Houston Outdoor Lighting, Indoor Art Lights, Landscape Lighting Designs, Home Automation Blog

Color temperature of light sources is represented in Kelvin or Correlated Color Temperature (CCT).

Each light source has a unique color temperature that sets the appearance for the environment in which it is used. The actual color of the light that is given off from the source is represented in Kelvin and referred to as Correlated Color Temperature or CCT. A lamp can have a warm, midrange or cool appearance depending on its color temperature. These different color temperatures can set the mood, create an environment, improve a person's disposition, influence a person's buying habits and has even been know to affect a person's appetite.

"Warm" light sources have a lower color temperature, usually in the 2500K-3000K range. These lamps produce more light in the red/orange/yellow spectrum. As color temperature of a lamp increases the lamps appearance becomes "cooler." As the lamp's color temperature increases so does the amount of light produced in the blue end of the spectrum.

Here are some of the various Kelvin color temperatures and common applications for fluorescent lamps:

2700K - 3400K
Warm; Warm White
Specialty Retailers, Restaurants, Hotel Lobbies, Residential Applications

3500K
Neutral; Neutral White
Grocery Stores & Produce Markets, Retail Stores, Bank Lobbies

4100K
Cool; Cool White
Offices, Manufacturing, Schools, Hospitals

5000K - 6500K
Daylight; Daylight Plus; Full Spectrum
Printers, Paint Studios, Art Galleries, Car Dealerships

If you would like to learn more about how light and color can affect your environment, give the professional lighting designers at Illuminations Lighting Design a call toll free at 800-863-1184. They are a full service design build firm specializing in residential and commercial indoor lighting and outdoor lighting installation, service and maintenance as well as home automation, home theaters and lighting control systems. Visit them online as http://www.illuminationslighting.com/.

Image and portions of this content courtesy of USHIO America, Inc.

Labels: Home Lighting Design Plans, Lighting Consultants Designers, Lighting regulations information, Planning Residential Lighting

Residential lighting California Title 24 Regulations - What is it?

We have received many questions from our lighting design clients regarding California Title 24 issues for both new construction and remoldeling projects. So, we thought it might be helpful to discuss these issues and the regulations.

In order to reduce energy consumption, California has inacted a new energy code policy (Title 24) that significantly impacts lighting in new and remodeled homes. Beginning October 2005, all new and remodeled homes must incorporate energy efficient lighting and controls. Depending on the room in the house, these lighting controls might include the following devices:

Dimmers

Occupancy Sensors
Must be certified Title 24 compliant
Must be manual-on/automatic-off (can also be turned off manually)
Must turn off automatically in 30 minutes Cannot be locked in a permanent "on" state

High efficacy lights - fluorescent, compact fluorescent (CFL) or high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps Fluorescent, CFL, and HID lights must not have a medium screw base socket Lamps rated 13 watts or greater must have an electronic ballast Of these, Lutron dimmers are the most cost effective, consumer friendly solution.

So which room needs what lighting controls you might be asking yourself? Well, this is what the rules state and here are some suggestions:

Living room, bedrooms, family room, and hallways
Dimmers or Occupancy sensor or Fluorescent lighting

Kitchen
Fluorescent lighting - at least 50% of installed wattage must be from fluorescent, CFL or HID lights (13 watts or greater require an electronic ballast)

Incandescent lighting - up to 50% of installed wattage may be incandescent lighting if switched separately

Dimmers - pair with incandescent lighting as an upgrade from a standard switch

Bathrooms, utility rooms, garages, laundry rooms
Fluorescent lighting or occupancy sensors

Exterior security lights (attached to building)
Fluorescent lighting or Incandescent lighting combined with photocell control and/or a motion sensor

If you have any questions regarding California Title 24 regulations, feel free to contact the professional lighting constants at Illuminations Lighting Design toll free at 800-863-1184 for lighting issues. Of course, Title 24 is a complex subject and you can learn more by contacting the California Energy Commission online at http://www.energy.ca.gov/

Labels: Commercial Lighting Designers, Lighting regulations information, Residential Lighting Consultants

Lighting designers play an important role in any residential or commercial project.

