Whether you’re in the market for ceiling fans or looking to upgrade from lightless fans and replace those unsightly floor lamps, ceiling lights have many factors that go into choosing the proper light kits. If you just go with any standard lighting, you could end up with washed out color schemes, or an abundance of unflattering overhead lighting. Direction, style and placement of light can not only make a huge impact on your design motif, but also provide more lighting than you really need
The first thing you may want to consider when deciding on the proper light kit to accompany your ceiling fan, is light direction. In order to make that choice, you’ll need to decide how much light coverage you really need and/or want for your living area. If you want a room filled with bright direct lighting, then perhaps you’ll want a downlight style model, but if you’re looking for a soft or subtle ambient lighting, then uplight style kits may be your best option. Each direction provides a different lighting effect, so if you’re a design conscious person, you’ll want to pick the style that best accents your home furnishings and accompanying color scheme.
Light kits are more than just a light source; they are an additional design element. While the lighting they provide affects the room’s surrounding design elements, the light’s hardware could affect the entire motif as well. You can go for a standard, traditional downlight, and limit the elements, or you can be adventurous and select an edgy, more contemporary design and use every possible element to convey your style personality. If you’ve decided the direction of the lighting, then the next step may be to choose whether you’d like a glass bowl style light for a single bulb, or glass shades on a 3-to-5-arm fitter to accommodate multiple bulbs separately. If glass shades are too traditional, then globes are also an option, just as the glass bowls come in multiple shapes, in order to provide diversity. With all the choices in front of you, it could get overwhelming, but fortunately, the color selection is not as vast as the style. Most ceiling light glass is clear, white or yellow, and sometimes can be done mosaic for added effect.
Once you have decided lighting options, selection may move to the other elements of the light kit; trim, or finish. Depending on the style you want to convey, you may choose stainless steel or nickel for a contemporary look, or dark metals, such as bronze or iron for a more traditional style.
Perhaps the most important question you should ask yourself when shopping for light kits, is "Do I want to conserve as much energy as possible?” If that’s the case, then Fan Diego has plenty of Energy Star rated light kits, that will help you save a few extra dollars on your future energy costs. Energy Star rated products can be up to 50% more efficient and help us reduce those pesky greenhouse-gas emissions. If buying an Energy Star rated light kit isn’t necessary for you, then perhaps simply purchasing light kits which are CFL or halogen light compatible. While incandescent bulbs are by no means terrible choices, the use of a halogen light or CFLs could help save you money, without spending the extra funds on an Energy Star product. CFLs, or compact fluorescent lamps, are at the top of the list, in regards to energy conservation, and incandescent are at the bottom, which puts halogen lights somewhere in between. Whichever you decide, just make sure you purchase a light kit which is compatible with that choice. If you plan on using CFLs, then you have to make sure the light kit you choose is not specifically a halogen kit, or vice versa.