Lighting tips and discussion

[Xeogred]

Maybe a general thread for this couldn't hurt. I tried searching around awhile ago and saw some people have some knowledge on the subject, so hopefully some can help, myself, and others!

No pictures right now, but basically I really need to figure out something with my room in my apartment. It's big and where I do all my gaming, TV, and computer stuff. I got glasses this year for the first time ever and have really come to notice how sensitive my eyes are to lights, so I'm thinking a good indirect lighting / ambient setup might be ideal for myself? I've done a lot of random purchases and stuff so far so I'll post my results as I go perhaps. Haven't begun the experiments yet.

One big thing worth noting right away is that I only have one window. The sun does set on this side though, so daytime isn't a huge issue, though I've never been one to keep my blinds way open anyways. Either way, daytime or night, the lighting here gets uncomfortable and I need some adjusting I'm sure.

LED screens apparently might be an issue for me too, I've googled around a lot and have seen that it is connected to many cases of eye strain. Wish I knew before I bought this 40" Samsung earlier this year. Never noticed any major issues with my old normal LCD PC monitor, but my old room back with my family had darker walls. The walls in my current room are white and pretty damn bright, so reflections/glare is an issue and maybe exaggerating the monitor/TV strain. For now I've turned down the backlighting on the TV a lot and that's helped quite a bit, so much, my eyes naturally reacted to it the instant I messed with the settings. So it was pretty noticeable.

To help or experiment with these issues I've ordered a few things so far, some monitor/TV backlighting strips and a pair of some glasses that are just simply anti-glare/etc. I'm near sighted so I'd rather not wear any glasses at all when I get home, but yeah I'll have to see how these work.





As for the room itself, I just have two light sources right now. The huge bare ceiling bulb which I can't stand, especially at night. I don't even know if I can remove it though, I tried once and it just never twisted off. But yeah it's not enough light for this large room, nor is it pleasant shining in the corner of my eyes at night. The lamp I bought is similar to ones like these and is next to one wall, but even combined with the overhead light it's not enough to cover the room and both together just seem really unbalanced. The lamp on itself I used to prefer but not so much lately either, something about it just feels too hot and off. Which brings me to bulbs... I'm clueless. The random bulbs I picked up for the lamp were 40W / 490 Lumens Soft White bulbs. Eh? Googling around it sounds like I should try some full spectrum lights or something, I dunno. Something warm/soft, but maybe not these.

So yeah. First apartment, first time dealing with an insanely reflective room, and I am just completely clueless about this stuff haha. And googling usually leads me to articles that assume I live in a castle or am a master interior decorator that can tear this place down and do whatever I want with it...

All I know is that it sounds like three light sources are suggested for most rooms, I probably need indirect/ambient lighting, but I'm just clueless about the bulbs, lamps, and mostly everything. Maybe some here can help? Maybe the backlighting strips will help too.

[Duane Dibbley]

A picture's worth a thousand words.

Anti-reflective coating on glasses makes a big difference, although it doesn't completely eliminate reflections. It just makes them much less obvious.

If the walls are too bright, and painting isn't an option, you could try hanging something dark on them, like pictures or maybe even a bed sheet.

[CRTGAMER]

I just draw the blinds and TURN OFF the lights. No glare or distraction, the screen is the only thing visible.

[Xeogred]

Isn't that bad for you too? lol

I do have a handful of posters up, but have had to try and strategically move them around because of the glare the ceiling light was causing on some of them. It does help though.

[CRTGAMER]

Isn't that bad for you too? lol

I do have a handful of posters up, but have had to try and strategically move them around because of the glare the ceiling light was causing on some of them. It does help though.

I think the glare from a lightbulb or light coming from a window reflecting off the TV is worse, having to focus it out. I'm only watching the lit up TV, not reading a book or something. The dark room works in movie theaters so why not in a "home theater"?

[Anapan]

Bias Lighting.
The guide/explaination I planned to follow but never did:
http://biaslighting.blogspot.co.uk/

Usually I close the drapes and leave a light on in the other room when doing anything other than just browsing webpages. I made sure my TV had a good matte finish before I bought it. I hate reflective screens. I'm actually bothered by even the shiny plastic bezel and thought about wet-sanding it a couple of times.

I wear glasses as well, and I find that the anti-reflective coating you can get on them is something I can't do without. I forgot to get it added last year, and it was horrible. I had to order new lenses the next day.

[samsonlonghair]

Let's keep this simple. I believe you can solve your problems without spending a fortune. Forget all the gimmicks; all you need is a trip to the hardware store (and the knowledge to buy the right supplies). You can fix your glare problem on a small budget.

