ᐅ New Construction Lighting Design and Implementation

11ant schrieb:
...but no facts about how many lux / lumens / candelas are provided per cubic meter in which room.

I’m also generally a fan of numbers, metrics, and decisions based on them.

However, lux/lumens/candelas are not very intuitive or meaningful for the average homeowner. So what’s the point of all that? I find renderings with tools like DIALux much more helpful, especially to visualize the lighting effect (light cone, beam angle, wattage, color temperature). If I showed my wife the plan with those technical parameters you requested, she, like me, wouldn’t get it at all.

Of course, in commercial contexts (e.g., office spaces), this can make sense and may even be required, but that’s a different matter and budget level. If you want it and are willing to pay for it, you’ll probably get it. But for the average customer, it’s probably not very relevant…

For me, lighting design is not a reproducible design process because personal taste plays a major role—similar to working with an architect. That’s why I prefer to first look at the planner’s previous projects and see if I like their style. If so, I go prepared with pictures of designs I like, and then we get started. That’s also how we found our architectural firm. Our planner, for example, arranged appointments with previous clients on site to show us how she plans and would implement things for us. That helped us more than any numerical figures, even though I usually prefer numbers. For us, this approach works well.

Everything is finished now except for the question of how to light the kitchen peninsula. The planner said that using recessed spotlights there would be too plain. I’m not convinced by the light strip he showed. I’m now looking into whether pendant lights could be used instead.

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

I think pendant lights would be a good choice for you. They can also be the only lights on in the evening, providing illumination for the passage to the dining area while creating a cozy atmosphere. You just need to make sure that the light beam has a somewhat wider spread.

The lighting designer has planned two continuous light strips. One on the side where you sit and one on the side where you do the washing up.

If pendant lights were used, it would probably make more sense to plan a single row centered rather than two rows. I would need to specify exactly how it should be done in detail. I find this kitchen island really challenging.

ruppsn schrieb:
Lux/lumen/candela are not very intuitive or meaningful for the average homebuilder.

To be honest, they’re not intuitive to me either. However, having quantitative parameters helps to clearly answer yes or no to whether a certain level of illuminance is achieved at a specific point in a room. To me, “planning” implies an engineering approach. What is offered here—completely fair if it satisfies the client—is more like a visual menu for tastefully spending money on lamps. For me, a proper lighting PLAN—especially if charging an engineering-level fee—only counts if it at least “also” answers the requirement “Is lighting level X achieved at this particular point: yes or no.” Whether brass-colored lampshades match coffee-brown tiles, you can get cheaper advice from your spouse.

---

https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

11ant schrieb:
For me personally, they don’t intuitively mean anything. Still, parametric data can help to clearly answer yes or no whether a certain light intensity is achieved at a specific point in the room.

And that’s exactly what I doubt. How can a parameter be useful to you if you don’t understand it? Do you know what luminous flux, illuminance, and color temperature are needed to create a cozy mood or a certain atmosphere? I would say no. [emoji6]
I would classify the topic of lighting in a non-commercial context more as an artistic matter, where metrics and an engineering approach are probably less helpful. And I say this as an engineer who certainly values an engineering approach—but only when it fits the nature of the problem. In the realm of art, I don’t see that fit.
But as I said, there are offers that provide such services. For me and probably others, it’s enough to tell the planner, “A workstation will be set up here; I want proper lighting and illumination there.” How they achieve that is irrelevant to me, as long as there are no problems and it’s neither too bright nor too dark. If that’s not the case, then key figures and the like will surely be used to check whether the lighting meets the requirements for such situations, for example, those specified in standards. As a customer, that level of detail is way too much—I’d hate it if the planner asked, “Mr. 11ant, what luminous flux, illuminance, and color temperature would you like here at the dining table, over there at the kitchen island, and in that corner—oops, and of course at the desk?” What would you say then, as someone who can’t make sense of those parameters at all? I find that neither practical for the average customer nor advantageous. To me, it’s just an unnecessary cost factor without concrete benefit. But everyone is different, and that’s perfectly fine. Fortunately, there’s an appropriate offer for everyone—just not necessarily at the same price.