ᐅ Lighting Design for a Single-Family Home with LED Recessed Spotlights – Number and Placement
Created on: 30 Jan 2022 22:58
S
Samantheus
Hello everyone,
I am currently working on the lighting plan for our single-family house construction project, as the ceiling order is coming up soon. The general floor plan planning thread was here: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss-planung-und-platzierung-efh-ca-200qm-auf-900qm-Grundstück.39104/
Attached are 3 images showing the planned lighting, which should hopefully be self-explanatory.
First, some general information: We prefer brighter lighting than some others might. I often find rooms too dark; I have never experienced a room as being too bright. Additionally, my wife strongly dislikes LED panels, LED strips, and anything along those lines. Smart home systems, motion sensors, etc., are not planned.
Our basic approach is that each room should have a "primary lighting" suited in brightness according to the room’s use:
Work areas (bathroom, kitchen, hallway, office, basement, garage): very bright
Living, dining, sleeping: "cozy"
Children’s rooms: somewhere in between
In addition, we plan a "secondary lighting" for a cozy atmosphere when less brightness is desired.
The number and positioning of the recessed LED downlights have been roughly discussed with our electrician.
Brief explanations of the more complex rooms:
Master Bathroom: Spots for primary lighting when bright light is needed. Mood lighting opposite the bathtub for relaxing in the tub or for quick nighttime bathroom visits without much light. Light outlet at the mirror for mirror illumination.
Children’s Bathroom: Same as master bathroom, but without mood lighting.
Bedroom: Bedside lamp/reading lamp at the bed, a small table lamp or floor lamp in the corner, and a cozy ceiling light. A few spots in front of the wardrobe to illuminate the closet well so clothes can be seen clearly when choosing and dressing.
Hallways: Ceiling spots for when very bright light is needed (e.g. dressing, carrying groceries, transporting items), table lamps on sideboards as continuous lighting in the evening when just passing through.
Upper Floor Hallway: The gap in the spots is because there is a loft pull-down staircase there.
Stairs: Small mini LEDs in the walls above every second or third step for accent lighting, which stays on in the evening. If bright light is needed, a wall light on each side. Alternatively, on the upper floor, a ceiling outlet above the landing for a long pendant light.
Living / Dining / Kitchen: 6 recessed spotlights are installed under the wall cabinets in the kitchen. Then 6 LED spots to illuminate the countertop and the stove (peninsula) well. At 3 ceiling outlets there is a bar, where 3 small pendant lights will be installed. Above the dining table, a large pendant light. In the corner between the fireplace wall and the dining table is a larger floor lamp. Opposite the fireplace wall, to the right of the sliding door, is a wall lamp, as well as to the left and right of the window in the right section (living area). The window is a seating window. Above the sofa is a wall-mounted reading lamp, and next to the sofa possibly a floor lamp with a shade and a small reading lamp so you can read well in the armchair too.
This summarizes our considerations so far. I am hoping for some creative feedback on the following points:
1. Does the number and arrangement of the LED spots in hallways and bathrooms seem appropriate to you?
2. I noticed that in hallways, LED spots are sometimes not centered but placed closer to one wall, casting stronger light on that wall. Does anyone have experience with this? Is it good or bad?
3. Would you omit the first row of LED spots in the bathrooms near the washbasin if a mirror with integrated lighting is planned, or would you still keep them?
4. Do you think the upper floor stairs could be well lit with a pendant light at the ceiling outlet and that wall lights could then be omitted?
5. Does the wardrobe lighting in the bedroom seem appropriate? Or is there a risk of too many shadows making the wardrobe not bright enough?
6. Does anything stand out in general? Any room with too much or too little lighting planned?
Thank you in advance for all feedback!
I am currently working on the lighting plan for our single-family house construction project, as the ceiling order is coming up soon. The general floor plan planning thread was here: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss-planung-und-platzierung-efh-ca-200qm-auf-900qm-Grundstück.39104/
Attached are 3 images showing the planned lighting, which should hopefully be self-explanatory.
First, some general information: We prefer brighter lighting than some others might. I often find rooms too dark; I have never experienced a room as being too bright. Additionally, my wife strongly dislikes LED panels, LED strips, and anything along those lines. Smart home systems, motion sensors, etc., are not planned.
Our basic approach is that each room should have a "primary lighting" suited in brightness according to the room’s use:
Work areas (bathroom, kitchen, hallway, office, basement, garage): very bright
Living, dining, sleeping: "cozy"
Children’s rooms: somewhere in between
In addition, we plan a "secondary lighting" for a cozy atmosphere when less brightness is desired.
The number and positioning of the recessed LED downlights have been roughly discussed with our electrician.
Brief explanations of the more complex rooms:
Master Bathroom: Spots for primary lighting when bright light is needed. Mood lighting opposite the bathtub for relaxing in the tub or for quick nighttime bathroom visits without much light. Light outlet at the mirror for mirror illumination.
