jkn wrote:

Hi Andrew

[...]
eventually. So given that the current Centre lamp is a 65W 5 foot
strip, what sort of uplighting wattage should I be thinking of?

You should paint the ceiling matt white (titainuim dioxide) for
maximum reflection and diffusion. Also make sure tops of cupboards
are white (doesn't need to be matt). You will need more power
because of losses at non-perfect reflective surfaces.
What is the length of the cupboard run?

about 2m. Do you use reflectors on the indirect lights, or just allow
the light to bounce around?

Are you thinking of any other lighting in the room, such as
under cupboard, down lighters or uplighters on the other side
of the room, etc?

I'm now, after this thread, thinking of keeping the current
centre-of-room cable, and fit some sort of directional multi-bulb
fitting, as well as the top-of-cupboard lighting.

you could, but a diffuse tube behind wood sheet is likely to give more
even illumination. Also central sideways pointing reflectors are going
to be murder on the eyes.


What height of object is the largest you can stand on the top
of the cupboard at the back, and yet it not be visible when you
are standing at the other side of the room?

about four inches - I can just see the top of the extractor hood pipe.
There is about another six inches of clearance above that.

plenty of space for cfls. I wouldnt use linear fl there as the output
per foot is too high.


Would you drill through the joists to carry the cable across or is
there a neater/easier way in this instance?

you have to drill them, preferably at about the joist centre
heightwise. The only type of lighting where you can avoid that is 12v
lighting, with that you can use enamelled copper wire and just run it
across the surface of the joists, holding it temporarily with tape and
reboard straight onto it. But I wouldnt recommend 12v lighting at all.


NT