Solutions to Not Enough Light in Your Room

For many business and homeowners, the frustration of not having sufficient light in the office, living room, or any other space can be aggravating. This is a common problem for many people, but you can easily solve it without spending a lot of money in the process. If this is the situation you are facing, you can turn things around and make your room or other space brighter and improve the quality of light. Let's look at a few tips to improve lighting in a room.

In most cases, the problem can be solved by simply changing the bulbs you are currently using and then replacing them with others that have a slightly higher wattage.

Upgrade to CFL or LED with Higher Lumen Output

In case you are using incandescent or halogen bulbs in the room or space, consider replacing them with newer CFL or LED. Newer technology bulbs offer more options in color temperature and lumen output, resulting potentially in brighter light than comparable incandescent or halogen, all while saving on energy costs. Now that many incandescent and halogen bulbs are no longer available for general lighting purposes, CFL and LED are the way to go.

When looking for new bulbs, it is important to start comparing lumens rather than watts. In the past, watts were an easy shorthand for comparing the light output of incandescent bulbs. But CFL and LED give the same lumen output at far fewer watts. In fact, some consumers have been disgruntled about the stated equivalent wattage of LEDs, so comparing lumen output should be a safer guide.

Use Bulbs with a Higher Color Temperature

If all you have been using is fluorescent lighting in the room, you could solve the problem by trying fluorescent or LED bulbs that have equal wattage but with higher color temperature such as 4000K or above (cool white). These will produce the same amount of light as your old fluorescent bulbs although the whiter light will appear brighter to your eyes. They may also help with wakefulness during the day, compared to warmer bulbs with a more yellowish light output. Full spectrum fluorescent light bulbs are also available, which provide light from 5000-6500K with a high color rendering index.

Add Indirect Sources of Light

Additionally, if you are using mostly track or any other accent lighting, you could consider other options such as adding a ceiling mounted fixture or go for a floor lamp that directs its light upwards toward the ceiling. This idea is generally very helpful if you have a white ceiling which is raised high enough in a way that it won't have "hot" spots of light. The result produced by this kind of indirect, diffuse light is always remarkable.

Adding this type of indirect lighting can help reduce eye strain, compared to using just overhead or task lighting that shines right down on your occupied space. These lights should also help reduce glare, compared to just adding more direct lighting that may reflect harshly on screens.