Characteristics of the placement of lighting fixtures on a stretch ceiling

Placement Rules

To understand how exactly to place the lamps, you should first study what exactly you shouldn’t do. Experts do not recommend:

1. Placing lamps less than 20 cm from the walls.
2. Leaving a distance of less than 30 cm between the spotlights themselves.
3. Placing bulbs closer than 15 cm to the seams in the PVC stretch ceiling.

Important! If the prescribed intervals are not observed, the devices will overheat, which will lead to rapid failure. And if they are located close to the joints, the seams themselves may come apart.

When choosing lighting fixtures, be sure to consider the following factors:

• The size of the room. The larger it is, the more lamps you will need.
• The height of the ceiling. The higher it is, the brighter the light you need.
• Characteristics of window openings. Which side they face, what dimensions they have, how many of them.
• Purpose of the room. In a walk-through hallway, the importance of bright lighting is much lower than in the work area of the kitchen.
• The presence of other light sources. Will the spotlights be on their own or as an addition to the central chandelier?

How to calculate how many lamps are needed?

Before choosing a placement scheme, it is necessary to calculate the optimal number of lamps. To do this, you can use one of 3 methods:

• The formula by which the product of the illumination standard (according to SNiP for most residential premises, the indicator is 150 Lux), the area of the room (in square meters) and the ceiling height coefficient is divided by the luminous flux of the spotlight (measured in lumens, you can look on the packaging or find a suitable table on the Internet). Ceiling height coefficient in an apartment:

• An online calculator, in which all the formulas are already included – all you have to do is enter your individual data and get a quick answer. The disadvantages of this solution include inaccurate calculations: different sites show different indicators, depending on which formula is used.
• The easiest way is to use ready-made recommendations. But it should be taken into account that they were developed for standard spotlights and are only suitable for ceilings of 2.6-2.8 m. Experts advise purchasing lighting based on 5 W (LED power) per 1 m². That is, in a space of 10 m2, you will need to place lamps with a total power of 50 W – 9 by 6 W, 7 by 8 W or 5 by 10 W.

A separate point should be made for calculating in the case of adding a chandelier. Usually, it is responsible for bright light, and spotlights are additional. To calculate how many bulbs are needed, we will improve the formula. We should start from the same indicator – 5 W per 1 m², but the resulting figure should be divided by 2. That is, in a room of 10 m², a chandelier should produce 25 W and point sources (4 by 6 W, for example) should produce 25 W.

Important! You can round the data obtained from the formula in any direction – but it is better to take one more lamp. So if 1-2 points fail, the room will not be left in semi-darkness.

The most popular schemes

Standard schemes for the arrangement of lamps on the ceiling are characterized by simple geometric shapes:

• Round. Suitable for square rooms. The circle provides uniform illumination in the center, but leaves dark corners – because of this effect, a small room will visually look even smaller. To avoid this, add sconces to the walls or additional lighting points in the corners.
• Oval. Analogous to the round in rectangular rooms. It illuminates the perimeter perfectly, but the central part may seem dark – this can be solved by installing a chandelier.
• Square. It is used in the same spaces, it helps to illuminate the perimeter. To prevent the center from seeming dark, add a chandelier.
• Rectangular. For elongated rooms. Works like an oval, most often requires a chandelier or an additional row of lamps in the center (2 squares with one common wall instead of a rectangle).

More original design patterns (semicircle, star, wave and others) with and without a chandelier, look in the photo.

If you need to distribute the exact number of lamps on the stretch ceiling, study the recommendations below:

• 5. A good example of placing 5 lamps is a square or rectangle with a central point on the ceiling. That is, 4 corners are built and the fifth vertex is added strictly in the center. This method is suitable for installation in bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, bathrooms. Narrow corridors are better illuminated with a zigzag or a straight line.
• 6. A simple diagram is 2 rows of 3 pieces. But there are also more original options: 4 in each corner and 2 to illuminate a specific area (sofa in the living room, work in the office).
• 7. It is more convenient to divide an odd number – for example, place 5 in a semicircle, and use the remaining two to illuminate the desired areas. For even distribution, use the 3:1:3 scheme (aka 2:3:2), when 3 lamps are placed in the center of the room, and 2 at the edges.
• 8. If only 8 lamps provide sufficient power, they can be distributed in a diamond – but in this case, be sure to illuminate the corners with wall lamps. An option for square rooms is 2 rows of 4. It is better to avoid this in elongated long lines — try the 3:2:3 scheme.

Features of arrangement in different rooms

The methods of arrangement of lighting fixtures depend not only on their quantity, but also on their purpose, as well as the layout in each room: it is logical to use the advantages of directional light to emphasize one or another zone.

Kitchen

A kitchen typically has 2 zones: work and dining. In the first, the maximum light flux is needed to make cooking comfortable: for this, they are placed along the entire countertop (in a line, corner, semicircle, the letter U) at a distance of 30-35 cm from each other. If the brightness is not enough, add an LED strip above the apron.

The second requires softer lighting, so the lamps can be replaced with a pendant in the center of the round table. Or fix 3-4 less powerful spotlights along the rectangular one.

Living room

When arranging lamps on a stretch ceiling in the hall, it is necessary to take into account the location of the sofa and additional areas requiring lighting (work area, reading area).

In living rooms, it is convenient to use 2-3 separately connected points:

• central chandelier for bright illumination,
• subdued light above the sofa,
• spotlights for other areas.

Bedroom

The lighting structure in the bedroom should emphasize the main item – the bed. Plan the arrangement of lamps on the stretch ceiling in the bedroom so that they do not blind when turned on. That is, it is better to move the lamps from the edge by 20-30 cm, leaving the area above the sleeping area empty.

The most successful placement method is lines. Two along the edges of the bed, one along the closet, one along the window.

Bathroom

For the bathroom, it is essential to choose waterproof types of lamps (IP not lower than 44). They are placed either 1-2 above each zone (bath or shower, mirror, toilet). Or put 4 in the corners and additionally illuminate the mirror.

Important point: there must be a light source above the bathtub (preferably 2 – at the “head” and “feet”), so that when you close the curtain you are not left in the dark.

Hallway

Hallways are usually narrow, so ceiling lights are placed in a row, but this technique makes the room look even wider. To make the room seem wider, it is better to install several transverse rows of 3 lamps.

As a more original way to decorate the ceiling, consider a zigzag or wave, but keep in mind: the light must fall on the wardrobe and mirror.

In a small square entrance area, 4 bulbs in the corners (at a distance of 20-30 cm from the walls on each side) are enough. In a spacious room, a fifth, central element is added.

Children’s room

A stretch ceiling in a children’s room is an excellent way to zone the space. Depending on the age of the child, the room is divided into: a sleeping area, a rest area, a play area and a work area. The last two should be illuminated the best.

Therefore, you can use the services of professionals and order a multi-level stretch ceiling, literally highlighting each zone by height. Lamps are mounted in the resulting structure – in a semicircle, line or angle.

The layout of the lamps on the stretch ceiling should be calculated at the stage of rough work – it should be provided to the electrician for correct wiring. Therefore, if you are going to highlight individual areas, it is important to understand where everything will be at the very beginning of the renovation.