You raised a couple good points. One thing I might add in terms of
the placement of the fixtures... if you move the outer ring closer to
the wall, the light that bounces off the wall can make a room appear
larger, brighter and perhaps a little more "cheerful".

A wide beam angle (40 or 60 degrees) will help distribute the light
over a larger area, whereas a narrow flood (25 degrees) or spot (10
degrees) will concentrate or "pool" the light in the immediate area of
the fixture. For maximum efficiency, a wide angle flood works best.

And this is open to debate, but sometimes the light from recessed
fixtures can make a room look a little too "harsh". A couple of table
or floor lamps can help soften the overall appearance and minimize any
potential eyestrain.

Cheers,
Paul

I find that table or floor lamps

On 24 Mar 2006 10:13:34 -0800, "RickR" wrote:

To answer Your question:
The bulb size makes no difference in the lighting! Go for the look you
like.

The "beam angle" on reflector lights says what area it covers. The BR
flood types are wide and soft beams approx 80 degrees. PAR flood types
are 35d and some 65d. So you can figure for the same output there will
be much bigger and dimmer pool from the BRs. Space your lights for even
coverage at desk/table level.

Every package should list the total lumens for the lamp. That is the
light output you get. However you buy your light in electricity by the
"watt/hour". (100watts x 10hours = 200watts x 5 hours) That is where
efficiency comes in.

Multiply: total wattage you plan to install X hours you use them X
electrical costs (usually in "KWH"=1000s of watt/hours ) and get your
actual costs. Over the long haul electricity costs FAR more than the
fixtures and bulbs.

The BR lamps are just about to be outlawed in the US. They should have
been outlawed when the R lamps were a few years ago. It was stricktly
an oversight/con job on the law makers part. Thats just how inefficient
they are.

Richard Reid, LC
Luminous Views