Light is an elementary human need and good light, therefore, is essential for the well-being and health of the people who live in a home. Lighting must serve two fundamental objectives: Guarantee optimal conditions to carry out the corresponding tasks, and contribute to an atmosphere in which the resident feels comfortable. All this guaranteeing the maximum possible energy efficiency.
This last point is very important, since the use of efficient lighting, through high-performance luminaires (luminaires that have greater efficiency in the lumen/watt ratio), together with the use of regulation and control systems appropriate to the needs of the room to illuminate (support in home automation), allows good levels of comfort without sacrificing energy efficiency.
Generally, more than 20% of the electricity bill goes to the lighting section. By using low consumption light bulbs we considerably reduce energy consumption and CO emissions.2.
Inside a home, as designers, we must foresee mainly three types of lighting:
Basic lighting
It is the main source for lighting a room. In most homes there are ceiling lights: but these cause shadows and glare. A softer, more general light creates more pleasant lighting.
Work lighting
For certain types of activities, such as cooking, reading, for example, more intense light is required. For this purpose, it is advisable to use screens that direct the light beam towards the work area.
Decorative lighting
Light is also used to produce an aesthetic effect. The more light points installed, the greater the lighting flexibility.
These types of lighting are achieved by installing the necessary number of light sources. There are different types of lighting on the market, with transparent, white or soft-hued globes, of different shapes and sizes, which can be classified into:
Halogen lamps
We can say that they are divided into two groups, those that require a transformer (normally it is already incorporated into the device equipped with this type of lamps), and the latest generation ones, which do not need it.
The first group includes capsules and mini-reflectors (dichroic).
The second, more recent appearance, is made up of the so-called double-wrapped or par-reflective type, and is installed like a conventional light bulb, and can also be manipulated with your fingers without any problem.
The quality of all halogens is their bright white light and its quality does not decrease over time.
They are advisable for decorative lighting, in floor lamps or for highlighting all types of objects. Their powerful light means they can be used with excellent results as indirect lighting when washing walls and ceilings, and for tasks such as sewing, reading, etc.
Fluorescent lighting
This type of lighting is really profitable due to its duration. It is important to keep in mind that there are different fluorescents on the market, depending on the place to be illuminated, thus determining the use of one or another lamp.
Where color reproduction is important, for example: in the kitchen, study room or rest areas, we must use warm light fluorescents; They are a little more expensive, but in the short term they compensate, since they provide the environment with a high degree of comfort, avoiding that cold and whitish color on the skin that ordinary tubes give. In passage areas, outdoors, garages, stairs, etc. we can use standard fluorescent lights.
They are advisable to provide light to those places where semi-permanent lighting is required or with more than 4 hours of daily use: kitchens, hallways, entrances, garages, bathrooms, work and study areas, etc.
Low consumption lamps
Where a normal light bulb fits, a low consumption one fits.
Tienen una duración aproximada de 9 años (10.000 horas de vida) llegando a economizar hasta el 80%de energía eléctrica, aunque su coste de adquisición es bastante mayor. Son ideales para lugares donde se necesite más de 2 horas diarias de encendido, tanto en el interior como en el exterior. Por su bajo coste pueden permanecer encendidas y actuar como luz de vigilancia en pisos y chalets, en ausencias continuadas. Son, también, más ecológicas, ya que reducen sustancialmente las emisiones de CO2, que son nocivas para el medio ambiente.
In addition to conventional low-consumption lamps, there are electronic-type low-consumption lamps (LED). They differ from each other mainly by weight: conventional ones usually weigh more than 400 g and electronic ones weigh about 100 g. The latter can withstand a greater number of on and off.
It is advisable to install low-consumption bulbs in the lighting points with the highest number of lights per year. That is, put them in those rooms with more continuous use, since frequent turning on and off of these bulbs reduces their useful life.
The light tone of the low-consumption bulb can be chosen according to needs and tastes. There is a wide variety of ranges.
Led lamps
They are high-tech lighting systems and ecological products applicable to sustainable architecture.
They constitute the latest in lighting innovation, offering advantages: low consumption, high durability, controlled maintenance, environmental friendliness, they do not emit UV rays and are highly visually attractive. They began to be used in the lighting of liquid crystal screens (mobile phones, calculators, electronic agendas, etc.), information screens and in the remote controls of televisions and other devices and equipment.
Currently, technology is available that consumes one 92% less than the already banned incandescent bulbs for common domestic use and one 30% less than most fluorescent lighting systems, and can last up to 20 years. They are manufactured in various forms: wall lights, light bulbs, etc. and are used for both outdoor and indoor lighting.
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