If you were trying to illuminate an expensive piece of art using 4" recessed cans and a up to 45o trim, how far from the wall do you put the can and what degree/wattage mr16 do you use?
[This message has been edited by bot540 (edited 01-05-2007).]
I contact the light supplier. they will give you exact spects for thier fixtures/trims. Rod
A number of things come to mind - and just about all are covered by the photometrics of the fixture and lamp - Both are usually available for each from the manufacturers.
Like those that can be found here:
http://www.lithonia.com/Library/IESFiles/Default.asp?Path=/Lithonia_Lighting The other factors of lighting design you'll have to contend with are Hot-spotting, Scalloping, Light color. Art is something that is better "washed" from several angles or more depending on the art.... Flat painting or simular 2 directions could work with a wide beam spead - but say a standing sculpture would need 3 or mor different angles.
But to answer your question it depends on the distance of the art from the cieling - a rule of thumb is 30 degrees from the point on the wall that it hang on - on a 10' cieling this is normally about 15-20" from the wall. But as you might imagine from what I was saying previously, there are a lot of variables... Just remember to wave the finger and lisp when discussing it with others - it's required....
I have a juno catlaog (not with me) that has all kinds of diagrams toward the back. Get your hands on one. I recommend the 449 trim.
If it's truly expensive art - minimize the UV exposure emitted from the lamps (damages the color over time)
[This message has been edited by Ann Brush (edited 01-05-2007).]
If 300 million dollars worth of art isn't truly expensive then I don't know what is. UV filters were a must.
We have about 2 lights per piece of art. We put them 18" to 24" of the wall as directed by the lighting rep and ceiling mechanicals. The trims are custom made from INDY. They can adjust up to 45 degrees.
The home owner thinks they are to close. I, personally think they look great.
[This message has been edited by bot540 (edited 01-05-2007).]
[This message has been edited by bot540 (edited 01-05-2007).]
If they think they are too close there may be a scalloping or grazing effect on the art. A wider beam spead lamp could help. But the measurements you decribe are typical, unless there are really tall cielings and low art. A 3rd, or 4th light may be in order. Or a really wide beam spread on a track head with barn doors. Some recessed fixtures make a drop rod for this purpose, but I have always thought they were goofy.
As for UV - I have a funny story about a german furnature designer who ordered loads of metal halide fixures despite our warnings. Day two after the showroom opened we went back to finish the AV work, and one of the sales people noted how bright it was, and I told her to invest in sunscreen to work there. (The place was full daylight BRIGHT - you could easily grow plants there.) I also mentioned that they might have to hire someone to move furnature around to even the bleaching effect on the furnature. She picked up a placemat for a display table and it was 'burned in' like a negative on the wood - the shear horror on her face as she just realized a $30,000 table was now toast, and most of the showroom was likely to have the same problem.
I just did a house remodel job last year for an art proffesor at UH. According to him, 36" away from the wall is the optimal distance for lighting art hung on walls.
I found that when using a 35 degree tilt recessed MR16 the top of the ring of light was equal to the distance off the wall. We ended up hanging the pictures at 2 ft from the ceiling so we put the cans 2 ft. from the wall. I'd suspect a 45 degree tilt will allow you to go slightly farther away from the wall if you wanted.
At New York City's Museum of Modern Art, one of the pieces of art was a florescent light fixture! Mounted vertical in a wall corner, about 8 feet tall. Who knows why....
I don't know how they kept the UV off of it from hitting the other art in that room.
I tell ya- after having worked in semiconductor fab cleanrooms where all the flourescent lights have amber UV filters on them, turning the light an orangish yellow, so as to not activate the photolithography polymers during handling- it just eats at your soul! It's hard to really describe it, but having all the blue, green and UV filtered out of the light is terribly depressing and demotivating.
[This message has been edited by SteveFehr (edited 01-06-2007).]
Lighting is a field of it's own, a bit more then just hanging a fixture is involved to produce the correct effect, and deliver the level needed, there are a number of lighting courses offered by manufactures and lighting engineers, I recommend anyone planning on doing lighting projects, look into these offerings.
When your selling lighting, your selling more then an installation, for example, a commercial customer may want lighting to bring out a color or detail, or hide a color, or detail, lighting placement can be a critical factor in commercial locations, if you don't have the skills to provide these services, you may be loosing out on a large part of the lighting market.
One of the courses I attended, they had two tables of food, with overhead lighting, one table the food looked great, the other table the food looked like something ready for the dumpster, as it turned out, the dumpster food was really the good food, and the other table was the spoiled food, amazing what the proper lighting for a project can do.
The other side of that is the lighting in the produce section of the grocery store. They use some lamps that make bruised, spotted produce look perfect.
If you are getting scalloping or weird artifacts on the wall due to the reflector design of MR16's, I suggest you use a "soft focus" filter. It will smooth the beam quite nicely. These are included accessories on my favorite downlights (IRIS), and I have had great luck with them. If you don't have the room for a filter in your fixure, check out Ushio's line of lamps called the Superline, or the softline series. (
http://www.ushio.com/categ_gl_halogen_ref.htm)
Good luck!
I will be bringing the manufactor rep back on site to see what changes can be made to get the effect the HO wants.
Has anyone here gone to classes for lighting? I think it is something I will look into.
Here is the Juno training center information:
http://www.junolighting.com/junolight/edu_home.asp It is not far away in Des Plaines. I herd it was more then worth the time to go. I never tried to set up something and have not seen any class dates listed for a long time. If you find out more details let me know.
Tom thanks for the info. Want to sign up with me?
Hey guys, I'm in the area too. Did either of you look into a field trip? I'd like to check it out too. Let me know if you've heard anything (or already gone). I might give them a call tomorrow. It doesn't look like they have anything scheduled coming up.