Lamps & Shades

Lighting refers to either artificial light sources such as lamps or to natural illumination of interiors from sunlight. Lighting represents a major component of energy consumption, accounting for about 25 percent of all energy consumed worldwide. more...

In major cities, light pollution is of growing concern. Artificial lighting is provided today by electric lights, but previously by gas, candles or oil lamps. Proper lighting can enhance task performance or aesthetics, while there can be energy wastage and adverse health effects of lighting which is too intense. Indoor lighting is a form of fixture or furnishing, and a key part of interior design. Lighting can also be an intrinsic component of landscaping.

Energy consumption

Artificial lighting consumes approximately one quarter of all energy consumed worldwide. In homes and offices from 20 to 50 percent of total energy consumed is due to lighting. Most importantly, for some buildings over 90 percent of lighting energy consumed can be an unnecessary expense (Hawken, 2000). Thus lighting represents a critical component of energy use today, especially in large office buildings where there are many alternatives for energy utilization in lighting. There are several strategies available to minimize energy requirements in any building:

• Specification of illumination requirements for each given use area.

• analysis of lighting quality to insure that adverse components of lighting (for example, glare or incorrect color spectrum) are not biassing the design.

• Integration of space planning and interior architecture (including choice of interior surfaces and room geometries) to lighting design.

• Design of time of day use that does not expend unnecessary energy.

• Selection of fixture and globe types that reflect best available technology for energy conservation.

• Training of building occupants to utilize lighting equipment in most efficient manner.

• Maintenance of lighting systems to minimize energy wastage.

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