Indoor Lighting

Umm, 300W? that's a lot. And they gvie off a lot of heat as well. Personally I don't like more than 100W.
Did you consider multiple fluorescent lights? I like their light more than the incandescent light, they consume much less electricity, have a LONG life, are cheap, give off very little heat...

mirrors, especially on the ceiling.

No, mirrors will just spread the dark around more.

I haven't considered fluorescents... But don't they have a tendency to flicker at the frequency of the AC current? And how expensive are they?

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Original post by Max_Payne I haven't considered fluorescents... But don't they have a tendency to flicker at the frequency of the AC current? And how expensive are they?

No, the neon lights flicker. The fluorescent ones (at least the good ones) don't. They are not very expensive, a few USD for a lighbulb.

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Original post by Raduprv No, the neon lights flicker. The fluorescent ones (at least the good ones) don't. They are not very expensive, a few USD for a lighbulb.

They do flicker, but it's not very noticeable. They give do give me headaches, though.

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Original post by benryves They do flicker, but it's not very noticeable. They give do give me headaches, though.

Well, so do the incandescent ones.
But considering the fact that fluorescent lamps are used in LCD monitors and TVs, the flicker is really not bad.

Build a kind of window-garden box along the side of one wall. Drop a lot of lights into it, pointing onto your white ceiling. That ought to keep the bulb glare off of your monitor’s, while providing an ambient light source. You could also dig up some dark sconces, and use them instead of the window box. Or you could build a shelf under the window box, and disguise it as a big bookshelf.

Have you tried the really tall floor lamps? I also used to have a really dark apartment but had 2 of these type lamps in the rooms. They give off a lot of light, point upward so all of the light is disfused outward and don't take up very much room. You can also buy this. You can put it by your desk and have a bright light for the rest of the room and a light for your desk.

You could hang a few ellipsoidal theatrical lighting instruments. They take 1000-watt ANSI-FEL quarz halogen lamps [grin]



er, now for my serious response.. I like your rail lighting idea. They can look pretty classy [smile]

"No, mirrors will just spread the dark around more"

Dark mirrors perhaps, magic.

This'll do ya

Have you priced something like this? I'd be suprised if it were 800 USD.

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Original post by flangazor Have you priced something like this? I'd be suprised if it were 800 USD.

It quite possibly could be.. it has a DMX control unit. DMX is the digital protocol that architectual, theatrical, and motion picture lighting control equipment communicate over, and DMX devices are often pretty costly.

Who builds a house with no windows in the living room? Knock a hole in the wall like a man. Shouldn't cost more than $200 for a cheap (single-glazed) window... and you can borrow tools off your mates.

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Original post by d000hg Who builds a house with no windows in the living room? Knock a hole in the wall like a man. Shouldn't cost more than $200 for a cheap (single-glazed) window... and you can borrow tools off your mates.

Yes exactly, wtf! What are the walls made of? I presume they are either brick or something similar so it's not hard to make room for windows (provided you talk to specialised people not by yourself). I would guess you need to talk to some authority on these kind of structural modifications and they'll tell you what's possible. Heck you can have multiple thin windows so the structure is more stable.

However if your walls are made of concrete you're left with the lamps. I would suggest many (6-8) small lamps on the walls, 60-100W each, not one big bulky high-powered one. That should definitely light up the place. A big factor is also the kind of flooring you have: bright wood tiles work best, light linoleum too, but a dark carpet will look crap.

Uhm, he's living in an apartment. Depending on the style of apartment it is completely possible for the living room to have no windows. The one I've just moved into has a total of 4 windows, 1 for each bedroom and one at the entrance.

Fortunately, we have pot lamps spread around the apartment for light. Mind you that might lead to problems later.

As for the actual problem I'd have to say that floor lamps do help. Something that can be pointed at the ceiling will take the glare out of the lights and will look nice.

--Ter'Lenth

I wouldn't even consider moving in an apartment that does not allow a lot of sunlight inside.

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Build a kind of window-garden box along the side of one wall. Drop a lot of lights into it, pointing onto your white ceiling. That ought to keep the bulb glare off of your monitor’s, while providing an ambient light source. You could also dig up some dark sconces, and use them instead of the window box. Or you could build a shelf under the window box, and disguise it as a big bookshelf.

I have been considering that, but it would have to be done with some consideration because of the heat diffusion, and because I don't want to waste energy heating the box. I probably shouldn't put more than 3 100W lightbulbs in it, I would need angled mirrors in the sides, etc. But it might be doable... I will have to see... Although the fact that I am very short on space is really not helping. However, I think fluorescent lights would probably waste alot less energy and be wiser for summer use... But I still need to find affordable, easy to install, quality fluorescent lighting equipment.

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Have you tried the really tall floor lamps? I also used to have a really dark apartment but had 2 of these type lamps in the rooms. They give off a lot of light, point upward so all of the light is disfused outward and don't take up very much room. You can also buy this. You can put it by your desk and have a bright light for the rest of the room and a light for your desk.

I currently have one of these. Its 150W and its clearly too weak. Unfortunately, I don't really have room for a second one, although I suppose I might have no choice but to make room for it at some point.

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Have you priced something like this? I'd be suprised if it were 800 USD.

I wouldn't. But if you can find me a price I can look into it. It does look weak, however. Most of the sites that sell LED lightbulbs sell like "the equivalent of a 40W lightbulb in terms of light emmiting" for $99. But to make a difference in my living room, I would need 10 of those, which I simply can't afford.

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Who builds a house with no windows in the living room? Knock a hole in the wall like a man. Shouldn't cost more than $200 for a cheap (single-glazed) window... and you can borrow tools off your mates.

Its not a house, its an apartment, and a crappy one at that. I wish I could have my own house, but I just don't have the money at the moment... This apartment was built in the 60s. Its very elongated. The living room is between the main bedroom and my bedroom, and has the entry door in it. Making windows in the walls is simply impossible because there are other apartments on each side. The only possibility would be to make a window in the ceiling, but that is obviously too expensive and too complicated for me to do. And no, we can't count on the owners of the apartment. They are reluctant to spend anything, even when essential things break down (which happens often).