ᐅ New Construction Lighting Design and Implementation

@ruppsn

I'm certainly not an engineer expert either, but I would expect the question about color temperature to be discussed with the lighting designer. You can't really explain or describe it well with words alone. You need to have seen 2700 K (4900 °F) lighting and also 3000 K (5400 °F) lighting. Then you can decide what you want and where. But trying to put it into words and hoping the lighting designer gets it right is difficult.

ruppsn schrieb:
Do you even know what amount of luminous flux, luminous intensity, and color temperature are needed to create a cozy atmosphere or a certain mood?

Exactly! I don’t understand how anyone can call a lighting design “nonsense” in that case. You can’t expect an IKEA salesperson to plan an entire house for you, taking all these technical aspects into account.

R.Hotzenplotz schrieb:
@ruppsn

I’m certainly not an engineering expert either, but I do expect the question about light color temperature to be discussed with the lighting designer. Describing it in words doesn’t get you very far. You have to have seen 2700 K light and also 3000 K light to really understand, and then you can decide what you want and where. Trying to put that into words and then hoping the lighting designer gets it right is difficult.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that, because then the color temperature actually means something to you. The same could possibly apply to wattage. My point was just about theoretical values that a layperson has little relationship to, and I think that’s a wasted effort.
Color temperatures in white LED lighting often have descriptive terms like cool white or warm white, so that you can develop an impression and make the planning more plausible. But what about the beam angle, for example? That’s where it already gets difficult for me—for instance, how 20 degrees or 30 degrees actually look. With lumens and candelas, it’s even harder. I would definitely expect advice from the designer, for example, on the role of the CRI (Color Rendering Index), because color temperature (2500 K) by itself doesn’t say anything about a fixture’s ability to reproduce colors. Two fixtures can both have 2500 K, but one may make your beautiful hallway floor look yellowish, and the other very natural. This also often explains the somewhat higher prices of “proper” LED fixtures compared to cheaper ones from hardware stores or IKEA. But again, if the customer doesn’t care, that’s fine too—they should just make that clear. Whether the plan lists the CRI, temperature, and beam angle for every fixture is up to each person. I don’t need all that; a reference to the model usually suffices since the data is typically available. But that’s a matter of personal preference, I think. However, that wasn’t really my main point [emoji6]

The art is to recognize where you can get a functionally high-quality light fixture, but without expensive design frills.

Basically, the product somewhere between Ikea and what lighting designers usually try to sell.

R.Hotzenplotz schrieb:
Everything is finished now except for the question of how to illuminate the kitchen peninsula. The planner says using recessed spotlights as well would be too simplistic. The light strip he showed me doesn’t convince me. I’m now looking into whether pendant lights might be an option.

Alternatively, he suggested simply using surface-mounted ceiling lights instead of spotlights; those also provide some variety.

So, I'll ask again: is the lighting planner now only designing wall and ceiling spotlights? Or is he creating a lighting plan as it should be: with a main light, possibly dimmable, a floor lamp in the reading corner, and above that a light strip with 5–7 spotlights?

All I see mentioned here are spotlights and more spotlights. But proper lighting design includes a variety of lamps, because a spotlight alone can’t achieve everything (@ruppsn, the difference for coziness is in the beam height).

And what is the difference in the office between working on the PC and leisure time on the PC?

ypg schrieb:
So, I ask again: is the lighting designer only planning the wall and ceiling spotlights?

They are planning everything. You can also see the pendant lights above the dining table, for example.

ypg schrieb:
And what is the difference in the office between working on the computer and leisure time on the computer?

In my opinion, a purely functional office used only for work is sufficient with a straightforward, emotionless lighting focused solely on brightness.

In an office designed for both work and leisure, I think it’s nice to create different lighting atmospheres. For example, late at night when I’m just doing a few things on the computer without reading, I prefer not to have the full bright lighting on, but just atmospheric light.

ypg schrieb:
And what exactly is the difference in the office between working on the PC and having leisure time on the PC?

I wondered about that too.
And for purely ambient lighting, a desk lamp and the floor lamp you have by the sofa for reading should be enough. However, I have never found my own workstation lighting to be emotionless. It provides a really pleasant, almost daylight-like light, and with light also directed upwards, it creates a nice atmosphere.

I had certain ideas for my apartment back then. I also had the opportunity to visit the lighting studio at an electrical wholesale store. They had all kinds of lamps with various light sources installed, demonstrating different scenarios—both daylight and under darkened conditions. That's where I first saw the workstation lighting I eventually chose in real life.

I believe it’s much more effective to learn from examples and then apply those insights to your own lifestyle and personal needs.