Task Lighting Definition
Task lighting has been noted as a significant lighting trend of 2010 due to a variety of factors including environmental friendliness, aesthetics and enhanced productivity. Updating a home's lighting scheme to include elements of task lighting can be a simple do-it-yourself project or a more complex redesign of built-in lighting elements. Does this Spark an idea?
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Definition
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Task lighting focuses on specific types of light for individual areas. Rather than providing general illumination for a whole room, task lighting may provide work light for a desk, reading light for a chair and general ambient lighting for a couch area. The type of light and where it is placed are based on what the specific area is used for, and lights for each area are controlled individually so the unused areas don't need to be lit until they are in use.
Types
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Although a wide variety of lighting fixtures can be used for task lighting, the two basic categories are installed and mobile fixtures. Installed fixtures may include pendant lights over desks or kitchen work areas and wall sconces or floor-level lighting for stairs. Any fixture hardwired into the building's structure can be considered an installed fixture. Mobile fixtures include desk lamps and floor lamps that plug into a socket and can be moved easily by the homeowner or office occupant. Designs that employ task lighting may include both fixture types.
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Benefits
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The area-specific nature of task lighting can save energy by requiring less overall brightness and thereby less energy consumption. This is not only because lights in unused areas can be kept off, but also because the light fixture is generally closer to the subject being lit--such as a pendant light hanging 3 feet over a counter rather than an overhead light at 5 or more feet above the work surface. Additionally, because lighting is specifically designed and placed for the task at hand, eyestrain may be reduced and productivity increased as a result, such as in the case of a well-positioned desk or reading lamp.
Considerations
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The energy cost reduction of task lighting depends entirely on usage. If you do not turn off unused light fixtures, you may end up using more energy due to having more fixtures on. Also, a space that uses only task lighting without any overhead or general lighting--especially if there is no natural light--may appear darker overall than a generally lit space, leading to an impression of a smaller space and possibly feelings of depression in those susceptible to afflictions such as seasonal affective disorder.
Solution
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Task lighting can be an excellent choice for work areas, whether commercial or domestic work is involved, but getting rid of all general lighting may not be beneficial. For task lighting within the home, start by adding desk and floor lamps without changing or removing the overhead fixtures and see how often you feel you need to use the overheads. In areas where they are never or rarely used, consider more task-oriented lighting such as dropped pendants or sconces.
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References
- Photo Credit lamp on desk image by robert mobley from Fotolia.com
