Electrical and Lighting Design

Lighting Design

Lighting Design is the art and skill of improving the surroundings by using light design to illuminate and enhancing. When artificial lighting is used, it is called Electrical and Lighting design.
There are two general fields of lighting design:

Daylighting
Daylighting is use of natural light to in different ways to light up the interiors of an area under study. The natural light could be used by diffusing light off the clear or overcast sky or by directing light from the sun, into built spaces. Daylighting is dependant upon the general structure of a building, the design of enclosures, exposure to the movement to f the sun, windows and skylights, and can be further improved by the use of unique contraptions for reflecting or transferring light.

Electrical lighting
Broadly speaking it covers all methods to light up spaces inside and outside of buildings with the help of artificial light sources (electrical lighting sources), either in amalgamation with natural light or singly, in absence of natural daylight. But it must involve electrical sources of lighting to classify as Electrical light. Natural light may or may not be used to enhance or strengthen the final effect.

Lighting design has very important in creating the right ambience and mood. Today, they are not only used to give a pleasant and cheerful look to the space but also used as part of a optimum energy lighting system that uses both daylight and electric light sources to provide a comfortable and yet pleasant environment for the occupants of a space. Electric lighting design is suitable for a wide variety of spaces, from visiting rooms to large open offices, from conference rooms to classrooms. They can be combined with daylighting as it results in less dependence on one type of lighting. This also results in energy savings, and ecological benefits; both very serious concerns today. Although lighting controls are still most commonly used in commercial buildings, they are also increasingly being used in residential applications due to the high consumption of electrical energy there.

When electric lighting design is ergonomic, electrical energy will be saved and the life of lamps and other lighting units can be extended. Lighting controls will help reduce energy by:

• Cutting down amount of electricity used during the heavy load period by systematically dimming lights or keeping unused lights off
• Bringing down the usage time per year of lights
• Cutting internal heat gains by bringing down lighting use, which results in diminished HVAC system size and a downsizing of the building's cooling needs
• Giving occupants the option of using controls to lower lighting intensity and hence save power