How to Save Energy in Your Lighting Design

ENERGY STAR Rated Products Cuts Home Energy Use of 6,485 Watts to 1,324 Watts. By simply using ENERGY STAR® rated light fixtures, compact fluorescent bulbs and LED lights, Lighting Designer Brandi Morley dramatically cut energy use for a new model home featured in the 2008 Parade of Homes built by Stoner Homes at 849 Vista Grande from an estimated 6,485 watts to a an incredibly low 1,324 watts.

If every household in the U.S. changed out just one light to an ENERGY STAR® version, we would save enough energy to light 7 million homes and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equal to 1 million cars according to the US Environmental Agency.

Look for the ENERGY STAR® label when shopping for light fixtures and bulbs. Lighting manufacturers are increasing the number of ENERGY STAR® lines so that you do not have to sacrifice style and design for energy savings. Talk to your lighting consultant on how to cut your energy costs.

Submitted by Jennifer Guerriero with the Light Center in Fort Collins, Colorado, a Lighting One showroom. To locate the Lighting One showroom nearest you, visit www.lighting-one.com. Lighting One is an ENERGY STAR® Partner.

Lighting for Your Bathroom and Vanity

Bath and vanity lights provide task and general lighting. Vanity lighting comes in a variety of styles and offer different numbers of lighting units. These fixtures usually use incandescent bulbs to provide task lighting for applying makeup, shaving, and grooming, but they also provide good general lighting for the entire room.

Note: To reduce shadows, the best lighting for your bathroom mirror is a combination of light both above and on either side of the mirror. The second choice would be to have lighting only on each side of the mirror (as shown here). The third option, but still a good option, is to have lighting only above the mirror.

The product shown is 1061-AP, available at Lighting One showrooms. To locate the showroom nearest you, please visit www.lighting-one.com. For more Lighting One design tips, please be certain to subscribe to the blog.

How to Hang Your Wall Sconce

There are a variety of wall-mounted fixtures available today. These fixtures provide general, as well as accent lighting to a room. The wall sconce pictured here, would offer great uplighting as an accent to the room. However, since it is made of alabaster and is translucent, light will pass through it to provide some general lighting as well.

Many wall-mounted fixtures are designed in families. Meaning they match other fixtures. The wall sconce above matches a chandelier to give a coordinated look to a room.

We recommend wall sconces to be mounted between 70 and 78 inches from the center of the fixture to the floor. If the sconce is lower than 70 inches you can see the bulb inside. If the sconce is higher than 78 inches, you lose some of the light effect, as the sconce is too close to the ceiling.
Some sconces are designed to resemble a candle. Since you see the bulb, these types of sconces could be hung as low as 66 inches.

General rules of thumb for wall sconces: If the sconce is away from traffic patterns, than a height of 70 inches is fine. However, in hallways where people walk, the center of the sconce should be hung between 72 – 78 inches above the floor. This height allows people to walk by without hitting the sconce. Finally, for higher ceilings it is better to hang a sconce at the 78-inch height. However it is rare that one should hang a sconce below 66 inches or higher than 78 inches.

The product shown is #0606-ORE from the Gianni Collection, available exclusively at Lighting One showrooms. For more information, lighting design tips, or to locate your nearest Lighting One showroom, visit www.lighting-one.com.