Page 163 - Dimmers connected to ceiling lights give you flexibility. When you want to rev up the lighting and brighten the whole room to make it look larger and more alive you can do so. Then with a quick turn of a dial, or flick of a switch, you can dim the room down into cozy intimacy.
For economy and energy savings, you can also dim the lights just slightly to extend bulb life without making any significant change in the light level. For instance, dimming the light to 50 percent will be perceived as though you had dimmed it to only 70 percent.
Page 164 - Your lighting needs. When a room is not bright enough, many people simply exchange low-watt bulbs for high-watt ones. Wattage, however is simply a measurement of how much electricity a lamp consumes. The actual light output of a bulb is measured in lumens. If the bulbs you're using aren't producing enough overall illumination, replace them with ones that have more lumens. The next time you shop for bulbs read the labels, which indicate the lumens per watt (lpw) produced by a bulb. The more lumens per watt, the more efficient the lamp. When looking for intensity produced by a lamp, refer to its candlepower (Cp). The more candela (units), the brighter the source.
Page 168 - Most lighting specialists agree that light for dining should come from an overhead fixture centered on the table. In a room with 8-foot-high ceilings, hang the fixture so that its bottom is 27 to 36 inches above the table; raise the fixture 3 inches for every additional foot of ceiling height.
