Posts

Lighting Controls

Lighting control is the ability to regulate the level and quality of light in a given space for specific tasks or situations.  We all should be seeking multiple light sources for our spaces.  This enhances the ambient experience.  However, manually and individually operating the lamps, overhead lights, counter lights, and/ or chandelier  can, without a doubt, change the mood of our space but just might also be tedious and annoying. Convenience is the primary reason for the consideration of lighting controls.  Lighting controls save energy and more importantly time. I recommend lighting controls for everyone no matter how complex or simple your lighting system is.

Load Types and Dimmers

Dimming controls are one of the best ways to change the mood of your space. Changing the way a room feels with  lighting control is less inexpensive than changing the decor. Adjust a dimmer and voila new ambiance. When selecting a dimming control we need to match the control with the load type.

LOAD TYPES                  

Incandescent / Halogen:                                  Line Voltage and Halogen lamps                               

Magnetic Low-voltage (MLV):                      Magnetic transformer supplied low-voltage

Electronic Low-voltage (ELV):                    Electronic transformer supplied low-votage

Neon / Cold Cathode:                                         Magnetic transformer supplied voltage

Fluorescent:                                                             Electronic fluorescent dimming ballast

Light Emitting Diode (LED)                           Electronic LED driver

Before selecting any dimming control be sure to know what type of load you are trying to dim and the wattage of that load.  The dimmer must be rated for the type of load and the quantity. As a general rule try not the mix load types.

Lutron has a great article on Dimming Basics

 

Surround Sound

Surround sound is a technique for enriching the sound production quality of an audio source with additional audio channels providing the listener with surround channels from 360 degrees. This is opposed to “screen channels” center, front left, and front right originating from the listeners forward arc.  Most movies have 5.1 surround sound audio tracks.

Video Art

We have always been transfixed by the playback of moving visual images.  The possibility of using video to enhance our living experience is expanding, it seems, every year. Video walls, flat screen TVs, and even digital picture frames offer the opportunity to display a beautiful image as well as emotion. I think that video displays affects on enhancing ambiance are being overlooked.

Stereo Sound

We hear the world with two ears giving us the ability to locate sounds around us.  When we listen to live music we hear it with two ears.  This why  music is recorded in two channels. Most television is recorded in two channels. Movies are the only format in which more than two audio channels are used.  Two speakers are usually enough for ambient sound in any room.  Audio however is not like lighting. In  any space there will always  be a listening position to take into consideration.

Translucency

Translucency is the physical property of a material which allows light to pass through the material without being scattered. When light encounters a material, it can interact with it in several different ways. This interaction is the most dramatic affect in decorative lighting. The possible combinations of color and opaqueness make glass chandeliers the pinnacle of decorative light fixtures.

Light and Dark

Shadow in the space is just as important to creating ambiance as the lights. The mood in the room is quite different when an over head light is the only source of light compared to the same room with its table lamps as the only source of light.  The shadows cast by the table lamps are an integral part of that lighting scene.  In effect we have two different moods. Two different scenes.  We almost have to different rooms.