy & Relaxed Lighting: Project Examples

THE BLAKE

Architect: Devi Dutta Architecture | Lighting Designer: Steve Duncan

LAKE WASHINGTON HOME

Architect: Allied8 | Lighting Designer: Steve Duncan

THE BLAKE

Architect: Devi Dutta Architecture | Lighting Designer: Steve Duncan

KAIN NA FOOD BANK

Architect: Mithun | Lighting Designer: Steve Duncan

WHIDBEY ISLAND HOME

Interior Designer: Miller Interior Design | Lighting Designer: Steve Duncan

AMAZON SPHERES PLAZA – BENCH SEATING

Architect: NBBJ | Lighting Designer: Jesse Prince & Steve Duncan while at NBBJ

What to Look for in a Quality LED Light: Cozy Vibe

Regardless of the vibe you are going for, there are two things that can trip up designers when they are selecting LED lighting: ​

COLOR RENDERING INDEX (CRI)

If you only remember one thing from me, please remember that color rendering is EVERYTHING when it comes to lighting. If you love incandescent and halogen lights, but hate fluorescent, then color rendering is the reason.​

We always want to find lights that have a color rendering (CRI) of at least 90, so that we can bring out the true color of our room finishes and decor. Many LED lights have a color rendering of 80, and this score is actually worse than fluorescent (which has a score of 82). As you can see in the image below, the true color of the wood is brought out with the light on the right, which has a score of 90. The red tones of the wood come through and it feels warm. In contrast, the light on the left makes the wood look a bit greenish and yellow, because it has a poor color rendering score of 80.​

Trust me! It’s worth it to spend just a little bit more on lights to make sure that you’re getting LEDs with a score of 90 or higher, so that the people and finishes in your spaces feel vibrant and full of life. Make sure to pay attention to this when you find a light you like and you’re ready to hit that “order” button.

DIMMER COMPATIBILITY

Lastly, make sure that the LEDs you select are dimmable. This is something you need to check in the product cut sheet or through the web store that you are browsing. ​

Also, you’ll need to make sure that the dimmer you select will be compatible with the LED light fixture.  In the past, we could easily dim incandescent and halogen lighting with a simple rotary dimmer. This may or may not work for a new LED light fixture.  

You wouldn’t expect your television remote to be able to turn on your stereo system, would you? The same is true for LED dimmers. You have to make sure that the dimmer switch can actually communicate with the light fixture.  

There’s a variety of dimming protocols: it may be TRIAC, Electronic Low Voltage (ELV), 0-10 Volt, or DALI. So make sure to work with your electrician or a sales representative to make sure that the components of your lighting design are all compatible. 

Why it is Important to do a Lighting Calculation?

If you want to be confident in your lighting design, you have to do a lighting calculation. It’s as simple as that. ​

But how do we actually estimate how bright a room actually needs to be? Well, the footcandle targets for a room are set by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), and the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD). This professional organization has studied and analyzed the functional requirements for each kind of space designed by architects. For residential projects, I like to refer back to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory & Department of Energy’s footcandle targets, since those are made freely available to the public. These are the targets I use for my own projects, and are the basis for the lighting estimator on this webpage. ​

AVOID MISTAKES

You don’t want to have too little light. It’s expensive for a contractor and electrician to come back after the fact to revise the lighting strategy and patch the walls/ceiling. This happened to an interior designer early in my career, and it wasn’t a fun situation. For me, it was the beginning of a great collaboration with this design professional, because we worked on many projects after that – but of course it would have been better if this interior designer hadn’t made that mistake to begin with. ​

Likewise, you also don’t want to be too bright, and overspend on lighting, just because you’re unsure what is needed and just hoping for the best (yikes!). 

This is fundamentally why I created lighting estimators – to balance making sure there’s enough light, while also making sure a client isn’t paying for too many lights. Hopefully using the calculator was straightforward. Reach out with questions (before buying/building anything), if you’d like help! Good luck on your project!​​

-Steve Duncan, AIA​

Architect & Lighting Designer

Works Cited

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

International Association of Lighting Designers. “About the IALD.” https://iald.org/IALD/IALD/About/About-the-IALD.aspx?hkey=104e951f-5da0-4cb8-8ca8-8cce8a7b4caf.

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.

Introduction – Create an Urban Feeling With Your Lighting Design

Create unforgettable designs for your clients. This guide breaks down how to create an urban lighting design vibe, through practical strategies for architects and interior designers. Let’s get started …

Table of Contents

• Urban Lighting Vibe
• Urban Lighting Layout
• What to Look For In a Quality Light
• Color Rendering Index
• Dimmer Compatibility
• Why Is It Important to Do A Lighting Calculation?
• Works Cited

Create a Feeling: Urban Lighting Vibe

VIBE: Edgy, dramatic, driven.

