INTERIOR LIGHTING 10-33

RESIDENCE LIGHTING
The rooms of a home are expressions of the method of living, taste, ac-
tivities, and so on of a family or an individual. Residential-lighting design
is a compromise between individual taste, tradition, decoration, and
practical engineering. The recommendations presented here have been
selected and condensed from the I.E.S. Recommended Practice
of
Home
Lighting.
The lighting of living room, dining room, and kitchen in farm homes may
differ from that of similar areas in urban residences because the occupancy
may be somewhat different. In general, however, residential space is
utilized today in urban and rural areas for about the same purposes. Farm
buildings which may or may not be directly connected with the farmhouse
require good illumination also. (See the following section.)
Fundamentals of Residence Lighting
Despite the fact that distribution curves, symmetrical spacings, luminaire
efficiencies, and similar data at present are not always considered essential
in residence-lighting design, the basic factors of quantity and quality of
illumination still should be considered both in the design of home-lighting
equipment and in its application. As in any other interior, lighting should
be planned objectively to simplify seeing tasks, and subjectively to increase
human comfort. Similarly, it should be so co-ordinated with the archi-
tectural detail and interior decoration as to blend inconspicuously with it
and to add interest to it. Stated in direct reference to the home, the
broad lighting considerations that should be used as a guide are
:
1
.
The attainment of the recommended illumination levels for the many
visual tasks common to the home.
2. The provision of a quality of illumination that ensures seeing comfort
for the occupants.
3. An understanding handling of the color of the light sources utilized.
Quantity
of
illumination. Varied seeing tasks in the home require dif-
ferent quantities of illumination and brightness ratios. Recommended
illumination levels are included in Table 10-7. Typical luminaires are
shown in Figs. 10-25
to 10-31.
Quality
of
illumination. To ensure comfort in the use of the recom-
mended illumination on seeing tasks, it is essential that the resultant task
brightness not greatly exceed that of the background against which it is
viewed. This requires such a distribution of the light within a room that
the room is free from glaring bright spots and deep shadows. Glare too
often is associated only with unshaded lamps. Luminaires may be sources
of discomfort also if they are much brighter than the surface against which
they are viewed. Usually, comfortable, low-brightness ratios may be
attained by distributing light uniformly throughout a room. Low-
brightness luminaires are particularly important in living rooms, dining
rooms, and bedrooms. In these rooms persons often spend many hours in