There are different kinds of paint.

Most indoor wall paint is latex paint which typically comes in three styles:

• Gloss (aka "Hi-gloss")
• Semi-gloss
• Matte

To reduce glare, choose a matte finish. If your walls are white now, consider an off-white color like eggshell or sand. This will reduce your glare.

A gallon of decent quality paint can be found for about twelve dollars at your hardware store. This usually takes two coats. If you buy the more expensive paint, you can get away with only one coat.

If your ceiling light is causing you pain, consider a replacement like this one:

I found this light at home depot for ten bucks. replacing a ceiling light isn't terribly hard. Do remember to turn off your breaker of course. Safety first.

Remember, a lot of hucksters will try to sell you all manner of fancy-looking gimmicks to solve your glare problem. Just keep it simple, and stick to your budget.

[fastbilly1]

Ive found that putting a light BEHIND the monitor helps with eye strain. Also you are going to want alot of softlight if you are having eye strain. So something like a china ball over the bare lightbulb would help alot (Ikea sells all sorts of softlight lamps. Honestly a picture would make this alot easier.

[Ziggy]

As for the room itself, I just have two light sources right now. The huge bare ceiling bulb which I can't stand, especially at night. I don't even know if I can remove it though, I tried once and it just never twisted off. But yeah it's not enough light for this large room, nor is it pleasant shining in the corner of my eyes at night. The lamp I bought is similar to ones like these and is next to one wall, but even combined with the overhead light it's not enough to cover the room and both together just seem really unbalanced. The lamp on itself I used to prefer but not so much lately either, something about it just feels too hot and off. Which brings me to bulbs... I'm clueless. The random bulbs I picked up for the lamp were 40W / 490 Lumens Soft White bulbs. Eh? Googling around it sounds like I should try some full spectrum lights or something, I dunno. Something warm/soft, but maybe not these.

What kind of bulb are you using in that lamp? Those kinds of floor lamps usually take a 3-way bulb, which has 3 different brightnesses. 40w incandescent bulbs are pretty dim. Also, white light sucks. That's why you'll wanna stay away from compact florescent. The standard (yellow) incandescent is what you want, non of that soft white bull shit. And the 3-way bulb will give you three brightnesses (low, medium, full/high) to choose from.

As for your ceiling light... it's just a bulb? Like this maybe? How cheap! That's definitely no good! I would replace it asap.

Like samsonlonghair said, you can get a decent light fixture for not a lot of money at all. I would suggest getting one that takes two bulbs. I also suggest putting the max wattage bulbs in it, and then using a dimmer switch to control the light level. That's the best way to go about it.

Changing the light fixture really isn't hard at all. Turn the breaker off! Dismount the old fixture, there'll be a wire nut on the black and white wires. If the fixture is metal, there'll be an uninsulated (bare copper) ground wire. If the fixture is plastic, the ground wire should just be tucked away in the conduit box. Or if the box is metal, the ground wire will be fixed to it. Just take the black and white wires of the new fixture and twist them on with the wire nuts (new nuts usually included with fixtures). I like to put electrical tape over the nuts to hold them on tight. Be sure to attach the ground wire if necessary. White to white, black to black, ground all metal. Unless it's wired with a switch loop, that's a little more complicated but still really easy.

I'm sure there's plenty of YouTube videos out there, but it's really a simple thing. Ceiling fixtures can be a pain in the ass to do by yourself, you might want a buddy to hold the fixture while you're installing it.

Whether you replace the ceiling fixture or not, I highly recommend replacing the switch with a dimmer switch if it doesn't already have one. You can even get one that you can control with a remote, which is really useful.

If changing the fixture and switch is impossible, you can get this or something similar. If you can't find some way to cover the bulb on the ceiling, at least you could dim it. You can use that in your lamp as well, if your lamp can't use the 3-way bulb, but they do make dimmers specifically for lamps like this one.

If you're unsure if your lamp can control a 3-way bulb, here's an easy way to figure it out: If your lamp just has a slider switch to turn it on and off, then it does not control a 3-way bulb. If it has a switch that you turn in a circle motion, then it probably does. If turning the switch with a regular bulb has two off or two on positions (clicking it goes off, off, on, off off, on, etc or vise versa instead of just on, off, on, off, etc) than you can use a 3-way bulb in there. If it can use a 3-way bulb, I suggest you get one for it. Either that or get a dimmer for it and the max watts the lamp specifies it can use.

[Oms]

I have rented a lot apartments and am really sensitive to light (I dislike almost all overhead lighting) I have found a really cheap and easy solution is running little white Christmas lights around ceiling.