Bathroom Lighting

There are several types of bathroom lighting, they are all specifically designed for installation in a wet environment. They are also “zoned” or graded to indicate suitability for particular conditions, particularly the intensity of contact with water. Some zones are merely splash zones while other zones need lights in which light fittings can become submerged in water. Overall, the bathroom designer dictates the light positions, and the light positions dictate the possible solutions. Click here to read a short article on bathroom lighting zones and General Bathroom Lighting Safety. This considers some of the electrical requirements for good and safe practice.

Bar Lights:

Bar lights are a series of small adjustable luminaires mounted on a literal metal or plastic bar. Bar lights may be attached to a wall, for example above your sink, bath or to the ceiling. The luminaires themselves have either upward or downward facing glass shades, so the light can be directed at the ceiling or upon a bathroom feature at the installers ’s discretion.

As the majority of bar lights support two to six lights, they are capable of spanning double-sinks, eliminating the need to have two separate light fittings. For aesthetic versatility, bar lights come in a variety of shapes, for example “S” shaped bars, Cross bar lights, staight bar lights to name a few. The luminaires mounted on them support shades of a multitude of materials, designs and colours.

To give some idea of how bar lights and their luminaires look, see below.

Sconces:

A wall sconce is a wall-mounted light fitting. Wall lights have been used for thousands of years since cave times. Over time,wood burning staffs gave way to candles, which in turn gave way to enclosed portable oil lamps, then to gas lamps and so on to our modern-day electrical lighting.

Reasons why wall lights are still popular are there discreet appearance and effective light diffusion. Wall sconces are able to shed indirect light over a larger area than tabletop lighting or floorstanding lamps. They also have the added bonus of freeing up floor and working surface space. Nowadays, they are able to perform very energy efficiently, using low energy bulbs, halogen bulbs and new technologies such as LED Clusters.

For the antique enthusiast, decorative candle sconces add a nice touch to any room.

Wall lights are available in elaborate brass designs, ornate curlicues that support a pair or more of “electric candles” or traditional wall-mounted “half-moons”.
See below for examples of wall sconce lighting:

Recessed Lighting:

Recessed lighting, or downlighters, can provide dramatic, low profile illumination for every room of the house, especially the bathroom. Recessed lights, by their very nature, are embedded into the ceiling or any mounting surface, subsiquently all wiring is concealed. There are no switches, lampshades or bulbs to interrupt your view or accumulate condensation.

Different varieties of recessed lighting can provide ambient, task or flood lighting, depending on their intended use, bulb type and shape.

Designers and homeowners can choose recessed lighting when they want discreet, functional, affordable and energy efficient lighting. Some are fixed position, some tilt while others are swivel action eyeball lights, many enabling a great degree of manual light direction to change the mood of any room.

In different combinations, recessed lights will produce light that is focused and bright, diffused and calming, or anywhere in between. The first part is the housing, or can. This is the electrical part that positions the light and gets power to the bulb. Housings will vary depending on whether your ceiling is insulated and how much access you have to the space above in the ceiling void. Variable light intensity is also possible via dimmer switches.

LED Lights:

LED technology provides modern, bright, extra-low-voltage energy effiecient lighting. Some of the advantages of LED technology include very low operating temperatures, energy efficiency and very long lamp life. “L.E.D” is an abbreviation of “Light Emitting Diode” – a small electrical component that emits light as current is passed through it in a particular direction.

A single LED would not sufficiently light a room, but coupled with numerous LED’s and an efficient reflective casing, LED light fittings will compete with traditional electric light fittings.