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Default Wiki: More light

feedback welcome


NT



==Ways to get more light into a room or corridor==

===Decor===
White [[paint]] is as reflective as paint gets. Paints sold as
'reflective' actually reflect less light, and are more about
reflecting as much of the light as possible back in the direction it
came from.

White floor tiles help of course, or lighter [[carpet]] colours.

Windows that are recessed, as most are by a few inches, sometimes have
the exterior edge of the brickwork painted white. This adds a small
amount of light, but the appearance isn't always liked, and once
[[paint]]ed it can't practically be undone.

===Electric light===
Concealed uplighting can transform light levels. See [[Fluorescent
Lighting]], [[CFL]] and [[Uplighters]].

A fake window is fairly easy to make, there are a few ways to do it.
One is just 2 vertical [[fluorescent]] lights behind a curtain, one
near each edge of the curtain. Protection against breakage can be
added with metal mesh or a clear plastic tube. With the curtain kept
closed, almost everyone thought it was a real window, even after
months of regular visits.

Its possible to mimic sunlight with a [[halogen]] lamp. For example
where there is a front door plus a glass whatsitcalled, a 150w
[[halogen]] lamp can be fitted to the ceiling between front door and
inner door, where it shines down through the inner windows creating
almost sunlight-like shadows.

Sometimes a more powerful bulb is all that's needed. [[CFL]]s can put
out a lot more light in an open holder than [[filament]] due to power
limitations (if a powerful enough lamp is used), and [[CFL]]s of more
than 23w are available from various [[Suppliers|online sellers]].


===Mirrors===
One approach is to change the direction of the incoming light from
downward to upward. That way it hits a white ceiling rather than a
darker floor. You can do this and add more light with a nearly
horizontal mirror. Little 6" deep ones can be made to look ok. If it
goes on the outside it adds more incoming light, if it goes inside it
changes the direction of some already incoming light. Exterior mirrors
sit on the cill, interior ones can either be at the same level or part
way up the window.

A big 15" deep mirror on the exterior window cill can double interior
light level, but usually appearance rules these out. These can be
useful on outbuildings, and can double as shutters.
* These should be silvered glass. Other reflector types glare too
much, and many don't last well
* Mirrored glass needs rear painting to prevent deterioration of the
silvering
* Don't ignore wind loading
* Fixing such mirrors over wooden cills tends to rot them, as
[[paint]] failure isn't noticed and the drying effect of sunlight is
lost
* Cats like to sunbathe on them
* See [[Solar Mirrors]]

Windows in thick walls (eg rubble filled stone walls) can have the
inner wall edges mirror lined.

Light tubes are reflective tubes that bring light into areas with no
outside wall. The interior fitting looks like an ordinary [[Lighting|
electric light]]. They collect light from a dome mounted on the roof.

===Paving===
Its also possible to use reflective paving outside, eg stainless
steel, which can reflect some skylight onto the ceiling.

White stone chips on the ground outside also provide a bit of extra
incoming light, and are cheap & simple.

===Glazing===
Doors can be replaced with a part or fully glazed door. Oak doors &
windows can be chosen in preference to upvc, these can use thinnner
frames thus more glass area.

For the sake of a complete list, fitting bigger windows is sometimes
workable, or adding a new window or glass blocks. Usually its not
worthwhile though.

===Roof===
For uninsulated outbuildings, a few roof slates can be replaced with
glass (wired or laminated) or a [[Sheet Materials|corrugated roofing
sheet]] can be replaced with a clear plastic one.

===Shed===
See [[Sheds#Window]] for shed specific options.

===Extreme measures===
The most extreme additional lighting is the heliostat. This is a
parabolic mirror that rotates to track the sun, reflecting it to a
stationary target, in this case a window. These can be an option where
lack of light is a major issue.

Care is needed to ensure a stalled or knocked out of position
reflector can't set fire to anything. This can be achieved by limiting
the level of light concentration and using a slightly distorted
parabola that doesn't focus the light all to a single point. Failing
to address this has caused fire occasionally.

Heliostats are different to other additional light sources in that
they provide sunlight rather than skylight. This makes the light
output level more variable.


==See also==
*[[Special:Allpages|Index of articles]]
*[http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?
title=Special:Categories&limit=100&offset=0 Article Categories]



[[Category:Basics]]
[[Category:Energy Efficiency]]
[[Category:Lighting]]
[[Category:Solar]]
[[Category:Windows]]

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