How to choose and organize lighting in the kitchen above the work surface

The quality of lighting affects human health: mood, focus, fatigue, nervous system and vision. For this reason, even at the stage of creating a project, you need to take care of lighting the working area in the kitchen and throughout the apartment.

Why do you need lighting in the kitchen above the work surface

As a rule, the kitchen is the main room in the whole house or apartment, because here:

• The hostess spends a lot of time.
• The family gathers for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• If guests come to the house, most often they are placed in the kitchen.
• If the family is large and the living space is small, a workspace is often organized in the kitchen.

As a result, the room must combine comfort and functionality. Additional light sources will make it easier for the hostess to prepare food, and also make the room more comfortable.

Principles and requirements

The lighting of the kitchen area has a list of principles and requirements, especially for the area intended for cooking.

• The light is moderate, not too bright. Otherwise, he will blind the eyes and "get on the nerves."
• At the stage of repair, it is necessary to select the required number of lamps, taking into account their power.
• Backlighting should not create shadows from objects.
• When choosing the brightness of the bulbs, they take into account the color of the walls, furniture and curtains, and the interior as a whole.
• Each lighting fixture must be combined with each other.
• When buying lamps, it is better to give preference to energy-saving varieties.

The minimum distance from the sink to the lighting fixtures is 1.5 meters.

Illumination of the working area in the kitchen

In hardware stores, a large assortment of work area lights is presented. Before acquiring a specific variety, get acquainted with the features, advantages and disadvantages of each.

• Backlighting with LED strips is one of the most common. This is due to a large number of advantages, namely, economical energy consumption, soft warm light, is used for decoration, since it has different colors. There are no difficulties in installation - it is glued to any surface using a sticky base. This type of lighting is considered the most suitable for the kitchen, because it is not afraid of dirt and moisture. The tapes are easy to clean, they tolerate power surges and temperature changes well.
• Fluorescent lamps are also in great demand due to their ease of installation, reasonable price, low power consumption and a large assortment in stores. It is also worth mentioning separately the long service life with proper installation and careful handling. There are two types of organization of such lights: installation of ordinary fluorescent lamps and installation of specialized lighting devices. In terms of cost, the first option is more acceptable. However, this method also has one significant drawback - in order to hide the lighting devices, special strips must be provided in the cabinets.
• Halogen lighting is more often used for decorative purposes, as they are more often found in non-standard colors.With such an unusual approach, the room will look cozy and mysterious, and if, during installation, a periodic change in the color of the lighting is provided, it will create a feeling of celebration. Halogen lamps are often installed to illuminate suspended and suspended ceilings, but they also look very interesting in kitchen sets.
• Spot lighting is most often mounted as the main source or to highlight a certain accent, for example, to illuminate a tabletop located in a conspicuous place in a room where the whole family gathers. Spot lighting is divided into modular, surface-mounted and built-in. The peculiarity of these devices is that the light is scattered at a distance of no more than 2 meters. They can be easily applied in any interior, as they come in different sizes, shapes and colors.
• Incandescent lamps are used less and less in the design of the kitchen, this is due to the large number of shortcomings in comparison with modern lighting devices. Perhaps the only advantage of incandescent lamps is their low price.

Analyzing all the pros and cons, you can choose the appropriate types of lighting in a particular case.

If we talk about existing lighting modes, it is better to give preference to combined lighting. This is due to tangible energy savings, as well as ease of use. For example, you can turn on the light in the entire room or in a separate area of ​​it. Experts recommend creating more than one light zone in the kitchen with different levels of illumination: from low to bright.

How to choose lighting fixtures

The lighting in the room is thought out even before the start of the renovation, because with the right accents, the appearance of the kitchen can radically change. With the help of lighting, you can recreate the atmosphere of relaxation, work and romance.

When choosing lighting devices, the general light in the room is taken into account; when illuminated, the illumination should be as follows:

• LED lamps - 4 watts / 1 sq.m.
• Incandescent lamps - 26 watts / 1 sq.m.
• Fluorescent lamps - 9 watts / 1 sq.m.
• Halogen lamps - 30 watts / 1 sq.m.

When choosing luminaires for illumination, you should pay attention to the advice and recommendations of experts:

• So that the color of products and surrounding interior items does not change, they give preference to lamps of warm white light.
• When zoning a room, it is preferable to install colored lights.
• If the renovation of the kitchen is made in modern design styles, for example, high-tech, it is better to give preference to the silver color.
• It is recommended that the backlight be equipped with a brightness control button.
• If the kitchen has wooden set, it is better to choose warm lighting, for example, in pale yellow or warm white tones.

The backlight is installed not only on wall cabinets and walls, but also on the work surface. In such cases, LED panels are used. Their advantage is that they illuminate the space and have an attractive appearance - two glasses with pictures depicted on them. Glass has a high degree of tempering, so it cannot be broken. The only drawbacks of LED panels are the high price. They should be installed by a master with special skills and tools.