Looking to sell your home? We have all heard the horror stories of how difficult it is to sell your home in this market if it’s not properly presented to potential buyers – and you don’t want to end up being one of those homeowners with their house on the market for over a year, right?

To help make sure that your home is presented in the best light – pun intended – here are some lighting upgrade tips to keep in mind when you are trying to sell your home.

Warm Light Versus Cool Light

We’ve heard a lot of estate agents dictate that, when selling a home, homeowners need to change all the lighting to cool white or 4000K temperature. The reason for this is because it is said to make the home appear brighter, cleaner, and allow for a better shot when doing real estate photography.

All these things are likely true and pose good benefits to help you sell your home with a favourable deal. However, we don’t think it’s absolutely essential to get your home sold. After all, you’ll likely just be sentencing the buyer to need to change the lighting back again anyway. The bright, cool lights may be fitting for a showroom, but they’re not suited to the homey atmosphere people want to come home to.

This is certainly not to say that you should not change the lighting in your home – it does come with a lot of benefits. However, this is just to say that you do not have to if you do not want to.

The Best Lighting for Selling Your Home

 As we said, the 4000K temperature globes offer the atmosphere a brighter and more sterile environment. This makes it more stimulating and increases the alertness of the people within it – this is why 4000-6000 temperature globes are used in offices! As for what is best in your home, this all comes down to preference. For selling, many people prefer the brighter lights.

What Lighting Is Best for Living?

 A lot of studies have been done on lighting and how its various colours and temperatures affect our mood, hormone activity, and sleep patterns. From these studies, it has been revealed that cooler light is more stimulating (which is why many prefer it for selling a home) while warmer light is more relaxing and calming to our bodies and mind – which is why many people lean towards warmer lights for living spaces.

If you want your place to be a space for resting and unwinding, then it is suggested to fill the space with warmer coloured lighting. This is especially true for bedrooms and living areas, as these are the places you likely spend time in right before bed. This will help to promote better and healthier sleep, too!

You might want to opt for cooler, white lights in places like the kitchen and bathroom, though. These are work areas and typically require bright light. However, this is up to preference depending on how you are and what you do in these spaces.

Selling Your Home – Upgrade Your Lighting

 If you want to spend money to enhance your home’s likelihood of being sold for a good deal, we suggest looking for new LED light fittings that offer interchangeable colour temperature as a feature. These products are becoming a lot more common today and are an excellent option, as you can set them to display bright white light while you are trying to sell your home and you can change them to what you like for living conditions.

Being able to add to your feature list that you have new LED light fittings with interchangeable colour temperature is also a great bonus! This way, the buyer of your home can set their lighting to what best suits their needs.

For help getting your home’s lighting ready for a great sale, contact a local electrician today!

by Michael Gray

The light fittings in your home can do a lot to dictate the atmosphere and mood of any space – not to mention how much your monthly electrical bill will cost you! With all of this to consider, it makes a lot of sense why homeowners are so careful in choosing the light fittings that will go into their homes. Here is a guide that can help you to make the right choices the first time around:

What to Consider

 Remember, the lighting in your home has a lot of power to dictate the atmosphere and mood throughout your different rooms. These things can even impact your sleep and energy levels! So, whenever you pick out new light fittings, keep these things in mind.

In this guide of tips to help you choose proper light fittings in your home, we have focused on options that will make inhabitants of your home feel bright, cheerful, and happy.

Install Recessed Down at Every Opportunity

 Have you ever felt like a room looks smaller than it truly is? The reason could be that the light fitting is protruding from the ceiling, which can result in the room feeling smaller. It also results in shadows and creates a gloomy vibe overall. Instead of doing this, use recessed downlights in your home wherever you can to reduce shadows being cast and increased the perceived size of your room!

Install Feature Pendant Light Fittings

Installing pendant light in your home’s breakfast bar, dining room table, or your bedside table increases the aesthetics of your home. With a lower temperature globe, you can give off warmer hues, like yellow, amber and red. These hues have been proven to stimulate your eyes less and improve your sleep, too! To contrast, cooler lights are used in workplace atmospheres to stimulate your eyes and keep you alert while working.

Install LED Globes and Light Fittings

LED Globes are the best option when it comes to light fittings in the home. They last longer than CFL, incandescent, and halogen lights, and they consume less power!

However, if you’re going to switch your current light fittings to new, LED bulbs, it is recommended that you call upon a licensed electrician to take care of the installation of your new light fittings. Old halogen light fittings come with a lot of risks, so if you try to DIY it, this is a decision you might regret. Instead, replace and install newer fittings with the help of an electrician – you won’t regret it because they will last longer and produce better quality light for you to enjoy in your home!

The Verdict

 As you can see, there is a lot to consider when upgrading the light fittings in your home. However, these tips should have helped to lead you in the right direction to get the best results that make your home feel bright, happy, and cheerful while keeping your energy bills low! To get started today, contact an electrician with any questions you might have!

by Michael Gray

There are a lot of reasons to want energy efficient lights for your home! It’s kind to the planet, and it also reduces your energy bills, allowing your wallet to breathe a sigh of relief. But saying you want energy efficient lights for your home is a lot easier said than done!

Let us help you understand what to look for in your search for the right lights for your home!

Watt Does All This Mean?

When looking for the right energy efficient light fittings to complement your home, you’ll likely encounter a whole host of jargons you don’t understand. What do all of these terms and words mean? How does it affect your choice and your light fittings? Let’s dive right into answering those questions now!

Watt: Watts are a measure of energy

Lumen: Lumens are a measure of brightness

A lower wattage will help you lower your energy bill, while a higher brightness comes from more lumens. Ask yourself whether you want blinding brightness or soft mellowness. This is where your lumens will matter. Expect around 400 lumens for a bedside lamp, and 1500-3000 lumens total for your living room (these don’t all need to come from the same light source).

Colour Rendering Index: Colour rendering index or CRI refers to how accurately your light source represents various colours. Remember “The Dress” that became a viral sensation back in 2015? This all has to do with lighting, or CRI. A good score is anything above 80, but 90-100 is the preferred range.

Annual Cost: Annual cost is, of course, what you’ll be paying yearly. Energy efficient bulbs should save you money in the long run.

Energy Star Qualified: If you want an energy efficient LED bulb, we recommend Energy Star qualified bulbs – this means they’ve gone through numerous quality tests and have been proven to last longer and have been built to be better.

Kelvin: Kelvin refers to the colour temperature of your energy efficient lightbulbs. The higher your Kelvin is, the cooler your energy efficient light will be. Lights over 5,000K tend to give off white or blue colours (cool colours) whereas those under 3,000K tend to give off warmer hues like yellow or red. Consider the atmosphere of the room these lights will be installed in to decide the Kelvin you want to go for. Warmer lights give off a cosier ambiance, meaning they fit well in bedrooms. Higher Kelvin value lights help promote alertness, making them ideal for offices or study rooms.

If the Bulb Fits…

 If you’re looking to replace your current bulbs with energy-efficient alternatives, make sure that the fittings match! The shape of the light matters because this dictates the spread of light. Take note of the bulb you need before heading to the store to ensure you don’t waste your time and money.

Increase Your Home’s Energy Efficiency Today!

 And there you have it – the basics of choosing energy efficient lighting fixtures for your home! For more help on maximising your home’s energy efficiency, get in touch with a local electrician today!

by Michael Gray