Contemporary kitchens use many different light sources.
Residential lighting has recently become a particularly relevant topic. Beginning in 2012, most incandescent bulbs become unavailable. In response to a federally mandated shift toward more efficient lighting sources, large retailers have already begun stocking new kinds of lights and lighting systems. These have advantages and limitations that kitchen designers will need to understand in order to develop efficient and pleasing lighting designs for this light-intensive residential space.
Fluorescent Panel Lighting
New, more efficient lighting types do not yet produce good ambient lighting. Most fluorescents do not work quite as well as incandescents for ambient light. In combination with acrylic panels, however, fluorescents produce efficient ambient light in several kitchen areas. For new construction or an extensive remodel, high-impact white acrylic panels can replace full-height backsplashes. Install dimmable fluorescents behind these panels, such as dimmable fluorescent tubes. "Warm white" tubes work better in this application than the brighter and whiter "daylight" tubes. You can also create overhead acrylic panels with dimmable behind them. Your contractor can build these on-site, or you can buy them ready to install.
Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
Dimmable compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) come in a variety of hues, shapes and wattages. These make excellent substitutes for incandescent bulbs used in pendant lighting over open counters (counters that have no cabinets above them), above walkways between counter and kitchen island or above the island itself. In general, these deliver better lighting when you replace incandescents in a given application with more, lower-wattage fluorescents. For instance, you might replace a group of three incandescent pendant lights, each with 75-watt bulbs, with four to six CFL pendants, each with 15-watt bulbs. Note that a CFL 15-watt light delivers about the same amount of light (900 lumens) as a 60-watt incandescent (890 lumens). When using CFLs, use more light sources with fewer lumens per source, because at a given luminescence, the fluorescents will appear subjectively brighter.
LED lighting
LED (light-emitting diode) lighting holds vast promise for kitchens, where you might program different hues and luminescence for different kitchen activities. LEDs work well for lighting focused on a specific area and illuminate even more efficiently than fluorescents--switching from incandescent to LED lighting will save 90 percent of lighting costs for a given application. They also do not have the same recycling problem as fluorescents, which use about 1500 tons of mercury each year, much of it dumped. You can find interesting LED lighting products with direct application to kitchen backlighting and to area and under-cabinet downlighting in the Resources, including direct LED replacements of fluorescent T-8 bulbs. Expensive, programmable lighting--white for cooking, soft yellow for socializing and a light show for parties--is also available. Lighting professionals anticipate that these prices will drop quickly as incandescent lighting leaves the market.
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