ᐅ New Construction Lighting: Spotlights and Electrical Preparation for Ceiling Fixtures?
Created on: 15 Aug 2017 11:32
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R.Hotzenplotz
Hello,
we visited a model home park on Sunday. We noticed that almost all the houses had recessed ceiling spotlights installed throughout most of the house. Traditional ceiling fixtures for standalone lamps were hardly seen.
Is it now standard practice to plan integrated lighting throughout the entire house? Would you recommend designing the whole house with recessed spotlights from start to finish, top to bottom?
We are not opposed to the idea, but would like to hear about the advantages and disadvantages to weigh up the options. What have your experiences been in this regard?
we visited a model home park on Sunday. We noticed that almost all the houses had recessed ceiling spotlights installed throughout most of the house. Traditional ceiling fixtures for standalone lamps were hardly seen.
Is it now standard practice to plan integrated lighting throughout the entire house? Would you recommend designing the whole house with recessed spotlights from start to finish, top to bottom?
We are not opposed to the idea, but would like to hear about the advantages and disadvantages to weigh up the options. What have your experiences been in this regard?
Lighting planning with Karsten, his wife, and master electrician Karl. S.
“Well, you two, come to my office on Monday. We’ll do the electrical plan then.”
And so it happened on a day in April this year. There he sat, our building plan in A3 size in front of him. “Okay, you get 46 sockets from the builder and 15 two-way switches plus one outdoor cable. Right?” “Yes.”
“Alright,” he said, “I’ve already placed all of those. But we still need about 10 more…” I started to get bored while my wife positioned some additional sockets and light switches with him. “Are you done?” “Yes,” they said after about fifteen minutes. “And is that good?” “Yes,” he said, “this is how it’s always done.” “Okay.”
“Spotlights?” he asked. “For example, five in the roof overhang—you’ll never need an outdoor lamp. Motion-controlled. They come on in the evening, go off in the morning. If you ever stagger home at three in the morning, the door’s always lit.” Da da da. He drew five circles on the plan. I’m in favor. My wife is too. “All five for 110,-. That’s doable, right?” “Yeah, that works.”
Next, hallway and bathrooms. He drew more circles: “There, there, there, and there too. We’ll use dimmer ones here since they don’t need to be so bright.” So 10 more were added. She liked that, and I did too: “200,- all?” “Deal!”
Now quickly to the garage and terrace. One cable outside the wall for mood lighting. Neon light on the garage ceiling and outlet box in gray on the wall. The attic gets two more neon lights and one outlet with a gray outlet box and a flap. Outdoor outlet? “Yes, on the terrace, for the boombox when partying.” “Alright, that’s it…” One hour. Detailed planning, Max.
Now at the store. “Which sockets? These or those?” “We’ll take those, Berker. They look better than Gira.” Then he showed us the agreed spotlights. Completely fine. And a silver doorbell. And a terrace lamp with an LED that changes light color from white to red, green, blue, and back again. Cool thing, 42,-. Done.
You really don’t need to involve an architect for this. Karsten
“Well, you two, come to my office on Monday. We’ll do the electrical plan then.”
And so it happened on a day in April this year. There he sat, our building plan in A3 size in front of him. “Okay, you get 46 sockets from the builder and 15 two-way switches plus one outdoor cable. Right?” “Yes.”
“Alright,” he said, “I’ve already placed all of those. But we still need about 10 more…” I started to get bored while my wife positioned some additional sockets and light switches with him. “Are you done?” “Yes,” they said after about fifteen minutes. “And is that good?” “Yes,” he said, “this is how it’s always done.” “Okay.”
“Spotlights?” he asked. “For example, five in the roof overhang—you’ll never need an outdoor lamp. Motion-controlled. They come on in the evening, go off in the morning. If you ever stagger home at three in the morning, the door’s always lit.” Da da da. He drew five circles on the plan. I’m in favor. My wife is too. “All five for 110,-. That’s doable, right?” “Yeah, that works.”
Next, hallway and bathrooms. He drew more circles: “There, there, there, and there too. We’ll use dimmer ones here since they don’t need to be so bright.” So 10 more were added. She liked that, and I did too: “200,- all?” “Deal!”
Now quickly to the garage and terrace. One cable outside the wall for mood lighting. Neon light on the garage ceiling and outlet box in gray on the wall. The attic gets two more neon lights and one outlet with a gray outlet box and a flap. Outdoor outlet? “Yes, on the terrace, for the boombox when partying.” “Alright, that’s it…” One hour. Detailed planning, Max.
Now at the store. “Which sockets? These or those?” “We’ll take those, Berker. They look better than Gira.” Then he showed us the agreed spotlights. Completely fine. And a silver doorbell. And a terrace lamp with an LED that changes light color from white to red, green, blue, and back again. Cool thing, 42,-. Done.
You really don’t need to involve an architect for this. Karsten
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winnetou7815 Aug 2017 13:31Ever thought about publishing your building experiences as a book?
Building in Northern Germany as the title.
Building in Northern Germany as the title.
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Caspar202015 Aug 2017 13:52Nordlys schrieb:
Da da daThat can be done. And I really find your post quite amusing.
But if you want to effectively showcase a nice living, dining, and kitchen area, I do expect more than just spotlights in secondary rooms.
This should also include different lighting moods and similar details...
Caspar, my point was that you should sketch something out with the architect. The certified electrician, if he really is certified and not just in name, will also plan more sophisticated things with you than just our hallway. You know, you could also spend your money on a lighting designer or on interior designer Ms. Carmen von Augenstern, but we’re not talking about a state theater here, just a single-family home development. That was my point. Karsten
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readytorumble15 Aug 2017 14:26We planned the approximately 90 recessed lights entirely on our own. First on the drawing, then made slight adjustments on site each time.
Beforehand, I did discuss reasonable distances from walls and between the individual lights with a friend who is an electrician.
In terms of time, it wasn’t as quick as Karsten’s process (we probably spent a total of about 15 hours together working on the plan, likely including switches and outlets).
Our result is good to very good, and I didn’t want to pay anyone for it!
Beforehand, I did discuss reasonable distances from walls and between the individual lights with a friend who is an electrician.
In terms of time, it wasn’t as quick as Karsten’s process (we probably spent a total of about 15 hours together working on the plan, likely including switches and outlets).
Our result is good to very good, and I didn’t want to pay anyone for it!
readytorumble schrieb:
approximately 90 recessed lights May I ask how much you paid per recessed light? (including everything from the junction box to the finished fixture)
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