What is Task Lighting?
Task lighting does exactly what the name suggests - it enables people to carry out certain tasks in that room.
Understanding how the light in a room needs to work is crucial when planning and designing a new look. It’s essential to think about how the space in question will be used and where specific light sources need to be placed.
Kitchen Task Lighting
This is the most commonly used example of task lighting. Often a ceiling light pendant in the middle of your kitchen is just not going to cut the mustard in a modern kitchen. The kitchen is often the hub to a household, and you want to make the most of the time you spend there. We would normally break kitchen task lighting into two types. Under cabinet lighting and ceiling spotlights or downlights.
Ceiling Downlights or Spotlights
It's important to think about where you place these lights, not just what lighting you would like in your kitchen. A common mistake with spotlights is to place them too far into the room. To get the most of the light you want the spotlights directly above the work surfaces. This will reduce the shadows cast while working cooking, chopping and washing up!
Under Cabinet Lighting
Under cabinet lights are usually broken into two types, strip lights and under cabinet spots. These lights, especially strip lights, are sometimes used as mood lighting but if you are using them for task lighting make sure they are nice and bright and if they are spotlights make sure you have a spotlight above your main work area. Thinking these through before installing will give you years of practical use, so it's worth taking the time to plan before you install them.
Dimming Kitchen Lighting
While the spotlights and under cabinet lights can give off great light for use as task lighting, you can also double it up as mood lighting too. By installing dimmable lights you can drop the brightness in the evening. Especially useful if your dining space is in the same area as your kitchen. Don't forget if you have LED downlights they need LED dimmable bulbs and the dimmer also needs to be LED compatible. The under cabinet lights are normally a lower wattage. If this is the case you will need to dim them from the transformer, not from the wall switch.
Home Office Task Lighting
Once again one of the most popular uses for task lighting is in a home office or study. Task lighting is normally in the form of a desk lamp or desk light. As well as providing direct light onto your workspace it also reduces the chance of annoying shadows from your ceiling lights.
The other useful thing about task lighting in your office or study is when the light outside darkens normal room lighting can feel bright and jarring, while a softer focused task light on your desk can help provide focus and also ease you into the evening.
The great thing about task lighting in the office is you have a little more freedom with design. Unlike the kitchen task lighting, where it is typically tucked out of the way, the desk lamp is a chance to stamp your own style on your office space. There's plenty of desk lamps to choose from, so you can either carry the design through the rest of your study, or use it as a statement piece. It can have particular impact if you have a fairly sterile working environment.
Living Room Task Lighting
In the living room task lighting is usually for those night owls that perhaps like to sew or read, or even play a late night board game. Sometimes the main light in a living room is too harsh for the whole family, so the task light can project the light into just the right area. It can also give focused light for intricate work, like sewing, where the main light doesn't project enough focused light for the task in hand. Task lights can be in the form of a wall light, especially with a dedicated task light attached, but a regular favourite is a floor lamp, especially uplighters. These often give off a soft ambient light into the room, but also have a dedicated task light attached.
Bathroom Task Lighting
You may be mistaken into thinking the bathroom lighting is just a handful of ceiling spotlights or a single flush light. Ceiling spotlights are a great way to offer task lighting in a bathroom, don't forget to place one (with correct IP rating!) above the shower, it's a really useful light that is too often missed, but there is one other light that is often missed. One of the most underrated task lights is the light for the mirror. We would always recommend two lights, one either side of the mirror. It can be controlled with the same switch as the main light, or on a separate switch if you prefer. This direct task light can make shaving and applying make-up in the morning a lot easier, so don't scrimp on these essentials! Don't forget with this light, and any other fixed light, it's much easier to plan ahead. Getting the cabling in before the plasterer finishes the wall is a lot easier than chasing out afterwards!
There's plenty to think about when it comes to task lighting, but if you are still stuck don't forget our customer care team are on-hand to guide you . Call us on 029 2000 4887 or email sales@socketstore.co.uk.