A ceiling lighting fixture is an important aspect of the aesthetic appeal of a room or area. A proper fixture can perfectly set the mood of any location, as well as, properly light the area. Fixtures vary in capacity, design, and overall usefulness. Some rooms would benefit most from a certain fixture and lighting style, while others can make do with pretty much anything. The key is to determine the exact needs of the room in regards to ceiling lighting and aesthetics. The factors that determine the type of lighting involved are the three types of lighting required for a room and the overall feeling the room is to represent. The three types of lighting for a room are ambient, accent, and task lighting. Ceiling lighting fixtures are primarily for ambient light, but they can actually be used for any of these lighting types.
Ambient Lighting
Ambient lighting is the basic general lighting used to illuminate the entire home or building. This is the primary type of lighting that will be used. It tends to focus on low cost energy efficient methods and in many modern homes and offices this will include the ability to control light levels. This type of lighting is the overall level of illumination in the area and is a general type of luminescence without much focused direction in mind. A few examples of ambient lighting will include, cove, chandelier, pendant, and track lights when used for general purpose illumination. Ceiling lighting fixtures of this type are the most important as they provide the basic lighting groundwork for any given room or area.
Accent Lighting
Accent lighting is an ideal focus for light above, below, or behind different objects around the office or home. This type of lighting works outside as well and is ideal for plants, statues, and paintings that look great n proper lighting. Ceiling lighting fixtures that work well with this type of lighting are track lights. Some types of heavily shaded lighting sources can be used in a manner of a spotlight to perfectly accentuate an item or image as well. Accent lighting is designed to illuminate and possibly draw attention to a given object or location. Other interesting types of lighting fixtures that can provide accent lighting include wall washers, sconces, and under-cabinet lighting.
Task Lighting
Task lighting is a type of portable or fixed lighting that is designed with specific lighting tasks in mind. These tasks can vary from cooking and shaving to reading and working at the computer. Ceiling fan light fixtures of this type are often used to specifically focus on a given area such as illuminating a corner of an office, increasing light levels for an artist’s drawing table, or outdoor ceiling lights that make it easier to grill at night.
The difference between accent and ambient light in comparison to task lighting is that ambient light is meant for general purpose usage and accent lighting is simply to draw attention to an object or area. Task lighting is primarily utilitarian in purpose. The exact same ceiling lighting fixtures can actually be seen as either type of lighting source depending on the needs of the moment. A few examples of lighting fixtures that might work well as task lighting are pendant, valance, and heavily shaded spot-lighting fixtures.
Ceiling Lighting Fixtures
While a ceiling lighting fixture can be used for any of the three lighting purposes the most common usage is for ambient lighting. This is because a ceiling light is at an optimal location to allow the greatest distribution of light. As such, ambient light levels are greatly increased by a ceiling light. Ceiling lights can be outfit with fluorescent, compact fluorescent, and incandescent bulbs. The type of lighting will be a personal choice though many people choose to utilize ceiling lighting fixtures with compact fluorescent bulbs as they provide ample lighting for much lower wattage. This means that not only will the room be well lit, it will also be much more cost-efficient to light overall.
No matter what type of ceiling light fixtures are used the end result is that the room will be better lit. The key is to choose the exact lighting needs for the room in question. A ceiling spotlight might be excellent for a work station, but it will not be as useful for overall lighting as a pendant light fixture might.
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