LED lighting is a great way to illuminate your home – although not the cheapest buy, they’ll save you a lot of money in the long run. But this doesn’t mean that you can just slap any LED bulbs in every room and call it a day. Choosing the right light bulb isn’t just a matter of decor – certain types of lighting serve a specific purpose, and they should complement the purpose of a given room. So what would be the best LED light bulb for any room? Let’s find out together.
Why does the choice of a light bulb matter?
Light can greatly affect our bodies – it’s common knowledge that sunlight gives us energy. But even the artificial light emitted by light bulbs can do that – if the bulb emits blue light waves we feel awake, focused and alert as our bodies respond to it with boosted serotonin production. On the other hand, the absence of blue light waves in the bulb’s light makes us feel relaxed and drowsy as our brains produce melatonin in those conditions.
What LED light bulbs to choose for each room?
While choosing light bulbs, there’re two parameters to consider – colour temperature and brightness.
The colour temperature is measured in kelvins (K) and tells us about the light’s appearance. The lower the bulb’s temperature, the warmer the light will be. For example, a 2 700 K bulb will produce warm-white light (similar to that of a fire) while one with about 6 000 K produces cool-white light that is very close to daylight. Brightness is measured in Lumens (not Watts as some may think).
Based on those two you can easily choose the right lighting for any room. Here’s what to aim for:
Living room
The living room is a multitasking room – it’s used for e.g., entertainment, relaxation or guests reception. As such it should be equipped with a mixture of light sources so it can be easily adapted to the given occasion. A good solution for this are adjustable spotlight lamps which can illuminate decor elements, eliminate unwanted shadows or simply reduce TV’s glare. Just keep in mind that it’s better to avoid bright, blue-light emitting bulbs as they aren’t good for resting. The overall lighting should be kept at 2 200-3 000 K and 1 500 to 3 000 Lumens.
Bedroom
Bedrooms should be the most peaceful, relaxing and calm rooms in the house. So make sure to avoid blue light waves as they can really mess up your sleep schedule. If you’re planning on reading in your bed at nighttime, choose neutral or soft blue light tones for your reading lamp as they don’t create a high contrast with pages. Lights in bedrooms shouldn’t be brighter than 1 500 to 4 000 Lumens in total and their temperature shouldn’t exceed 2 700-3 000 K.
Bathroom
Bathrooms should be brightly lit but not necessarily by a ceiling light – it’s better to focus on specific points like mirror and shower fixtures. For lighting mirrors and their immediate surroundings, larger globular bulbs work great. If you shower first thing in the morning, consider putting up a high-output surface mounted retrofit fixture in the shower fixture – this will help you to start waking up faster. Overall bathroom lighting should be around 3 000-5 000 K and 4 000 to 8 000 Lumens.
Kitchen
Don’t deceive yourself – the kitchen is essentially nothing more than a workspace. As such, its counters should be brightly lit by blue-light emitting bulbs to keep you alert and help you stay awake while fixing some breakfast in the morning. Kitchens with tables should also have warmer colour temperature lights over them to balance out those above the counters. Kitchens are also great places for recessed overhead lights with LED BR bulbs or retrofit kits. In summary, kitchen lights should be 2 700-5 000 K and 4 000 to 8 000 Lumens.
Dining room
The lights in the dining rooms shouldn’t be too bright but also not so dim to make you doze off during a meal. It’s good to keep the light in soft or neutral tones to create just the right ambience in the room. Dining rooms are best lit by overhead lights installed directly above the table – a chandelier or a fixture with dedicated LED bulbs will do the trick nicely. Total brightness should be kept at 3 000 to 6 000 Lumens with the temperature of 2 200-3 000 K.
Home office
Lights in a home office have one simple purpose – to maximize your productivity. So the best option would be cool-white lighting (3 000-5 000 K) that boosts serotonin levels. Light sources should be placed in a manner that won’t produce unwanted glares on computer screens. If you’re looking for additional task lighting, consider using LED desk lamps with switchable colour temperatures. All the light should be quite bright, reaching the total of 3 000 to 6 000 Lumens.
Additional things to consider about lighting
Firstly, if your ceilings are high, all your overhead lights should be brighter to properly lit up the room. This is especially important in high staircases and entryways. Consider using floodlight bulbs in those places.
Secondly, many LED lights are dimmable, which is a great option for living rooms, dining rooms and mood lighting. This makes them far superior to traditional incandescent bulbs and allow a wide range of flexibility.
Thirdly, LEDs can come in RGB options, allowing you to change the colour of your LED bulb’s light on the fly. It’s a great option for mood and accent lighting.
Fourthly, most LED lights have a very high Colour Rendering Index (CRI). This means that any colour viewed under them looks very close to its natural state.
Check https://lucasled.ie/led-bulbs-fitting-light for a wide variety of LED bulbs at the best prices.
LED light bulbs – a superior lighting
LED bulbs are the most energy-efficient way to illuminate your home – light output of a LED bulb is way higher than that of an incandescent bulb and it consumes far less energy. Varied shapes and sizes allows you to create almost limitless lighting projects. With the addition of RGB and dimmable LED lights you can transform even the blandest space into an atmospheric and enjoyable room. So don’t wait any longer and start upgrading your home with LEDs today!
