Table lights Table lamps are mobile and they emit their light wherever you position them. Standard models are shaded lamps and flexible desk lamps. The particular advantage of table lamps is that you can control them directly from your sofa, armchair, bed or desk. We can distinguish between two types of lamps: those emitting their light upwards as well as downwards and those emitting their light only downwards.
Upward and downward light emission
Table lamps which emit their light upwards and downwards combine
ambient lighting with
zone lighting. The light directed upwards illuminates the ceiling and is scattered throughout the entire room. At the same time, the zone lighting emitted downwards brightly illuminates a defined area.
Typical areas of use: this type of lamp is used in living rooms for illuminating sofas and armchairs and is usually found on side tables. Here, it combines ambient lighting with zone lighting for reading. Furthermore, it is commonly placed on a sideboard or a chest of drawers in the living room, the dining room, the bedroom and a hallway. In these cases the table lamps mainly serve to provide ambient lighting. At the same time, the downwards pointing zone light makes it easier to find things in the drawers and compartments of sideboards and chests of drawers.
Standard version: table lamps which emit their light upwards and downwards usually have a base with a fixed arm and an attached lampshade or reflector.
The light11 recommendation
- To avoid glare, the illuminant must not be directly visible. The lampshade should hide the illuminant so that you cannot look directly into it while you are standing as well as while you are in a sitting position. This can be guaranteed by the light sources being covered or by the lampshades being suitably tapered. In no case may the lampshade be transparent enough for bulbs to shine brightly through it and to thereby cause glare. Ideally, the lampshade is slightly transparent so that it has a pleasant glow.
- If a table lamp serves as a reading light e.g. next to your sofa at home, the zone lighting emitted downwards must not only illuminate a small area around the lamp. It has to completely illuminate the reading area with a sufficiently bright light.
- A table lamp should be possibly controlled from the comfort of your seat. Ideally, the switch should be located on the lamp itself and not midway down a long cable. It is recommended to use a light fixture with a dimmer as this allows for an individual adjustment of the lighting mood.
Adjustable lamps with downward light emission
Table lamps that emit their light downwards supply direct zone lighting that brightly illuminates a defined area.
Typical areas of use: this type of lamp serves as a
desk lamp or as a reading lamp in the living room, where it is usually placed on a side table next to a sofa or an armchair. Furthermore, it is typically used to supply zone lighting for those who enjoy reading whilst lying in their bed.
Standard version: table lamps which emit their light downwards usually have a base with a flexibly adjustable arm and an attached adjustable shade or reflector.
The light11 recommendation
- Table lamps which emit their light downwards should evenly illuminate the defined working or reading area, while simultaneously pleasant and soft transitions between light and shadow are ensured. The light emitted should therefore never be too focused as harsh contrasts are extremely tiring on the eyes.
- The uniform, warm and soft light offered by incandescent lamps was the ideal solution for table lamps. As a consequence of the ban on incandescent lamps, however, other alternatives have to be found. Halogen lamps are also well suitable for table lamps. However, precise reflectors must be used to ensure that no glare is produced and that the light is widely and softly diffused. Some, particularly efficient halogen lamps will still be available after 2016, when the last phase of the incandescent lamp phase-out will start.
- