Browsing Tag

lighting

You can’t see it, but it’s everywhere: how lighting can change a room

April 5, 2013

hotel room lighting

Have you been truly enlightened to the effects that lighting can have on a room?

The type of lighting used and the way that lighting is used can have drastic effects on a room, affecting the tone, mood, and personality of not just the space, but also the people inhabiting that space.

Determining the right type of lighting for a room is a matter of finding the balance between functionality and personality.

The first step, however, is to assess the amount of natural daylight the room receives and which cardinal direction the room faces to figure out how much daylight the room receives during the different seasons, thus determining the type of lighting the room needs.

For example, a north-facing room will only receive the minimum amount of natural daylight, even in summer. During winter months, consequently, that room will probably be dark after mid-day, so more lighting fixtures with a higher luminescence will be needed.

With this said, it is probably apparent that lighting a guest room will be vastly different than lighting a breakfast bar or lobby.

Here are some important tips to consider when lighting guest rooms:

  • Guest rooms should be calm, relaxing, tranquilizing, and inviting, and perimeter lighting accomplishes just that. Consider dim lamps or uplighting in the corners of the room or indirect lighting that illuminates the ceiling.
  • Guest room lighting (bedroom lighting) must be able to go from a subdued ambience to bright task lighting for dressing, reading, and other activities. Use a combination of general and task lighting that matches your guests’ needs. Dimming controls give guests the flexibility to vary the light to their immediate needs.
  • Lighting should give the illumination needed to dress and see into drawers and closets easily. Lighting for closets is best done with recessed or close-to-the-ceiling fixtures that won’t get in the way in a tight space.
  • Next-to-bed lighting is often done with table lamps and recessed lights, which can provide the light needed while leaving end tables open. Dimmer controls on next-to-bed lighting can change the room’s ambience to suit the guest’s mood, or lower the room light for TV viewing.

Here are some general tips to shed light on your lighting endeavors:

  • Most rooms need three light sources.
  • Overhead lighting, with the exception of chandeliers, is usually too harsh. Instead, try table lamps, floor lamps, uplighting, and spots.
  • If the room is for reading, place a good reading light in all the appropriate places.
  • If the room is for romance, put your lights on dimmers.
  • If the room is made for partying, uplights are fun and a little dramatic.
  • If the room is for showcasing art, spotlights put the focus on it.
  • Use CFLs wherever possible.
  • All fixtures within a space should have bulbs of the same color temperature. A 3,000 – 3,200K bulb provides a warm color tone without distorting colors. Bulbs over 5,000K have a cool, blue tone and distort interior colors dramatically.

With all this talk about lighting, it may be helpful to go back and reread our blog on Green Lighting for the Hospitality Industry, which illuminates the details on different types of lighting and the various effects they produce.

Green Lighting For The Hospitality Industry

February 1, 2013

green lighting for hospitality hotels

Lighting is a powerful design tool that can craft a space and affect emotions. Hospitality is one of the original commercial areas that always understood the importance of proper lighting design. To this end, hospitality projects can be some of the most creative and inspiring to take part in, but there is more to consider than design and creativity.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, lighting represents 40% of the average commercial building’s electric bill. Furthermore, according to the EPA Energy Star Program, U.S. hotels spend close to $4 billion on energy costs each year and are the fourth most intensive users of energy in the commercial sector. Lighting accounts for nearly 25% of electricity consumed by hotels and for more than 40% in guest rooms alone.

Wouldn’t it be a bright idea to reduce energy costs?

Green lighting and energy-efficient products are not exclusive to 2013. Most if not all of us are quite familiar with them, but let’s take a look at some of our options.

Incandescent & Halogen

While the legislation debates continue feverishly, the fact remains that we will lose some of the more inefficient filament lamp types soon. Where incandescent or halogen lamps may still be preferred due to aggressive dimming or color requirements, make sure to use the highest efficiency version available. Halogen lamps are more efficient and last longer than incandescent lamps. Infrared-conserving halogen lamps are even more efficient.

Fluorescent Systems

Linear fluorescent systems are the workhorse of back-of-house spaces, as well as many common areas and bathrooms. With very high efficiency and lamp life ratings now achieving 60,000 hours, these systems are outstanding, cost-effective solutions for any area.

Induction Fluorescent Systems

A newer technology, some early induction lighting installations have outperformed their 100,000-hour predicted life rating. Available in a wide range of colors and power packages, the high-color rendering induction lighting systems are ideal for extended-use applications, such as in lobbies, atriums, parking lots, and signs, particularly where luminaries are mounted at great heights.

American Hotel Register and You – Working Together to Go Green!

April 10, 2012

At American Hotel Register Company, we recognize the importance of instituting environmentally friendly practices into all aspects of our business. Our Living Green program is designed to support the environmental responsibility of the hospitality industry by developing and sourcing environmentally preferred products and packaging, by educating customers about environmental issues, and by making our corporate headquarters and regional distribution centers as environmentally efficient as possible.

Going green conserves the environment and saves money! Today there are hundreds of products available to support your sustainability program and a variety of tips that can be implemented to increase your hotel’s environmental awareness while saving money.

Here are just a few:

  • When thinking about saving electricity with lighting, not only should you convert to more sustainable lightbulbs in lamps, but convert overhead commercial lighting as well. Compact fluorescent bulbs last 10 times as long as incandescent bulbs and use 75 percent less energy— meaning that one bulb can save you $25 over the lifetime of the bulb.
  • Use refillable soap and shampoo dispensers. Eliminate those little plastic bottles and wasted product!  Please consider donating opened toiletries to organizations in need rather than discarding.
  • Provide 100% RainforestAllianceCertified Coffee for your in-room coffee program. Guests will love the superior flavor – and each cup brewed ensures local coffee farmers fair wages and working conditions.
  • Why not offer beverage glasses in guest rooms rather than disposable plastic cups? Not only will you reduce your carbon footprint, you’ll save money on supplying hundreds of new cups every day.
  • Purchase pre-laundered towels and sheets and eliminate initial laundering expenses. You’ll enjoy reduced energy, water and labor costs, too!

We invite you to take a look at more of our great Living Green tips on our website. By implementing a few easy changes, together we can make a difference in conserving natural resources.