residential systems engineering

2009-02-03T11:08:00.000-08:00

The Thoughtful Application of Lighting Controls

My family and I have moved into a 20,000 square foot custom home in Fountain Valley, Arizona. It is a two-story house with five bedrooms and six baths, one bedroom being a master suite with an adjoining master bath. We have installed a home theater and an in-house audio system, but have subsequently realized that we have done nothing with the lighting. We found a copy of your book, and we are interested in your ADAPTIVE ® method of lighting. Before we invest in this, however, we would like to know what type of lighting controls systems you can install that will make your equipment and designs easier for us to use. We looked at several lighting control and home automation companies in our area and walked away thinking that their lighting control systems consisted of too many features we really did not need, and were simply too complicated for us to easily use. What do you have that is better?

Roger, Fountain Valley, AZ

Dear Roger,

First, let me thank you for your interest in Adaptive Design Group Inc. and your interest in what we call the Thoughtful Application of Lighting Controls.

This approach to home lighting control is somewhat different than the type you normally encounter with retail home theater vendors and many interior lighting designers. Our system is a proven method built around the tripod of intuitive functionality, simplicity, and consistency. Our first and foremost priority is to customize the ADAPTIVE ® method of lighting to your individual dwelling, then build a home lighting control system that allows you to manipulate this system as if it were an autonomic extension of your own subconscious desires.

In order to properly install and configure your particular home lighting controls, it is necessary to give careful thought to how your home lighting design reflects your personal lifestyle, and how lighting control will add comfort and convenience to that lifestyle. In your case, you appear to have a strong interest in high-quality, home-based entertainment. Your investment in a home theater and an in-house audio system indicates this. In order to best accommodate you, we would create a home lighting control system that would allow you to move safely and comfortably between rooms and up and down stairs without ever getting lost in darkness or shadow. We would also make it possible to set optimal lighting levels for watching a movie, and we would finally tie your home lighting control system to your in-house audio system so you can play music as a prequel to a movie, or as entertainment in other parts of the home.

I would like to emphasize at this point that we have a way of doing all of this that results in an amazingly simply, user-friendly lighting control interface that requires no advanced technical knowledge or complex memorizations on your part. We Do Not design complicated table-top controls, sliding dimmers that are hard to locate in a darkened room or hand-held remotes that confuse you with too many buttons and get misplaced too easily. Instead, we configure a home lighting control system entirely operable from the standpoint of a simple, wall-mounted keypad designed to mirror the reflexive movements of your own hand. After only a short period of use, the operation of the key pad becomes as unconscious and reflexive as the operation of an old-fashion flip switch.

Our standard key pad design features only six buttons, each pre-programmed to perform a specific task. In your case, Roger, we would add two more buttons to your keypad. I will discuss these in a moment, but first let me itemize the standard 6 buttons, show how they work, and explain how easily we can customize your keypad to further work with your home theater and in-house music system.

1. Top Left Button- Turns the lights on in a given room to your every day setting.

2. Bottom Left Button- Turns those same lights off.

3. Middle Top Left Button- Sets the artistic levels in the room.

4. Top Right Button- Raises the brightness of those room lights.

5. Right Middle Button- Turns the lights on in an adjoining room or walkway.

6. Bottom Right Button- Lowers or dim’s the lights in the given room.

Button 5 will make it possible to easily move the light ahead of you, so to speak, as you leave a well-lit room and enter a room that was previously dark. This is particularly convenient if you are getting up in the morning and moving from the master suite to the master bath, or entertaining family and acting as usher to your new home theater.

To make the latter experience even more cinematic, we can then add a 7^th button to close the shades in the home theater, and an 8^th button to turn on background music while you select your movie and watch any previews you might find interesting. The convenience of operating your home lighting control system from a series of unobtrusive, intuitive key pads will be far more satisfying than having to fumble for a lost remote or grope along a dark wall to find a sliding dimmer control. This Thoughtful Application of Lighting Control will ultimately fulfill the original intent of processor-based home control systems—namely, to make your home’s functions easier, not more complex.

Thank you for your inquiry, and please feel free to contact me personally at my direct number, 801-274-9600, for further discussion of how our firm can best meet your needs.

Sincerely,

Glenn Johnson

2009-02-03T10:42:00.000-08:00

The Adaptive Lighting Design® Method of Layered Custom Home Lighting

The ADAPTIVE ® lighting design combines 8 complete layers of light to create accent, atmosphere, and functionality within high-end residential dwellings. The compliment and overlap of these lighting layers creates a comprehensive, personalize aesthetic that supports architectural keynotes and highlights decorative schemes and fine art. Equipment is either concealed when possible, or decorative in its nature so as to blend harmoniously with surrounding elements.

