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Contrary to common perception, lighting is an essential part of the home and is often overlooked. A good lighting plan offers functionality without compromising style and preference. It can completely alter the emotion of a room or transform the perception of objects within a space. By combining the four basic types of lighting: ambient, task, accent and decorative lighting, a lighting plan can achieve purpose and personality. The key to developing a solid lighting plan is to understand the difference between each lighting type, then finding the right lighting technology to fulfill the space needs.

Ambient refers to the basic illumination in a space providing a comfortable level of brightness. This type of lighting ultimately grants general visibility within a space, providing the ability to see and move around safely. Task lighting adds supplemental light to a space to perform a specific activity, such as reading or food preparation, by concentrating the light in a particular place. The last two types of lighting are often meshed together or simply misunderstood. Accent lighting creates a mood and adds interest to a room by highlighting or spotlighting certain areas and objects, such as paintings, walls, and collectibles, while decorative lighting becomes actual elements of the space themselves, such as chandeliers and candles.

In addition, building code requirements are creating new standards for lighting in the home. Most states and municipalities have adopted minimum energy efficiency standards that apply to new construction and major renovation or have a separate set of regulations specific to their area. For example, California's Title 24 building code requires high-efficacy lighting in new residential construction specific to kitchens and bathrooms. There are several regulations to consider with any new or existing lighting plan. Knowing any outside requirements will also help in lamp selection within each application.

Many residential lighting products carry the Energy Star label, which designates products that offer residential spaces energy-efficient solutions to save energy, money and help protect the environment for future generations. For example, Energy Star qualified compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) use less energy and prevent greenhouse gas emissions by meeting strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy.

Lighting Technologies

There are six lighting technologies that offer flexibility and abundant options for customizing and enhancing the look and feel of any room. These technologies are: incandescent, halogen, compact fluorescent, fluorescent, high intensity discharge (HID) and Light Emitting Diode chips (LED). When designing a home lighting scheme, it is important to keep in mind that there are different light sources available for each different application.

Choosing the correct lamp for a specific application is a process and requires a great deal of planning. The main concerns for residential lighting are lamp life, energy efficiency, aesthetics, flexibility, cost and finally maintenance or replacement ease. Of course there are several other things to question while developing a lighting plan. Is the light source appropriate for the tasks being performed? Does it complement the lighting in the rest of the installation?

Incandescent. While certain energy codes and some legislation is affecting the original source of electrical light, incandescent lamps still offer a low initial cost, excellent color qualities and good optical control. They are widely used in the residential space, because they are available in a wide range of sizes, shapes and wattages. Additionally, incandescent technology has no ballast requirements and full dimming capabilities.

Due to the technology's versatility, incandescent light sources are used across the four lighting types and can be installed in most fixtures within a residence.

Halogen. Like incandescent light, halogen technology is fully dimmable, available in a variety of shapes and styles that fit in most fixtures. The technology offers excellent color temperature ranges and CRI capabilities. However, halogen lamps have the added benefits of greater energy efficiency, longer life and exceptional lumen maintenance. This source can vary in cost, depending on shape and fixture. Low voltage reflector halogen lamps are more compact in size compared to line voltage PAR types allowing for use of smaller low profile fixtures. Halogen bulbs have an array of uses, but are particularly well matched for accent lighting. Halogen does not generate any additional UV or damaging light, making it a perfect choice to preserve and highlight pictures and paintings.

Compact Fluorescent Lamps. In the current energy-saving climate, a popular alternative to conventional light sources has been the compact fluorescent lamp (CFL). CFLs use approximately 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs, last up to 12 times longer and will start down to -20° F. Compact fluorescent technology has advanced quite a bit since its inception nearly two decades ago. More color temperatures with better color rendering properties, shapes, sizes and wattages are available now with instant-on technology. For dimming applications, pin based compact fluorescent should be considered since dimmable medium base CFLs are limited.

Fluorescent. Fluorescent technology is used a great deal in industrial commercial spaces because it touts long life and energy savings; however the light source also offers multiple solutions and flexibility for the home. Since the lamps are available in a variety of shapes and sizes, as well as a wide range of color temperatures and functions, there's a fluorescent lamp for any room in the home. Fluorescents, however, require ballasts, can have a high per-fixture cost, and are sensitive to temperature and switching.

Fluorescents allow you to choose from the two color families, depending upon the colors that are to be enhanced in the space. The cool family of bulbs is used to enhance cool tones such as blues, greens, grays and whites. The warm family enhances reds, oranges, yellows and wood tones.

HID. HID lighting is typically found in the industrial commercial market, still there are applications where HID technology can be appropriately used in the residential space. HID lamps exhibit longer life, higher efficiency and brighter light than an incandescent or halogen light source for a variety of indoor and outdoor applications. HID sources will last to 3-4 times longer than a halogen source. The HID option at home makes most sense outdoors. Whether used for general aesthetic appeal or for security and safety lighting, HID light sources can provide the illumination needed for outdoor pathway, driveway, garage, poolside or house lighting.

LED. LEDs differ radically from traditional light sources in that there are no glass bulbs or filaments to break, or electrodes to decay. With LEDs' solid state construction comes durability and exceptionally long life (50,000 hours on average). LEDs' small size and minimal power draw make them ideal for display, accent and task lighting in the home. They can help light up a bookshelf or be used in under-cabinet fixtures in the kitchen, home office or entertainment center.