Children’s Bathroom: Same as master bathroom, but without mood lighting.
Bedroom: Bedside lamp/reading lamp at the bed, a small table lamp or floor lamp in the corner, and a cozy ceiling light. A few spots in front of the wardrobe to illuminate the closet well so clothes can be seen clearly when choosing and dressing.
Hallways: Ceiling spots for when very bright light is needed (e.g. dressing, carrying groceries, transporting items), table lamps on sideboards as continuous lighting in the evening when just passing through.
Upper Floor Hallway: The gap in the spots is because there is a loft pull-down staircase there.
Stairs: Small mini LEDs in the walls above every second or third step for accent lighting, which stays on in the evening. If bright light is needed, a wall light on each side. Alternatively, on the upper floor, a ceiling outlet above the landing for a long pendant light.
Living / Dining / Kitchen: 6 recessed spotlights are installed under the wall cabinets in the kitchen. Then 6 LED spots to illuminate the countertop and the stove (peninsula) well. At 3 ceiling outlets there is a bar, where 3 small pendant lights will be installed. Above the dining table, a large pendant light. In the corner between the fireplace wall and the dining table is a larger floor lamp. Opposite the fireplace wall, to the right of the sliding door, is a wall lamp, as well as to the left and right of the window in the right section (living area). The window is a seating window. Above the sofa is a wall-mounted reading lamp, and next to the sofa possibly a floor lamp with a shade and a small reading lamp so you can read well in the armchair too.
This summarizes our considerations so far. I am hoping for some creative feedback on the following points:
1. Does the number and arrangement of the LED spots in hallways and bathrooms seem appropriate to you?
2. I noticed that in hallways, LED spots are sometimes not centered but placed closer to one wall, casting stronger light on that wall. Does anyone have experience with this? Is it good or bad?
3. Would you omit the first row of LED spots in the bathrooms near the washbasin if a mirror with integrated lighting is planned, or would you still keep them?
4. Do you think the upper floor stairs could be well lit with a pendant light at the ceiling outlet and that wall lights could then be omitted?
5. Does the wardrobe lighting in the bedroom seem appropriate? Or is there a risk of too many shadows making the wardrobe not bright enough?
6. Does anything stand out in general? Any room with too much or too little lighting planned?
Thank you in advance for all feedback!
S
Samantheus31 Jan 2022 10:18K1300S schrieb:
Is it because of the LEDs? Without them, it would be quite difficult or even impossible nowadays.No, LEDs in lampshades, desk lamps, bedside lamps, etc., are fine. In those cases, you only see the lampshade, which creates a cozy atmosphere. For example, we also use many floor, wall, and table lamps with E27 and E14 sockets fitted with LEDs. What’s not good are large plastic panels emitting light. That looks rather minimalist, cold, and uncomfortable.K1300S schrieb:
Which spotlights are you planning to use? That mainly depends on beam angle, luminous flux, and the desired brightness. With the currently planned number, I guess you are looking at the usual 300–500 lm GU10 versions, right?Exactly. I would intuitively assume they are comparable to the older halogen ceiling spots. Currently, we have 8 in the bathroom (9.5 sqm (102 sq ft)) and 5 in the hallway (9 sqm (97 sq ft)). The light output is fine for those areas. In the office, we currently have 5 spots for about 11 sqm (118 sq ft), which is clearly too dark. Therefore, I tried to keep the ratio of spots per square meter similar to that in the hallway and bathroom.
Samantheus schrieb:
Exactly.Then you should really consider larger/more powerful floodlights. This way, you can reduce the number of light sources needed and still achieve greater brightness.S
Samantheus31 Jan 2022 11:38K1300S schrieb:
Then you should really consider larger/stronger spotlights. That way, you reduce the number of light sources needed while still achieving more brightness. I liked that idea. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work. I just spoke with the construction company, and they only make the cutouts for the spotlights in one standard size (reinforced concrete ceiling). Since larger spotlights require larger cutouts, it’s not possible. 🙁
Samantheus schrieb:
I liked the idea. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work. I just spoke with the construction company, and they only make the openings for the spotlights in one standard size (reinforced concrete ceiling). So, since larger spotlights also require a bigger opening, it doesn’t work. 🙁 That’s obviously unfortunate. However, there are also small “true” LED spotlights that provide more power with the same physical size. For example, check out Illuxtron.
From the ceiling system onwards, only standard sizes called "Hallox boxes" were available, with a diameter of about 160mm (6.3 inches). You can install smaller ones inside these. (Later, you just drill the hole with the diameter needed for each spot at its location. Be careful to keep an eye on the costs with this quantity—here, one box from the ceiling system cost around €50, which adds up quickly for you and will likely be charged to you directly or even higher by the company. ;-)
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