So you’ve boarded your loft for easy access, extended the hatch and fitted a reliable loft ladder — but it won’t be much good if you can’t see what you’re doing when you’re up there. A torch isn’t reliable enough, so your loft needs lighting — but what type is best?
We’ve got a guide to loft lighting options that goes into way more detail but this post covers some of the basics.
Fluorescent Loft Lighting
There are a number of reasons why fluorescent lights are an excellent choice for most lofts. Compared with traditional incandescent lights, they’re much more energy-efficient for the same output, and they spread the light more evenly over the entire space. Many alternatives produce pools of light, with the remainder of the space in shadow.
It’s important to consider placement, to avoid them being knocked when you’re moving things in and out of the loft. They’ll save you money, though, as well as being good for the environment, and they don’t heat up as incandescent bulbs do.
Battery-powered Lights
This is the perfect option if you’ve got simple loft needs or you’re looking for a low-cost solution. Despite its compact size, this little light packs quite a punch and provides the equivalent illumination of a 32-watt bulb (350 Lumen).
LED Panels
To make absolutely sure your lights aren’t going to get knocked, you could fit LED panels, which sit flush with the roof beams or insulating boards. These are even cheaper to run than fluorescent lighting, but they do have the drawback of costing a good deal more to buy initially.
Recessed Spotlights
Whether you’ve covered the roof beams or left them open, you can fit a number of recessed spotlights discreetly among them. The advantage here is that you can position a number of lights to produce bright downlights without them being too intrusive.
Various types of spotlight bulbs are available. The most efficient, and increasingly being encouraged by regulations, are the LED type. Again, these will be long lasting, efficient and cheap to run, but will represent a considerable outlay when you first install them.
Loft Natural Lighting
You’ll need artificial lighting in your loft, at the very least for trips up there after dark, but there’s no reason why they should be essential in the daytime. Even if you’re simply boarding your loft, rather than going for a full conversion, it’s not difficult to have skylights/windows set into the roof.
Natural light, of course, has the advantage of being free and not needing to be switched on and off. In addition, it’s also the most efficient type of lighting of all, bouncing around every corner of the space. If you’d like to know more about roof windows, we’ve got a guide for that.
Whether you need lighting wired up or skylights let in the roof, these are jobs for professionals, not DIYers, however skilful. Feel free to get in touch with us to discuss your loft lighting needs.
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