My husband and I are in the process of building a new custom home. We have been visiting model homes, clipping magazine articles and attending home shows for the past year. We have seen some beautiful homes, but one common theme we see over and over is bad lighting. Why is it so hard for builders and architects to get it right? Do you do RESIDENTIAL LIGHTING DESIGN?

Residential lighting design is just one major discipline in the overall home building process. Architects and builders have a daunting task of deciding and tracking every detail of the process and often time lighting takes a back seat to other issues. Some architects and builders make lighting a priority and other assign the task to the interior designer or lighting salesman. The interior designer is actually the best person to get involved. Interior designers are accustomed to working with LIGHTING DESIGNERS, kitchen designers and closet designers to produce a quality product.

Lighting designers need valuable input from the architect, interior designer, builder and customer to properly do their work. The architect provides construction documents defining framing details, ductwork paths, plumbing pipes, sprinkler pipes and other obstructions that may effect the lighting layout. The interior designer lays out the furniture, rugs, artwork and plants which provide targets for the lighting designer.

The home's architectural style, furniture, paint colors and artwork each play a major role in determining the type, style and placement of the lighting fixtures for the design. And finally, it's the client's that must define their expectations to the team so that the final result is what they had in mind.

To answer your question, we most certainly can help you with your lighting design. The earlier we are involved with your design team, the better and more cost efficient the project will be. By eliminating costly mistakes and opening up channels of communications during the construction phase a lighting consultant can add tremendous value to the project. After all, without light you have no color, texture or form!

For more information on LIGHTING DESIGN SERVICES, please contact Illuminations Lighting Design toll free at 800-863-1184 or electronically at info@illuminationslighting.com. We are a full service design build firm specializing in residential and commercial indoor lighting and OUTDOOR LANDSCAPE LIGHTING, service and maintenance as well as HOME AUTOMATION, home theaters and lighting control systems.

Labels: Lighting regulations information

Houston Design Professionals & Contractor Guide for Houston.

Locating the finest Houston design professionals or top notch Houston contractors inside the Loop 610 area can sometimes be daunting task, especially if you are new to Houston. Newcomers to Houston go to the Yellow Pages only to find hundreds of companies in a particular category or trade. There is no way to narrow the list down without seeing their work or talking to others for referrals. Who has time to do the research anyway? We recognize that fact and have created a special section of our website devoted to HOUSTON DESIGN PROFESSIONALS that we have worked with over the last 25 years in business. These are the people you can trust to get what you pay for.

These specialty contractors, architects, painters, interior designers and others are the who's who of the design community. These are the companies who work with ILLUMINATIONS LIGHTING DESIGN on some of Houston's most prestigious homes and office buildings. I invite you to contact one of our exclusive Houston design partners in the following categories:

Air Conditioning/Heating

Alarm/Security Contractors
Architect/Design Consultants
Art Consultants/Galleries
Audio/Video Contractors
Cabinets/Custom Woodworking
Carpet Cleaning/Installation
Concrete Contractors
Custom Shutters/Window Treatments
Engineers
Flooring Contractors
General Contractor/Builders
Graphic Designers
Interior Designers
Landscape Architects/Contractors
Metal Fabricator/Roofers
Painting Contractors
Plumbing Contractors
Swimming Pool Designers
Wallpaper Consultant/Installer

So the next time you are driving through River Oaks, Memorial, Tanglewood, Bellaire West University, or Houston and see a Illuminations Lighting Design truck or van, chances are you will see on these fine companies or design professionals working on the same job. Although all trucks and vans in the Illuminations Lighting Design fleet are clearly marked with our distinctive yellow and blue logo, some of these professionals do not have that luxury and only work by referral. Visit our RESOURCE GUIDE to learn more about our select group of HOUSTON DESIGN PROFESSIONALS, trusted business associates and RECIPROCAL LINK PARTNERS.

