For the arrangement of the room is important not only furniture, cosmetic repairs and soft rug. To make the room cozy, you need to choose the right lighting device. Among light sources, LED spotlights are best suited for this role.
The use of LED spotlights
Spot lighting is a great option for interior decoration. Correct light favorably affects vision and puts the room in a favorable light. LEDs are small and mounted in suspended ceilings, less often in walls. With their help, you can create light collaborations, drawings, play with special effects or arrange the interior in the style of minimalism.
Lamps are used in public, work and residential premises, as well as in furniture design (cabinets, make-up mirrors, niches, etc.). The popularity of spotlights is due to safety, ergonomics and economy. They can be installed in any convenient place, divide the room into zones.
Spot lighting is also popular in the kitchen: LEDs are mounted on an apron or used as a backlight. As an additional source of light, they are also installed on flights of stairs, steps, in home fountains, pools and even mounted on the floor.
Advantages and disadvantages
The point system is very convenient in operation: due to the large number of individual light elements, you can adjust the degree of illumination of the room, and adjust the illuminated areas.
Benefits
Among the advantages of LED ceiling lights are:
- color correction when lighting part of the room;
- the ability to illuminate several objects, eliminating unnecessary from the visibility zone;
- the choice of the degree of brightness and uniformity;
- lack of own shadow and reduction of a shadow from other home decoration;
- saving: one point light will consume much less electricity than a chandelier;
- compactness - fit into any interior, used for various purposes and save space;
- long service life.
Spotlight, due to the ability to coordinate the position of the lamps, has a positive effect on vision. Adjusting the brightness will not allow your eyes to strain, relieve the room of unnecessary glare and shadows. The construction will cost much less than a chandelier.
disadvantages
For every positive moment, there will certainly be a negative one, so in working with spot lighting systems you will have to face difficulties:
- organization of the place and design design: you need to accurately calculate the location of the fixtures and lay a large number of cables;
- for a twelve-watt bulb you will need a transformer or power supply;
- when the bulb overheats, the panel may be damaged;
- some lamps need a special design, so not all surfaces are suitable for installation.
If it’s a responsibility to approach the installation of LEDs: to prepare in advance the wiring for the lamps and the place for installation - negative consequences can be avoided.
Varieties of LED lamps
LEDs have a lot of technical advantages: they are durable, economical and compact.The light from such lamps lies evenly, does not create unnecessary shadows and highlights. They are also waterproof, as they are often used in lighting in greenhouses, pools and ponds.
LED spotlights can be divided into three groups, which differ from each other in the way of mounting and installation. If we take into account the materials, shape and other indicators of the product, we can distinguish, for example: flat, plastic, opaque, volumetric, glass, square, round, wide and so on.
Overhead
Mounted on a solid base of the ceiling, when there is no way to make an installation niche. It is usually used in warehouse or office premises. Overhead lights consist of a mounting pad and a housing with a diffuser.
Recessed
Usually used in plasterboard coating. Recessed light sources are especially loved by designers, since their field of application is so vast that they can be used absolutely everywhere: in the pool, on the stairs, in the basement, and on the floor.
Spotlights consist of a one-piece housing, which already has elements for fasteners and fixtures for the lamp. This simplicity provides economy, compactness and laconicism of a product. Also, this device allows you to "hide" the fixtures - put them on the surface of the mount.
Outboard
The lamp is at some distance from the ceiling. It usually hangs on a decorative cable that connects the base of the lamp and the battery to the body and lamp. Pendant lights can be mounted on any type of ceiling: suspended, drywall, solid, rack, etc. It is also actively used by designers as a decor element.
Spotlights can also vary as much as possible to change direction and angle. Rotary devices can be rotated and twisted as you like, choosing the desired angle. You can’t turn the static ones after fastening. The tilt and position of the light is not adjustable and does not change.
Selection options
You need to choose LED lamps based on the place where they will be located, the goals and objectives of their application: they will illuminate the exhibit, an aquarium with fish or a sofa with a TV.
Design
Lamps as an element of the interior help create an integral image. The choice will depend on the overall style of the room: the color and shape of the decor elements, furniture.
Type of cartridge
The fixtures must be selected in accordance with the type of cartridge and its components: base, diameter of the base / pin connection, number of contacts. There are threaded and pin types of cap that are indicated by the letters of the Latin alphabet in accordance with their characteristics.
Brightness level
Brightness is determined by the power of the bulb, so you need to consider the technical characteristics of the device when buying it.
Degree of protection
One of the technical indicators responsible for safety and serviceability when using lamps. There are international standards for the degree of protection of electrical and electrical equipment. Basically, these systems protect against adverse environmental conditions and phenomena. This standard is IP, which determines the degree of protection of live parts from penetration of foreign objects, dust or moisture. Typically, the degree of protection IP is usually classified according to two-digit numbers (IP45 and IP54).
The first IP digit represents the degree of protection against penetration or exposure to solid objects. The second is the degree of protection against moisture or water entering the enclosure.
The calculation of the number of lamps for lighting a room
The easiest way to calculate the amount is to determine the quadrature of the room. According to the generally accepted standard, 1 Watt has 20 W of power.For normal lighting, you need to multiply the number of square meters by the power of the lamp. The result will be equal to the power of all electrical devices per room. Also takes into account the location and number of windows, types of lamps, room design.
Luminaire layouts
There are several standard layouts:
- oval - devices are placed around the perimeter in the form of an oval, the inside of the figure remains empty;
- circle - placement of devices around the perimeter in the form of a circle;
- angular placement - usually this option is combined with a chandelier;
- cross - this arrangement illuminates the maximum area;
- rectangle - visually enlarges the room;
- arc - placement is used when zoning a room, placed on a suspended structure in a place where emphasis needs to be made;
- author's drawing - devices are built in the original order.
In order for the light to spread evenly, you need to position the lamps at the same distance from each other, taking into account the proportions of the picture, and also indent from the wall about 20 cm. If you can’t calculate the optimal location on your own, specialized online calculators will help with this.
