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makes it look rather more spacious (this exact same technique is also commonly used for garden lighting design). Clearly, most kitchens map quite well to the concepts of functional (task) and aesthetic (decorative and accent) areas and so assigning the right types of kitchen lights to the right spaces shouldnt be terribly complicated. Where a lot of kitchen lighting ideas tend to fall apart though is through failing to either understand or implement decent ambient lighting. Too much and everything else gets bleached out, but not enough and the effect is gloomy with too much contrast where other lighting struggles to provide a level of background light it was never intended to do. Some of the best kitchen lighting designs are achieved by using lots of lighting of different types, which doesnt just mean adding a few more ceiling roses. Kitchen lighting design requires many different types of lighting fitted in different places. In fact, probably the worst way to light a kitchen is to hang a few bright fluorescent tubes from the ceiling. Sure, youll get bright light but it will be flat and cold and almost guaranteed to give you a headache in short order. One of the obvious problems with using central kitchen ceiling lighting is that you invariably end up with dark spots and find yourself perpetually standing in your own shadow. Until recently, a common solution to these problems with kitchen lighting was to install numerous halogen spotlights as downlights spread uniformly across the ceiling and supplement these with targeted lighting for work surfaces and cooking, using under cabinet lighting and hob lights.
However, these days there is a very good solution that is well suited to most kitchen lighting designs: LED kitchen lighting. Simply replace existing halogen spotlights and under-cabinet lighting with equivalent LED light fittings. This is pretty much a matter of replacing existing 12v transformers with one (or more, depending on the number of lights involved) constant voltage 12v LED driver and then swapping out the halogen lamps for LED equivalents. If using mains voltage lighting this is even easier as all that is required is to remove existing GU10 spotlights and replace them with GU10 LEDs. Heres a handy checklist for what to look for when buying low energy light bulbs.
The true brightness of an LED (as measured in lumens) can be quite at odds with human perception of brightness as the color temperature varies so cooler lights seem brighter. Also, the beam angle affects how bright we think a light source is, regardless of how bright it objectively is. The easiest way through this maze is to try and find a compromise that approximates to your existing lamp specifications for each one of these three characteristics. Alternatively, be aware that when you alter one variable (say go for a warmer color) then you might need to consider adjusting another (i.e. luminosity) to compensate for the way the human eye perceives things. You can find out more about choosing LEDs but as a rule, the wattage rating for an LED light bulb should not presently drop much below 10% that of the equivalent halogen lamp (or indeed, most any incandescent light bulb). So in order to replace a 35w halogen lamp look for an LED rated above 3w, to replace 50w then choose a 5w LED and so on. This ratio is certain to change over the coming months and years, with ever lower LED wattages able to deliver ever increasing levels of brightness, but for now 1:10 is about right. The color temperature affects how cool or warm a light source appears. It is a common myth that LEDs create a bluish light that is rather cold in appearance. LED lights come in a whole variety of color temperatures (and indeed, colors) but since it has always been easier to manufacture bluish LEDs, that is what many cheap LEDs are. If you look for what is termed warm white or a colour temperature below 3500K you should get a close approximation to the kind of crisp white light normally associated with halogens. Finally beam angle should be considered. The narrower the angle (less than 45 degrees say) the more focused and spot-like the light will appear, whereas 120 degrees for example will give an evenly spread distribution of light without hot-spots or glare. At present, arguably one of the best LED spotlights to opt for as a direct replacement for halogen spots is this warm white Edison 6W LED GU10. An issue many people have with LED lights is that they are high intensity and can be quite harsh especially if in direct line of sight, yet paradoxically they can also seem to struggle to fill a space with ambient light. An effective remedy to this is to deploy more lights than you might otherwise consider necessary based simply on luminosity, but to direct the light towards ceilings, floors, walls and key features within the room (check out this guide to LED lighting design for more information). This rather nicely kills two birds with one stone sharp accent lighting and the reflected light more easily fills the space with soft, diffuse ambient light. Alternatively opt for high brightness, wide beam angle dimmable LED lights and control the level in the traditional way by simply fitting a suitable dimmer switch. The determining factors for which brightness levels, color or beam angle to adopt in the end come down to how far from any surfaces the lights are to be placed, the nature of the surface(s) and personal taste. If youre after a sharp, modern look and have a lot of reflective materials (such as steel) then many smaller, cool LEDs set close to reflective surfaces could look effective. Alternatively, wider angles using warm white LED lights would produce a slightly softer ambience and more flexibility as regards location.
Always remember that one of the biggest elements in how any artificial light appears is the nature of surface(s) it shines on. If you want to warm things up then direct your lighting at warm colored areas (terracotta tiles or natural wood or simply a creamy yellow painted surface). Conversely, to add dramatic effects try directing blue LEDs at predominantly dark surfaces (blue, green, gray and black for example). Theres nothing to stop you using lights with differing characteristics to match different textures and colors in order to achieve specific effects in separate areas of the kitchen. Note: it is worth pointing out that although LED lights run cool and therefore do not contribute to the heat in the kitchen, they are themselves susceptible to damage if subjected to heat. For this reason you wont find LED bulbs used in cooker hoods or anywhere inside an oven.
site has several good examples of whats available and the costs of LED strip lights if youre interested in buying LED tape. It is possible these days to also buy plinths with lights pre-installed, but its easy enough to fit plinth lighting retrospectively to existing units. You might also want to consider similar options for kitchen island lighting. Being water resistant also makes them ideal for lighting kitchen areas where water might splash (as a side note, this type of LED lighting application is also perfect for use in bathroom to again introduce a modern feel, as well as for use around ponds or decking outdoors).
Some of the more extravagant applications for LED kitchen lighting design include LED drawer lights these are usually battery operated and attached to a sensor that detects when a drawer or cupboard has been opened or closed and switch an internal LED light on or off accordingly. Or how about illuminated shelf lighting, as in lit from actually within the shelf itself? Or LED wall wash effects bounced off ceramic tiles behind the hob? Or picking out edges below or at the back of worktops? The list of ideas available with LED kitchen lights just seems to go on and on. Of course, if you go overboard with your kitchen lighting fixtures you run the risk of looking like Santas Grotto crashed into your kitchen, but as with all the best home lighting designs, the best LED kitchen lighting advice is to pick just a few youll still be amazed at the effects available by working with a limited palette of options.
Written October 2009 by KuleKat Last updated April 2012