Lighting is a necessary part of your home’s design. While it’s an essential requirement, lighting also serves as an aesthetic function, whether through the light fittings installed around the home or the type of light they produce. In addition to the function and cosmetic purpose, lighting also needs to comply with the Building Code of Australia (BCA).
What Do I Need to Do to Ensure My Lighting is Compliant?
As part of the building design process, whether you’re building a new home or renovating an existing home, you will need a lighting plan.
A lighting plan is a visual representation of the lighting in your home. It usually includes a floor plan drawn to scale with light points, switches and sockets drawn in. It shows the light fittings that will be installed and should also include a calculation that proves the total energy consumption across the entire interior of the home will be 5 Watts or less per square metre. It also indicates what lighting is used and how it will affect the room.
As you work on your lighting plan, you will need to decide what type of lighting you want throughout your home.
Types of Lighting
When it comes to lighting it’s more than just installing a light bulb and hoping for the best! With the right lighting you not only address the functionality of lighting, but you can also enhance the look and feel of a space.
Ambient Lighting
Ambient or overall lighting is the illumination of a broad area. It’s often soft and sets the mood of your space. Ambient lighting is achieved with ceiling lights, pendant lights or track lighting.
Accent Lighting
Accent lighting is directional lighting that is used to highlight or draw attention to a particular object. It’s often more intense and is achieved with the use of track lights, spotlights or wall lights.
Task Lighting
Task lighting is the illumination of a specific area to enable you to carry out tasks in a designated space. Often overlooked, task lighting can provide added functionality to spaces within the home whether it’s in cooking and cleaning areas in the kitchen, work areas in a home office or above a mirror in the bathroom. Task lighting is achieved with strip lighting, pendant lights, floor lamps or table lamps.
While lighting within the home is important, exterior lighting also plays an important part in the design and feel of your home.
External lighting can really accentuate the outside of your home. Whether you’re using lights to highlight the architectural features of the façade or using ground lighting, external lighting can elevate any home from basic to high-end.
To discuss how you can enhance the lighting in your home, contact the team at Lateral Building Design.
