ᐅ Any experiences with online lighting consultations?

AMNE3IA schrieb:

If you only start planning once the shell of the building is already up, you’ve already lost.

Yes, that’s too late!

AMNE3IA schrieb:

Unless you just put a light fixture dead center in the middle of the room.

That’s completely sufficient in bedrooms and basements.

AMNE3IA schrieb:

I don’t think you can create a proper lighting plan after just a few hours of online research.

Actually, you can, if you know in advance what you want.

Zaba12 schrieb:



In the bedrooms and the basement this is completely sufficient

I see it differently. Especially in the bedrooms, you don’t want to rely only on basic overhead lighting. For example, wall lamps or pendant lights above the bed or bedside tables. Lighting for makeup mirrors or decorative lighting definitely creates a cozier atmosphere than a single ceiling light in the center of the room.

Basement rooms are often used as hobby or workspaces. It’s important to consider proper lighting there as well. For instance, lighting should be placed above work areas, not behind them. Depending on the furniture layout, a central ceiling light can be out of place.

@annab377 Don’t forget to plan for exterior lighting, too. Driveway, house, and patio lighting.

AMNE3IA schrieb:

I see it differently.
Especially in bedrooms, you don’t want to rely on just basic lighting.
For example, wall lights or pendant lamps above the bed or bedside tables.
Makeup mirror lighting or decorative lighting definitely create a cozier atmosphere than a single ceiling light in the middle of the room.

Basement rooms are often used as hobby or workspaces.
It’s particularly important to consider proper lighting there.
For example, lighting above the work areas rather than behind them.
Depending on the furniture layout, a central ceiling light may also be inappropriate.

@annab377
Don’t forget to plan outdoor lighting as well: driveway, house exterior, or patio lighting.

Again, this isn’t rocket science. If someone can’t pick out a light fixture themselves, they probably have bigger issues with their house build. And if you can’t or won’t do your own research, you’ll just have to pay for publicly available knowledge.

@Zaba12 What I find quite challenging is, for example, determining a) how many recessed LED spots should be installed in areas like hallways or entryways, b) the required lumen output, and c) the beam angle. This is to avoid ending up with a hallway that feels like a sports field (overlit) or one that is too dim. The same issue could arise in the bathroom: ensuring it is neither too dark nor overly bright.

Especially c) the beam angle in combination with ceiling height and b) the light intensity in lumens is not so simple in my opinion.

It is much easier and well documented on various websites when it comes to color temperature—around 4000 Kelvin for workspaces, about 3000 Kelvin for a warmer, more yellowish light suitable for living areas. It’s also clear that for the bathroom mirror, it’s best to have bright light (4000 Kelvin) coming from the front rather than from above. The same applies to the kitchen, to avoid casting shadows while preparing food.

I find it much easier to install additional lighting later using the URail system than to decide during the concrete slab stage exactly where each spotlight should go and how they will actually look in the fully furnished and painted larger or smaller room.

Zaba12 schrieb:

True, but I sleep at night. Just kidding. I have a lot of U-rail from Paulmann installed on the ground floor and in the bathrooms. It’s definitely possible to make mistakes (especially in the kitchen), but they do provide online guidance on how to position everything. Other than that, it’s just common sense and a few hours of online research.

If you have no idea at all, I would recommend on-site planning.

I saw the U-rail track and individual components at the hardware store. Everything looked good. I then planned and purchased extensive components for a larger rail-lighting system for our new kitchen. During a test assembly before installation, I was surprised and very disappointed by the poor quality of the parts when put together. Strong color deviations between parts, inaccurate fitting, and twisting of components do NOT look like quality—these issues only become apparent during assembly. Also, wherever a connector or branch piece is used, the "technical" parts (screws, springs, etc.) are openly visible over more than 3 cm (1.2 inches) on each side. This cannot be covered by the cover strip. I didn’t want to install something with such poor visual quality, so I returned all the Paulmann parts. Paulmann does not refund the price for shortened U-rail tracks, by the way. My conclusion: If you’re looking for good visual quality, you should avoid Paulmann U-rail.