Light in the living room is important for the comfort of residents. A poorly lit room does not contribute to vigorous activity, causes despondency. Lighting in the kitchen should be functional, encourage the housewife to work, create favorable working conditions. It is important here to highlight individual areas, as necessary to turn on the lights at the desktop, stove or dining area. This principle helps save energy.
Kitchen Lighting Rules
The kitchen should be well lit at any time. During the day it is a natural source, in the evening - artificial lighting devices. For cooking and cleaning, a bright luminous flux is needed to see the results of work. Too bright light in the kitchen causes visual and psychological irritation, leads to excessive financial costs.
Standards of illumination of premises are given in sanitary standards. You can independently determine how much light is needed, taking into account the number of lighting devices, calculate the total power. Multi-level lighting distributes the flow of light throughout the kitchen without leaving dark corners.
Principles and Requirements
Kitchen fixtures should be of a simple design, made of glass and plastic, to ensure the convenience of cleaning them from dirt. Each owner chooses the style, but it is better to be concise, without unnecessary elements. The power of lighting depends on the color scheme of the walls and kitchen furniture. Light surroundings reflect 80% of the incident light, dark - up to 12%.
Lighting Standards
The norms of illumination are regulated by SNiP 23-05-2010. To illuminate the kitchen you need a luminous flux of 150 Lx. It is necessary to calculate the number of lighting elements to ensure such a flow. The power required to illuminate a square meter, depending on the lamp:
- 12-40 W for incandescent lamps;
- 30-35 W for halogen lamps;
- 8-10 W for fluorescent lamps.
When installing LED or fluorescent elements, a calculation is made for each source, taking into account the corresponding coefficient. To determine the light consumption of a particular kitchen, the following parameters are taken into account:
- area and height of the room;
- coefficient of natural light KEO. It is determined at the center point of the floor;
- the number of proposed lighting devices, given the LED strip, the backlight on household appliances;
- characteristic of the luminous flux of the lamp - directional or diffused;
- power of each light fixture.
Kitchen lighting should not irritate or cause discomfort.
Type of lamp, color and light
Incandescent lamps for lighting residential premises are used less often. Their disadvantage is significant energy consumption, which is economically disadvantageous. Replaced are LED lamps, which consume 10 times less electricity to get a similar luminous flux. The cost of LED lamps has become affordable for consumers.
Halogen lamps fit into the interior of the room, creating original compositions. An interesting material is LED strip. Available in various colors and brightness. The tape is placed in various places of the kitchen, creating the illumination of individual zones.
An important indicator is the color scheme or tonality of lighting. Allocate warm light, natural and cold. Useful for eyes are warm colors.
Fixture materials
The choice of material for the kitchen lamp is important. It should be easy to care for, not to lose sight of water and steam.The base is made of metal with a coating that protects against corrosion. Glass shades of metal, plastic, white, beige or transparent are suitable. Fabric lampshades should not be chosen for kitchen fixtures.
Organization of the general light in the kitchen
The main lighting in the kitchen remains ceiling lights. A chandelier in the spacious kitchen is located above the dining table. Its shape and style are selected for the design of kitchen furniture. As an option - several hanging, located at different heights. On the rest of the space, point elements are installed, they are often used when installing stretch ceilings.
The location of the shades affects the distribution of the light output of the lamp. Dropped down will illuminate the circle strictly below them. By directing the ceiling up, a stream is reflected from the ceiling. It will dissipate, giving comfort to the kitchen. In the small kitchen, which were in the "Khrushchev", the light above the table was provided by a chandelier located in the center, and lighting of the working area with additional illumination.
When organizing the interior of a kitchen in the loft or high-tech style, which welcome the minimalism of furniture and decoration, it is preferable to place spotlights on the ceiling. The layout scheme is chosen by the designer or the owner, it repeats geometric shapes or is randomly located.
Location of luminaires in separate areas
In addition to general lighting, the kitchen needs highlighting of certain areas. Zoning saves electricity and makes every corner available.
Work area lighting
The work area is a responsible place in the kitchen. Lighting is the key to cleanliness and safety. If the workplace is located under the hinged cabinets, the backlight is placed on their bottom or an LED tape is glued to the wall. It is important that the light does not hit the eyes, but feed down to the work surface. LED strip meets this requirement. Use spot LED spotlights. Swivel structures make the light in the kitchen in the right direction.
Dining area lights
The lighting of the dining area is an important part of the interior and comfort. The light should be diffused and soft. The table located near the wall is illuminated using wall sconces; their number depends on the size of the zone.
Lighting over the island-table in the kitchen is carried out by a ceiling chandelier or individual suspensions. It is interesting to use devices that adjust in height - lower during lunch and dinner and raise at another time.
The number and arrangement of fixtures depends on the shape of the table. An oval or rectangular table will require 2-3 devices arranged in a row for uniform illumination. One chandelier is placed above the round table.
Additional lighting
To give the room a personality, use decorative lighting. To visually increase the size of a small kitchen, they place an LED strip on the wall above the cabinets, illuminate the base with tape or spot spots.
Some housewives use lights in kitchen cabinets. It is convenient in the lower deep compartments. The upper cabinets with transparent glass doors are illuminated, having beautiful dishes in them.
Kitchen / living room lighting
Lighting the kitchen-living room requires a competent approach. The main thing is to divide the room into zones. Ceiling lights with diffused soft light are located in the sofa area. Depending on the style of the room, a chandelier or pendants are used.
The light above the bar counter in the kitchen-living room is made, as above a long dining table - a series of ceiling lighting elements. The kitchen remains the kitchen. Here you need the illumination of the working area. Use spotlights or LED strip under the cabinets.Lighting elements must be combined in style.
How to use natural light
For daylight, the kitchen uses natural light. A wide window lets in more light. Light translucent curtains, adjustable blinds and roller blinds hang in order not to obscure it. Choose materials of light tones. The color of the walls affects the light sensation. Warm shades make the room more spacious and brighter.
It is important to keep the windows clean, so the windows are regularly washed thoroughly. This is especially true of the kitchen, located on the north side. Premises with windows facing south suffer from an excess of light, especially in summer. It is appropriate to hang the blinds, adjusting the light depending on the weather on the street.