LIGHTING STRATEGY: In this scheme, the majority of the light should come from a cool colored accent light, aimed at one wall. This can be balanced with warm decorative lighting. The result is artistic shadows of color, and a memorable vibe. 

ROOM FINISHES: Walls and ceilings can be medium to dark tones, with a mixture of polished and matte finishes. 

Creating an Urban Lighting Layout

Feeling urban… I’ve always been drawn to cities. You can almost feel a vibration of all the people coming and going, driven by ambition, making their dreams a reality.

Sometimes the pace almost feels like a dream. I remember the first time I visited New York, watching the symphony of lights playing off of the canyons of building, like watercolor paint mixing on a canvas.

What if that symphony could be in your living room…at anytime?

What to Look for in a Quality LED Light for an Urban Vibe

Regardless of the vibe you are going for, there are two things that can trip up designers when they are selecting LED lighting: ​

COLOR RENDERING INDEX (CRI)

If you only remember one thing from me, please remember that color rendering is EVERYTHING when it comes to lighting. If you love incandescent and halogen lights, but hate fluorescent, then color rendering is the reason.​

We always want to find lights that have a color rendering (CRI) of at least 90, so that we can bring out the true color of our room finishes and decor. Many LED lights have a color rendering of 80, and this score is actually worse than fluorescent (which has a score of 82). As you can see in the image below, the true color of the wood is brought out with the light on the right, which has a score of 90. The red tones of the wood come through and it feels warm. In contrast, the light on the left makes the wood look a bit greenish and yellow, because it has a poor color rendering score of 80.​

Trust me! It’s worth it to spend just a little bit more on lights to make sure that you’re getting LEDs with a score of 90 or higher, so that the people and finishes in your spaces feel vibrant and full of life. Make sure to pay attention to this when you find a light you like and you’re ready to hit that “order” button.

DIMMER COMPATIBILITY

Lastly, make sure that the LEDs you select are dimmable. This is something you need to check in the product cut sheet or through the web store that you are browsing. ​

Also, you’ll need to make sure that the dimmer you select will be compatible with the LED light fixture.  In the past, we could easily dim incandescent and halogen lighting with a simple rotary dimmer. This may or may not work for a new LED light fixture.  

You wouldn’t expect your television remote to be able to turn on your stereo system, would you? The same is true for LED dimmers. You have to make sure that the dimmer switch can actually communicate with the light fixture.  

There’s a variety of dimming protocols: it may be TRIAC, Electronic Low Voltage (ELV), 0-10 Volt, or DALI. So make sure to work with your electrician or a sales representative to make sure that the components of your lighting design are all compatible. 

Why it is Important to do a Lighting Calculation for an Urban Vibe?

If you want to be confident in your lighting design, you have to do a lighting calculation. It’s as simple as that. ​

But how do we actually estimate how bright a room actually needs to be? Well, the footcandle targets for a room are set by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), and the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD). This professional organization has studied and analyzed the functional requirements for each kind of space designed by architects. For residential projects, I like to refer back to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory & Department of Energy’s footcandle targets, since those are made freely available to the public. These are the targets I use for my own projects, and are the basis for the lighting estimator on this webpage. ​

You don’t want to have too little light. It’s expensive for a contractor and electrician to come back after the fact to revise the lighting strategy and patch the walls/ceiling. This happened to an interior designer early in my career, and it wasn’t a fun situation. For me, it was the beginning of a great collaboration with this design professional, because we worked on many projects after that – but of course it would have been better if this interior designer hadn’t made that mistake to begin with. ​

Likewise, you also don’t want to be too bright, and overspend on lighting, just because you’re unsure what is needed and just hoping for the best (yikes!). 

This is fundamentally why I created lighting estimators – to balance making sure there’s enough light, while also making sure a client isn’t paying for too many lights. Hopefully using the calculator was straightforward. Reach out with questions (before buying/building anything), if you’d like help! Good luck on your project!​​

Steve Duncan, AIA​

Architect & Lighting Designer

Works Cited – Urban Lighting Vibe

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

International Association of Lighting Designers. “About the IALD.” https://iald.org/IALD/IALD/About/About-the-IALD.aspx?hkey=104e951f-5da0-4cb8-8ca8-8cce8a7b4caf.

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.

