Lighting Design and Installation
At Summit Electric we want you to see your home in the best possible light.
With a background of over 15 years of working on residential remodel and renovation projects with some of the metro-Atlanta areas top designers and builders Summit Electric has the practical experience with Residential Lighting Design to help you transform the lighting in your home from the typical “builder-grade” to something truly stunning.
We believe that the lighting in your home should do much more than simply provide illumination. Proper lighting should make your home more comfortable. Choosing the correct light fixtures and bulbs for each specific application will help to ensure that the lighting scheme is pleasant, not too harsh, and free of excessive shadows and glares. A good lighting design should complement the architectural features of your home like cabinets and counter tops as well as the furniture and artwork that you have chosen to furnish your home. By taking a comprehensive approach to designing a lighting plan for your home Summit Electric can help to ensure that you make smart and informed choices about light fixtures and the other components that make up the lighting system in your home.
Our exclusive and comprehensive approach to lighting design begins with a no obligation Lighting Consultation in your home. The Lighting Consultation allows us the opportunity to begin building the foundation of the total lighting plan for your home even if you are just planning to start with one room, such as the kitchen. At Summit Electric we believe that our customers deserve to be able to make informed decisions about the work that they choose to have done in their homes. During the Lighting Consultation we can assess the existing lighting in your home and provide suggestions for how to address common lighting mistakes and problems. Quite often we can offer relatively easy and cost-effective solutions to many issues.
Sometimes the issues are a bit more complex and the solutions are not as easy. In either case we will always offer our customers candid advice and recommendations based on our experience from past projects as well as our up to date knowledge of new products and current trends in the lighting industry.
The lighting products industry is always changing and these changes can make a tremendous impact on many aspects of the lighting in your home. As the world of fashion is very fluid and changes with the seasons, so to does the world of lighting. What was in style a few years ago may or may not be in style this year. Making the right choices with lighting fixtures can help to accentuate the décor of your home and allow you to emphasize and accentuate key features of your interior design. We can help you design a forward-looking and on-trend lighting plan that will works well with your current furnishings, but will also be adaptable as your interior design evolves.
Layers of Lighting.
To achieve the best possible lighting design in your home it is important to look at lighting from every angle and to build a lighting plan around layers of light. For instance the best lighting in a kitchen will consist of different types of light fixtures in different locations to perform separate functions. The layered approach to lighting is achieved by using three basic kinds of lighting:
- Ambient Lighting is also commonly referred to as “general lighting”. Ambient lighting is typically created with Recessed Can Lights, large flush-mount ceiling fixtures, or chandeliers.
- Accent Lighting is sometimes known as “decorative lighting” and includes types of lighting that highlight and emphasize points of interest in your home such as artwork or architectural details.
- Task Lighting, just as the name suggests provides dedicated illumination for specific tasks. Examples of Task Lighting include under cabinet lights, vanity lights, and pendant lights.
In many cases some fixtures can perform as more than one layer. A decorative pendant above a kitchen island can at the same time function as both Task Lighting and Accent Lighting. Sconce lights can also perform double-duty as both Task and Accent Lighting. Recessed Can Lighting although most commonly used as Ambient Lighting can easily provide Task Lighting with the correct choice of trim and lamp combination.
LED Lighting.
Another aspect of on-trend lighting design is the integration and use of LED lamps. The technology for LED lamps has changed rapidly over the last few years and the benefits for the consumer have increased as a result. The widespread adoption of LED lamps has helped to increase product availability and to decrease product costs. In addition to making LED products less expensive and more readily-available the changes in the technology and the marketplace have also created LED products that perform much better than they did just a few years ago. Not only has the durability and efficiency of these products improved, but the actual quality of light output provided by LED lamps has improved dramatically in the last few years. One of the most common objections that we’ve encountered in regards to LED products is that many homeowners do not like the appearance of the light produced by LED lamps.
The advances in LED technology have produced many different products that have color temperatures equal in appearance to traditional incandescent bulbs. The newest trends in LED lighting include more affordable color-tunable products, dim-to-warm lamps, and products with greatly-improved CRI. Color temperature and CRI are two critical measurements to consider when choosing LED products. During your Lighting Design Consultation we can explain these two important metrics and how to use them to select the best possible products to meet your needs and expectations.
The main advantages of LED products are energy efficiency and longevity. ENERGY STAR rated products can use up to 75% less energy and last 25 times longer than standard incandescent lights. The upfront costs of LED products may be greater, but the long-term savings in energy and replacement costs make LED products a great investment for your home.
Whether you are looking for something as simple as replacing the “builder-grade” florescent light in your kitchen to doing a whole-home lighting makeover, Summit Electric can assist you in every aspect of Residential Lighting Design and Installation. We provide only high-quality lighting products from manufacturers that we know will deliver the results and performance that our customers deserve.