Each letter in the word “Adaptive” stands for a unique layer of light applied to the interior or exterior space of the house.

Architecture

Architectural lighting is the first layer of light in our design methodology, and functions as a framework for decoration and activity. Architecture is carefully studied and analyzed to determine what types of equipment should be used. Fixtures can then be mounted in these locations to illuminate space from a variety of angles of incidence. For example, ceiling coves and decorative niches are ideal places to conceal linear lighting strips as sources of indirect light. More prominent features such as columns, clerestory fenestration, and exterior building facades provide firm anchor points for strategically positioned decorative fixtures. The fixtures used to establish this foundation layer of light can be as simple as adjustable accent lights, and recessed ceiling lights, to sophisticated ground well lights mounted outdoors.

Decorative

The purpose of decorative lighting is to draw attention to any distinctive element that makes a building attractive. This lighting layer often involves more than just light. It involves ornamentation in the form of special lighting fixtures. Wall sconces, chandeliers, and ornamental ceiling lights are frequently used in this segment of our design process. Certain rooms in the home are almost always given special emphasis, such as bedroom and dining room ceilings, living rooms, and prominent entry ways. It is also important to selectively highlight any noteworthy decorations such as ornamental mirrors, archways, and doorways. Normally, this can be done very easily, simply by placing appropriately decorated wall sconces on either side of the feature.

Art

The third layer of lighting in the Adaptive Lighting Design® methodology is Art Lighting. This is a very sophisticated discipline that depends on two very important factors. One is the creation of “focal walls” where thematically related pieces of art are hung to create a composite sense of image. Framing projectors are commonly used to do this. On a selective basis depending on the frames used, small linear strip lights can be utilized along with all washing lights and recessed ceiling lights if a large distribution of light is required.

The second important factor in effective art lighting is the illumination of three-dimensional structures and spaces. Display shelves and niches require special fixtures and installation methods to avoid blocking the view of collectibles, prints, art photography, or showcased paintings from shadow. Sculpture and statuary needs both light and shadow properly blended to look truly lifelike under artificial light.

Path

This layer creates pathways for indoor foot traffic out of light itself. Recessed, non-adjustable, sloped-down ceiling fixtures are usually used to create this. Common areas where we add this layer are in hallways, transition areas between rooms, room entrances, and stairwells. The intent is to make these areas safer and simultaneously more attractive.

Task

This is our most “practical” layer of lighting, and it is essential to safety and activity in every home. It is used to transform work areas into safer, more comfortable environments where people can perform tasks with less stress and minimal risk of injury. These areas must be lit whenever possible using affordable sources of lighting. Low-voltage recessed lights, adjustable accent lights, linear strip lights prove ideal for most settings. Adjustability is preferable to avoid glare. Kitchens can be unsafe if too much glare is present, and personal grooming in front of a mirror is difficult if the vanity light is too bright. Laundry rooms, work rooms, and hobby rooms require slightly brighter light than other areas of the home, and stairwells and landings need evenly distributed light so the positions of steps are clearly visible to the eye

Interior Decoration

This layer of lighting is not to be confused with the Decorative Layer we discussed earlier. Interior decoration lighting is just that—the accenting of interior décor with an emphasis on the subject matter at hand, not the fixture used to light it. Recessed, adjustable low-voltage accent lights are an excellent way to illuminate wide variety of forms such as coffee tables, hutches, vases with flower arrangements, armoires, stonework, murals, drapes, and ornamental mirrors.

View

With all these layers of interior lighting inside a home now, windows turn into mirrors that reflect both glare and room contents back to the eye. To offset this, the view lighting layer is then applied to the areas around the property just outside of windows. This enables a person to see through the window into the world beyond. Surface-mounted lights are generally all that is needed for this.

Exterior

This exterior lighting layer is the final component of our lighting design process. It allows us to create a warm, inviting aura around a home that balances building features and with landscape highlights. This helps bring distant focal points into perspective by illuminating the color of variety of gardens, flower beds, and hedges. Waterworks such as fountains, pools, and reflecting ponds can be accented in a manner that creates the impression of a sculpted, albeit, fluid surface. Gazebos, patios, and other exterior structures must also be appropriately lit for visibility and décor.

In most of these instances, surface mounted fixtures are used to create this layer of lighting, although with ponds and fountains it is not unheard of to use special underwater lights to magnify such a feature’s prominence on the landscape. Adaptive Lighting Design ® Group, Inc. works worldwide to create this impeccable, multi-layered aesthetic of complex lighting layers in custom homes and landscapes. Contact Glenn Johnson directly today at 801-274-9600 for more information.