We spend majority of our free time at home, and our homes lighting can have more of an impact than you think on our emotional and physical wellbeing. Therefore its important your homes aesthetics and lighting are to your taste. Below we provide lighting design advice for the different rooms in your home.

The Kitchen

The kitchen is often referred to as the heart of the home, and good lighting is vital for food preparation.  Depending on the layout of your kitchen, under-cabinet lights are ideal for lighting up your worktops when preparing food. A beautiful chandelier or swanky pendant lighting works well over an island or kitchen table. LED spotlights can provide even lighting to other areas within your kitchen. Alternatively, LED strip or rope lighting can create a more modern design. Cool white lighting creates a crisp and modern ambience, which is ideal for social and stimulating environments such as the kitchen.

The Living Room

The living room is often the cosiest room within the house and therefore its important for the lighting to create a relaxing ambience. Wall lights, floor lamps, table lamps, and spotlights all work well within the living room. Directional spotlights are perfect for focussing in on photos or art work which you may have hanging on the wall. Floor lamps are ideal for lighting up reading chairs. We always recommend having lighting on a dimmer, then you can adjust as required. If you would like a more modern feel to the standard dimmer switch, you could have a lighting control panel installed instead. Warm white lights produce a yellow glow which creates a relaxing and cosy atmosphere.

The Bedroom

Similarly to the living room, we want our bedrooms to evoke feelings of relaxation, especially before bedtime. Therefore dimmers should definitely be a consideration. You can have your lights turned up brightly when getting ready in the evening, and dimmed when winding down for bed. Bedside table lamps and wall lights are perfect around your bed as reading lights. We recommend having spotlights above your wardrobes in order to effectively light up your clothes when choosing an outfit. If you have a large bedroom, a chandelier or pendant light in the centre of the room can be a nice feature. Once again, warm white lights are ideal for this type of environment.

The Bathroom

Neutral white lighting is ideal for brightening up your bathroom. Spotlights work well to provide even lighting throughout the bathroom. Vanity lighting over a bathroom sink and mirror could also provide a nice feature. Make sure your shower is well lit with recessed lighting overhead. Larger bathrooms could benefit from having a small chanderlier or pendant light, especially over the bathtub. If you have an en-suite bathroom, make sure the lighting coordinates well with the bedroom lighting.

Hallway/Staircase

We all admire those houses with a grand staircase and large chandelier hanging overhead. If your house is large enough then a chandelier can be a great feature. However if chandeliers aren’t your style or your house is of a smaller size, stair wall lights can provide a modern and stylish feel. Furthermore, you can continue the stair wall lights throughout your upstairs hallway. Ceiling spotlights and wall lights are perfect in hallways for evenly lighting up the path. If you have furniture within your hallways, then you could utilise these by putting table lamps on top. If you have a variety of different lighting you can then adjust to the type of ambience you would like. Neutral white lighting also works well within the hallway and staircase.

We don’t class ourselves as interior designers, however we do happen to know a thing or two about lighting! One of our friendly electricians would be more than happy to provide lighting design ideas and tips for your property during a site visit. LED lamps are the ‘fashion’ nowadays, they’re also energy efficient, last longer, and are cheaper to maintain. As mentioned above, we also recommend dimmer switches or panels as its provides you with flexibility for your lighting.

Please do not hesitate to contact us HERE if you would like us to assist you with the lighting design in your property.

Interested in lighting up your garden? Take a read of one of our previous blog posts HERE where we provide advice on garden lighting design.

Following on from last weeks blog post, we thought this week we would discuss remedial works for if your emergency lights do fail during a test.

According to BS EN 1838:2013, Emergency Lights should stay luminated for a minimum of 1 hour. However this does vary between the size and complexity of a premise. For example, 1 hour duration should only be used in premises which can be evacuated immediately. 3 hour duration emergency lights should be used in premises which will not be evacuated immediately e.g. sleeping accommodation. A risk assessment should determine the required duration.

What Are Remedial Works?

Remedial works are required if there is failures in any part of the system during testing. Failures would include; a luminaire completely failing to luminate or not staying luminated for the required duration. A competent person should carry out the repairs to the system. The responsible person of the premises should consider alternative procedures until the system is repaired. Alternative safety procedures could include the following:

1. Issuing torches to all occupants
2. Inform occupants to be extra vigilant until the system is repaired
3. Carry out extra safety patrols
4. Limit use to parts of the building

The competent person should also update your log book with the repairs which have been carried out. Here at Fulcher Edwards, your local, reliable and trustworthy electricians in London, St Albans and Hertfordshire, we also issue certificates of repairs to show due diligence.

This week we have carried out emergency lighting remedial works in a restaurant in London. Their 3 hour testing highlighted 30 failed luminaires! This could have caused potentially serious visibility issues during the event of an emergency. We hope this emphasises the importance of testing your emergency lights, but also carrying out repairs if necessary.

If you require assistance with the testing of your emergency lights or remedial works then please do not hesitate to contact us HERE.

Last week our Electrician Barry spent 2 days carrying out emergency lighting testing in a school in North West London. We carry out maintenance works for a variety of schools across London and Hertfordshire. Our Electricians are DBS checked and can attend during school holidays if preferred.

What is Emergency Lighting?

Emergency lighting is a legal requirement for all businesses and organisations as defined by the Fire Regulatory Reform Order 2005 and British Standards BS 5266 Part 1: 2016 (Code of practice for the emergency lighting of premises) and BS EN 1838.

Emergency lighting is a back–up for when the main power supply cuts out, resulting in darkness. This could present a danger to the occupants of a building. Therefore emergency lights must operate automatically in all circulation areas and escape routes. They must also be adequate for people to see clearly enough to navigate obstacles and find a way out of the building safely.

Emergency Lighting should be inspected and tested at regular intervals. A monthly function test should be carried out in-house or by a professional. A full 3-hour duration test should be carried out annually by a professional. A certificate should also be issued for your records.

Emergency Lighting testing needs to be documented into a logbook. An Emergency lighting logbook provides the facility to record alterations, repairs, maintenance, and inspection and testing of emergency lighting installations. It will also provide details of the certification issued. The maintenance company carrying out the yearly emergency lighting testing should supply you with a logbook.

If you require emergency lighting testing at one of your properties then why not contact us HERE for a free quote? If you choose Fulcher Edwards to carry out your emergency lighting installation or maintenance in St Albans, London and Hertfordshire,  we can provide you with a logbook, certificate for your records and training if required. We can also assist with any remedial works that may be necessary to keep you compliant with British Standards.