Illuminations Lighting Design is a full service design build firm specializing in residential and commercial indoor lighting and outdoor lighting installation, service and maintenance as well as home automation, home theaters and lighting control systems.

Feel free to contact us at 713-863-1133 locally, 800-863-1184 toll free or online at http://www.illuminationslighting.com/. Since 1980 we have been an active participant of the Houston design community.

Labels: Houston Design Resources, Houston Residential Specialty Contractors, Lighting regulations information

Surge Protection Devices from Mission CriticalGard & Illuminations Lighting Design protect your electronic investments.

With today's modern homes, whole house surge protection devices are necessary components that safeguard all electronic systems against power surges, voltage fluctuations, voltage spikes and minor lightning strikes. Sure, most people have a surge protector on their computer. But did you know that you could protect your whole house, along with all your electrical investments, using one surge protection device?

If you think about it, just about everything in your house has some kind of electronic component built-in the device. These include appliances, HVAC systems, garage door openers, televisions, stereo equipment, telephones and satellite systems. It could add up to hundreds if not thousands of dollars if you had to replace these electronic devices due to a power surge. It is not uncommon for a high definition plasma TV, for example, to cost over $10,000--not to mention the associated components. Installing a Mission CriticalGard Surge Protection System from Illuminations will give you peace of mind and assurance that your investments are protected day or night, twenty four hours a day.

Why Do You Need Surge Protection Devices?

Minimize Life & Safety Issues
Greatly Reduce Repair or Replacement Costs
Minimize Power Quality Risks
Reduce Power Interruptions
Extend Equipment Life

What Are Indoor and Outdoor Threats?

Switching
The simple act of turning on or off a light, motor, appliance or other electrical device can disturb the electrical current and create surges or transients. In general, the larger the load, the greater the disturbance when the load is switched on or off. Studies have shown that the majority of transients, roughly 80%, are generated inside a given building.

Lightning Strikes
Lightning strikes the United States 90 million times per year for an estimated 56 billion dollars in property damage annually. It is responsible for approximately 30,000 building fires annually and causes 30% of all power outages.

Utility Grid
When demands fluctuate, the utility companies have to increase or decrease power resources. This switching can cause massive surges in your home and result in extensive damage throughout the house.

Disruption
Any occurrence that causes a disruption on the utility grid causes a surge in voltage. Even common occurrences such as tree limbs falling, auto accidents, and thunderstorms can create a disruption.

Utilities
Cable TV and telephone wires can also contribute to unwanted variations in voltage from the pole to your house, causing damage to electronic devices.

Who Do I Contact For A Mission CriticalGard Device?

Here at Illuminations Lighting Design, our experienced electricians are trained to design and install a state-of-the-art surge protection device based on your home's current and future needs. We use the three-tiered system of Mission CriticalGard so that every aspect of your home gets optimal protection, from the main electrical system down to the smallest of electronic compontents.

At Illuminations we've made it our goal to provide top-of-the-line service for all your electrical needs. In addition to surge protection devices, our resident experts can provide the following services:

Home Automation Design, Installation & Maintenance
Architectural Lighting Design Services
Landscape Lighting Design, Installation & Maintenance
Fine Art Lighting Design, Installation & Maintenace
Emergency Generator Systems

Contact Louis Torregrossa our master electrician at 713-863-1133 or toll free at 800-863-1184 or visit us online at http://www.illuminationslighting.com/ to learn more about our products and services. Think of residential and commercial surge protections devices from Mission CriticalGard & Illuminations Lighting Design as a supplemental electronic insurance policy for your whole house or office!

Like flood insurance, it's more affordable than you think! You'll be glad you made the investment in a whole house surge protection system.

Labels: Beaumont Texas Whole House Surge Protection, Houston Electrical Contractor, Lighting regulations information, Transient Surge Protection Systems, Whole House Surge Protection