Introduction – Create a Weightless Lighting Design for Your Residential Project

Create unforgettable designs for your clients. This guide breaks down how to create a weightless lighting vibe for your lighting project, through practical strategies for architects and interior designers. Let’s get started …

Table of Contents

• Weightless Lighting Vibe
• Weightless Lighting Layout
• What to Look For In a Quality Light
• Color Rendering Index
• Dimmer Compatibility
• Why Is It Important to Do A Lighting Calculation?
• Works Cited

Create a Weightless Lighting Vibe

VIBE: Weightless, dramatic, magical.

LIGHTING STRATEGY: This scheme requires that most light is directed up toward the ceiling. Avoid directing light across the surface of columns and walls. To create the appearance of floating shelves, locate lighting between the shelf and the wall and aim the lighting back at the wall. 

ROOM FINISHES: Medium to bright tones are recommended, with satin and matte finishes. 

Creating a Weightless Lighting Layout

An architect’s kryptonite…

A dramatic cantilever is an architect’s kryptonite. I’m always taken back when a seemingly heavy building seems to float over the landscape. Now the true heroes here are the structural engineers, but the reality is that lighting also plays a huge factor in whether a building feels like it is anchored or whether it is floating.

To achieve this “weightless” effect, you have to light the underside of a surface, and go out of your way NOT to light the vertical supports.

What to Look for in a Quality LED Light for a Weightless Vibe

Regardless of the vibe you are going for, there are two things that can trip up designers when they are selecting LED lighting: ​

COLOR RENDERING INDEX (CRI)

If you only remember one thing from me, please remember that color rendering is EVERYTHING when it comes to lighting. If you love incandescent and halogen lights, but hate fluorescent, then color rendering is the reason.​

We always want to find lights that have a color rendering (CRI) of at least 90, so that we can bring out the true color of our room finishes and decor. Many LED lights have a color rendering of 80, and this score is actually worse than fluorescent (which has a score of 82). As you can see in the image below, the true color of the wood is brought out with the light on the right, which has a score of 90. The red tones of the wood come through and it feels warm. In contrast, the light on the left makes the wood look a bit greenish and yellow, because it has a poor color rendering score of 80.​

Trust me! It’s worth it to spend just a little bit more on lights to make sure that you’re getting LEDs with a score of 90 or higher, so that the people and finishes in your spaces feel vibrant and full of life. Make sure to pay attention to this when you find a light you like and you’re ready to hit that “order” button.

DIMMER COMPATIBILITY

Lastly, make sure that the LEDs you select are dimmable. This is something you need to check in the product cut sheet or through the web store that you are browsing. ​

Also, you’ll need to make sure that the dimmer you select will be compatible with the LED light fixture.  In the past, we could easily dim incandescent and halogen lighting with a simple rotary dimmer. This may or may not work for a new LED light fixture.  

You wouldn’t expect your television remote to be able to turn on your stereo system, would you? The same is true for LED dimmers. You have to make sure that the dimmer switch can actually communicate with the light fixture.  

There’s a variety of dimming protocols: it may be TRIAC, Electronic Low Voltage (ELV), 0-10 Volt, or DALI. So make sure to work with your electrician or a sales representative to make sure that the components of your lighting design are all compatible. 

Why it is Important to do a Lighting Calculation?

If you want to be confident in your lighting design, you have to do a lighting calculation. It’s as simple as that. ​

But how do we actually estimate how bright a room actually needs to be? Well, the footcandle targets for a room are set by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), and the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD). This professional organization has studied and analyzed the functional requirements for each kind of space designed by architects. For residential projects, I like to refer back to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory & Department of Energy’s footcandle targets, since those are made freely available to the public. These are the targets I use for my own projects, and are the basis for the lighting estimator on this webpage. ​

AVOIDING MISTAKES

You don’t want to have too little light. It’s expensive for a contractor and electrician to come back after the fact to revise the lighting strategy and patch the walls/ceiling. This happened to an interior designer early in my career, and it wasn’t a fun situation. For me, it was the beginning of a great collaboration with this design professional, because we worked on many projects after that – but of course it would have been better if this interior designer hadn’t made that mistake to begin with. ​

Likewise, you also don’t want to be too bright, and overspend on lighting, just because you’re unsure what is needed and just hoping for the best (yikes!). 

This is fundamentally why I created lighting estimators – to balance making sure there’s enough light, while also making sure a client isn’t paying for too many lights. Hopefully using the calculator was straightforward. Reach out with questions (before buying/building anything), if you’d like help! Good luck on your project!​​

-Steve Duncan, AIA​

Architect & Lighting Designer

Works Cited

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

• 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-the-IALD.aspx?hkey=104e951f-5da0-4cb8-8ca8-8cce8a7b4caf.