Great kitchen lighting design typically utilises a large amount of lighting (which means more than just installing a few extra ceiling roses). Kitchen lighting needs a variety of types of lighting for different areas and purposes. The absolutely worst way to illuminate a kitchen is using bright fluorescent ceiling strip lights. They're certainly very bright - but also flat, cold and guaranteed to give you a headache into the bargain.
The most obvious issue with having central ceiling-rose fittings in a kitchen is that they produce dark spots, most noticeably where you cast your own shadow onto work surfaces. A solution seen in many kitchens involves fitting halogen down lamps in a uniform pattern across the ceiling then adding task-specific lighting for workareas, hobs and so on.
This does indeed work quite well, but brings its own set of problem: halogen lamps run at very high temperatures; they don't last well; and they are pretty much the most expensive possible way to light a kitchen. Over ninety percent of the cost of incandescent lighting in general (and halogen lamps in particular) is the electricity they consume.
This in large part explains the rise in popularity of ultra low energy, cool running, LED kitchen lighting. For mains voltage lighting, all that is required is to replace existing GU10 spotlights in-situ with GU10 LEDs. For low voltage systems, replace existing 12v transformers with one (or more, depending on the number of lights involved) constant voltage 12v LED driver and then change over to LED light bulbs.
The three main aspects to consider when installing LED spotlights are: luminosity (brightness); colour temperature (how cool/blue or warm/yellow); and beam angle. Try to match these as close as possible to the characteristics of the halogen lamps you might otherwise have considered using.
We are used to measuring brightness in terms of wattage, but an LED light bulb will have a wattage rating at least ten percent that of it's equivalent incandescent or halogen bulb. Therefore, when replacing a 35w halogen lamp use an LED of 3w or above, and likewise replace a 50w with a 5w LED, etc.
Color temperature describes how cool or warm a light appears. LED lights are available in a variety of white color temperatures (and also, colors) but since it has always been easier to manufacture blue LEDs, many cheap LEDs tend to have a cold/bluish tinge. Go for warm white (color temperatures below 3500K) for a reasonable approximation to the kind of white light normally associated with halogen lamps.
A narrow beam angle, say 45 degrees, makes any light appear tighter and more contained to a defined spot, whereas a much wider 120 degrees spreads the light out evenly, eliminating glare and "hot-spots". Quite possibly the best LED spot light currently available that acts as a straightforward halogen replacement is the Sharp Zenigata.
Determining how artificial light appears to the eye often owes less to the light itself than to the surface it is aimed at. A warm feeling is easily obtained by pointing spot lighting at areas that are themselves warmly colored, such as terracotta tiling, any type of wood or even just a warmly painted wall. By contrast, a dramatic effect can be had by simply throwing blue LED light against dark or hard surfaces - blue or green tiles, granite, enamel and steel all lend themselves to this treatment.
Mixing a variety of lights that offer different characteristics with a range of textures and colors makes it possible to obtain an extensive palette of effects for the various zones in your kitchen. LED strip lighting systems in particular offer all manner of options for accenting plinths, coving, worktops and pretty much anything else you could imagine. But at the end of the day though, once you're done playing with all the new ideas on offer, try and settle on just a few designs that really appeal - it's quite surprising how impressive even a bit of LED kitchen lighting appears.
The most obvious issue with having central ceiling-rose fittings in a kitchen is that they produce dark spots, most noticeably where you cast your own shadow onto work surfaces. A solution seen in many kitchens involves fitting halogen down lamps in a uniform pattern across the ceiling then adding task-specific lighting for workareas, hobs and so on.
This does indeed work quite well, but brings its own set of problem: halogen lamps run at very high temperatures; they don't last well; and they are pretty much the most expensive possible way to light a kitchen. Over ninety percent of the cost of incandescent lighting in general (and halogen lamps in particular) is the electricity they consume.
This in large part explains the rise in popularity of ultra low energy, cool running, LED kitchen lighting. For mains voltage lighting, all that is required is to replace existing GU10 spotlights in-situ with GU10 LEDs. For low voltage systems, replace existing 12v transformers with one (or more, depending on the number of lights involved) constant voltage 12v LED driver and then change over to LED light bulbs.
The three main aspects to consider when installing LED spotlights are: luminosity (brightness); colour temperature (how cool/blue or warm/yellow); and beam angle. Try to match these as close as possible to the characteristics of the halogen lamps you might otherwise have considered using.
We are used to measuring brightness in terms of wattage, but an LED light bulb will have a wattage rating at least ten percent that of it's equivalent incandescent or halogen bulb. Therefore, when replacing a 35w halogen lamp use an LED of 3w or above, and likewise replace a 50w with a 5w LED, etc.
Color temperature describes how cool or warm a light appears. LED lights are available in a variety of white color temperatures (and also, colors) but since it has always been easier to manufacture blue LEDs, many cheap LEDs tend to have a cold/bluish tinge. Go for warm white (color temperatures below 3500K) for a reasonable approximation to the kind of white light normally associated with halogen lamps.
A narrow beam angle, say 45 degrees, makes any light appear tighter and more contained to a defined spot, whereas a much wider 120 degrees spreads the light out evenly, eliminating glare and "hot-spots". Quite possibly the best LED spot light currently available that acts as a straightforward halogen replacement is the Sharp Zenigata.
Determining how artificial light appears to the eye often owes less to the light itself than to the surface it is aimed at. A warm feeling is easily obtained by pointing spot lighting at areas that are themselves warmly colored, such as terracotta tiling, any type of wood or even just a warmly painted wall. By contrast, a dramatic effect can be had by simply throwing blue LED light against dark or hard surfaces - blue or green tiles, granite, enamel and steel all lend themselves to this treatment.
Mixing a variety of lights that offer different characteristics with a range of textures and colors makes it possible to obtain an extensive palette of effects for the various zones in your kitchen. LED strip lighting systems in particular offer all manner of options for accenting plinths, coving, worktops and pretty much anything else you could imagine. But at the end of the day though, once you're done playing with all the new ideas on offer, try and settle on just a few designs that really appeal - it's quite surprising how impressive even a bit of LED kitchen lighting appears.
About the Author:
Abigail Monot personally recommends these additional articles relating specifically to kitchen lighting design and home LED lighting in general.
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