Whenever you move into a new home or have decided to give a room a new look and atmosphere, you will most likely require the services of an electrician to install your new lighting fixtures. Whilst a light fixture might not seem like the most high-tech and complicated of electrical equipment, to ensure they are safe, you must use a qualified electrician for this work.
When it comes to choosing what type of lighting you are going to have, there is an abundance of choices. Your electrician may provide advice on the technical aspects of lighting fittings, but as for the visual appeal any of them has, this is often down to your own personal preferences. Here are some tips for choosing your ideal lighting for your home and ensuring it is fitted correctly and safely.
Research Images, Videos And Showrooms To Find The Right Mood
You first want to determine the sort of mood and lighting levels you want for the areas and rooms where the lighting is going to be upgraded. This can be established to some extent by looking in brochures relating to home decor and by watching videos in a similar vein, but the best way to see all this for real is by visiting showrooms for ideas.
These could include new homes for sale where an emphasis has been placed on the appeal of the lighting or in showrooms where lighting fittings are sold. Finally, you could garner ideas from the lighting that friends or family have used in their homes.
Ignore The Wattage And Check For Lumens Instead
Until recently, the way in which we differentiated lightbulbs was by their wattage, but that has changed. Most modern lightbulbs are designed to be as energy-efficient as possible. Therefore, the wattage is no longer the primary differentiator. Today, it is the lumens that you need to look at.
The reason for this is that the lumens give you an indication of the amount of light that any specific light bulb will produce. An example is an old-fashioned 60-watt bulb that would produce around 700 lumens, but the modern equivalent uses only 10 watts of energy for the same light level.
Estimate What It Will Cost Over The Lifetime Of Lighting The Room
It makes sense to ensure that any new lighting you have installed is not going to be an undue burden on your household budget. To achieve this, you can estimate the lifetime cost by using the many comparison charts that are available online that show the estimated lifetime cost for specific types of lightbulbs, including replacements. In most cases, LED and CWL bulbs will have the lowest lifetime costs as they require less energy and need replacing less often.
Select A Qualified Electrician To Fit Your New Lighting
The temptation might be that in order to cut costs and given that fitting a lighting fixture does not seem like the most complicated of jobs you might do around your home, you do this work yourself. Whilst you could, the simple fact that working with any kind of electrical equipment carries risks means we would always recommend that you employ a fully qualified electrician to fit your new lighting fixtures.
They will know exactly how to fit them correctly, and most likely in far less time than you might be able to. Most importantly, they will ensure the lighting fittings are wired correctly and safely, plus their work will be guaranteed, so you have peace of mind as well.
