"Colin" wrote in message ...
Thanks for the information. There is a lot to think about. Sounds like a
brilliant set of solutions. Just a few supplemental questions...


_________ _
| _ O|_| is bulb and fitting mounted sideways on a shelf
|__0|_| The ceiling is lit up diffusely,
| the bulb is not seen, but the fitting is.
|
| -- wall

Won't the bottom of the fitting look ugly? Or is this covered with
something?

Yes, thats one reason trough is better. You can stick something on the
fittings, but really just use troughs. Shelf setup is more for quick
temporary lighting, you can try things out like that.

Of course you dont have to stick with the original casings, but that
is more work.


Finally I'd suggest using 2 foot tubes, as theyre small enough to fit
lots of locations, easy to store, their light output per fitting is
sensible, so they can also be used in every room if you want, and the
tubes are common. 4 foot is the next best. 3' tubes are harder to come
by, 6' are almost obsolete, 5' are too bright to look good in home
use, and 8' are impractical for house use.

Do you get more light output per watt with a larger tube rather than a
smaller one?

Yes, but not by a lot. 2' tubes are much nicer to use than 4 or 5
footers. Big ones really limit what one can do, a 2 foot tube is much
more versatile.

A modern fashion is to hang a trough from the ceiling in the centre of
the room, and put a large fl tube in that. For commercial premises its
a big step up from the bare tubes, but I wouldnt want something like
that in a kitchen.


If you like the downlighter look, a good half way is to add some
miniature very low power downlighter-style fittings (just 2w to 5w),
arranging them to direct the light towards eyes rather than the floor.
This way they give the same appearance as downlighters, but consume
next to nothing. There are many other options too.


Sounds like a great idea. I don't suppose that you have any idea where they
are sold? Would LED's do?... or not bright enough.

As far as I know theyre not sold. Find some little bright metal cups,
something the right width, find some suitable bulbs... have the bulb
filament forward enough so its directly visible, the idea is just to
recreate the glare and outline of downlighters, but without the
downlight.

I think youre asking for extra work with LEDs.


If you want to play you can change the tint of the lights by painting
some of the wall within the trough a desired colour - I've done that
occasionally. It can be used for a bit of dramatic effect. Best to
play then go back to white, unless youre sure you got what you wanted.
I used coloured paper just to try it out, but the paper always
bleaches after a while. Or you can put the paper over the lights for
great mood lighting. Fls dont get anything like as hot as filament
bulbs. However I'd probly best say dont do that, you never know.

I also like to include a 3-6w fl or cfl for nightlighting, and its
bright enough to use on its own occasionally too. Or a 2w cool white
one gives a moonlit effect. If youve got plants you can put a 3w CFL
in among those for a simple effect.

You can make windows too with fls, hang the curtains up and put 2
vertical tubes behind them to mimic daylight leaking round the edges.
Many tricks, but I must go to bed this century. Have fun.


Regards, NT