How to use spotlights effectively

The traditional method of lighting a room – a single central pendant light hanging from the ceiling – leaves a lot to be desired. Enter spotlights…

There are many ways of creating atmosphere using carefully planned lighting systems, but one of the most cost effective and efficient ways is to plan your lighting around the use of spotlights. Melissa Davidson from The Lighting Warehouse gives a few pointers:

Different purposes

Although spotlights are great for highlighting various features in a home, they are also good for providing ample and attractive illumination for an entire room.

Spotlights can be used for various purposes: task lighting, where they serve to illuminate a desk or working surface; mood lighting, where they serve to highlight certain focal features in a room, such as artwork, plants or other architectural features; and of course, general lighting, where they can be used to provide overall lighting to any space.

Style and design

It is essential to coordinate your choice of spotlights to suit your home’s particular style and decor. Spotlights are available in a multitude of various styles to suit almost any decor style.

Classical styles would be best complemented by spotlights in a brushed chrome finish, while spotlights with wooden, brushed copper or brass detailing would suit more traditional and cottage styles. Contemporary decor would be best accented with spotlights in sleek metallic or a modern enamel finish.

Choosing the right globes

In the past, we used 12V halogen dichroic globes that needed a transformer and that made these globes relatively expensive. Nowadays it is much more affordable to use GU10 globes, as they are 240V and therefore do not require the purchase of a separate transformer.

According to Davidson, there are four types of GU10 globes:

The 50W halogen GU10 is a non-energy saving, dimmable incandescent globe that generates a fair amount of heat. It will therefore not be the best option if the fitting will be operating for long hours.

The 28W (with an output of 35W) and 40W (with an output of 50W) halogen GU10 energy-saver globe will save up to 20% electricity. These bulbs are dimmable, reasonably priced, and they boast a lifetime of up to 2 000 hours.

The CFL GU10 is an energy-saving globe available in 7W, 9W and 11W. It provides an energy saving of up to 80%, and the lifespan of these GU10s are 8 000 hours. These globes are a lot cooler than their halogen counterparts and there are dimmable versions available.

The LED GU10 3W (output of 35W) and 5W (output of 40W) globes are the globes of the future – they will save you 90% electricity and they have a lifespan of 50 000 hours! Dimmable versions are also available, but they are comparatively expensive. LED globes are the coolest of all the globes and all parts are recyclable, making them an especially environmentally friendly choice.

The benefits of spotlights

The main benefit of using spotlights is the fact that they are incredibly versatile light fittings – the light fittings themselves can be readily and seamlessly moved about. You can point them in diverse directions; angling them in virtually any direction to highlight features of your choice. All these characteristics make spotlights especially suitable to activity-intense areas, such as the kitchen.

Other benefits include the fact that spotlights:

Eliminate glare: Glare can be eliminated using spots by indirectly illuminating specific objects. Light reflects off an object at the same angle the rays of light strike it, so you can eliminate glare by ensuring that the reflected light does not shine upward at eye level.

Make a space seem bigger: Increasing a room’s illumination by washing the walls with light is a sure way to make it appear larger than it actually is. This is easily achieved with cleverly placed spotlights.

Create the illusion of a wider room: By running spotlight tracks across the shorter sides of a room, you will make the room seem wider. If, on the other hand, you want the room to appear narrower, then place the spotlight tracks on the longer walls of the room.

Focus on the good, not the bad: Spotlighting is the ideal way of focusing attention on the attractive elements in any room, and hiding the not-so-pretty aspects. For example, if you have unattractive ceilings, you can focus attention away from them by aiming the spotlights downwards, towards the walls.

Alternatively, if you want to show off your stunning pressed ceilings for example, you can attach the spotlights on the adjacent walls and direct some of them to shine directly on the ceilings. This will highlight the ceilings beautifully, and the reflected light will add great ambient lighting to the entire room.

For more information, visit The Lighting Warehouse online at www.lightingwarehouse.co.za.