If you are in the market for a central light for your living room area, there are a few things you should know about. We wanted a light for the center and choose a round closed-in fixture (ie. the lightbulbs are encased in the fixture and shine through the material which is often translucent.) So that you don’t make the same mistakes we made here are a few tips.
Check and Double Check the Total Wattage of the Fixture
With enclosed light fixtures, heat build-up is a factor and as a result the wattage is often kept low. Beware that these types of lights may not give off very much light!! The first light we purchased barely lit up the room at all. It looked great – it had a molded section that sat flush against the ceiling and a translucent drop area in an attractive shape. But the darn thing hardly lit a darn thing. But we didn’t really realize it until after we had painted around it and custom fit it into our ceiling. We ended up living with it for quite a while. But we had to buy floor lamps for all four corners of the room in order to have some decent light.
The moral of the story is: make sure the light gives off enough light for the purpose you desire before you buy it.
Recently we replaced the fixture. It definitely is possible to find closed central ceiling lights that give off enough light. Our new fixture is actually too bright in some situations!! We’d much rather have too much light than not enough. We installed a dimmer switch and now we can have as much or as little light as we like.
Check the Price of Replacement Bulbs for the Fixture
Another thing to watch for is how much the bulbs to fit in the fixture will cost to replace. There are many new types of lightbulbs including halogen spot and flood lights, compact fluorescent light bulbs, halogen mini bulbs, high pressure sodium, metal halide and more. Many of these bulbs are not interchangeable. If you buy a fixture, often only one type of bulb will work. Prices vary incredibly. Unless you have money to burn, carefully check how much it will cost to buy replacement bulbs and check the average life span of the bulbs. Some types cost an arm and a leg.
Carefully check the maximum wattage of the fixture to ensure that you don’t buy bulbs that are too powerful. The inner space of the fixture may heat up too much causing potential problems.
Check the Diameter of the Hole you Need to Cover
Unless you like doing drywall work, carefully check the size of the hole in your ceiling from a previous fixture. The base sizes of fixtures can range from very small to extraordinarily large. To save yourself time and work, figure out the minimum size you need to cover the hole.
Also consider the paint around the hole. If you have previously had a fixture there, you may have painted to cover the area around the fixture, but not under the fixture. If you buy a light with a smaller base then you may have to paint to fill in the area not covered.
If you don’t have a hole in the ceiling yet, buy the light fixture first before cutting so that you know the size you need to cut.
With a few measurements and parameters you will find a ceiling fixture that fits your situation and needs.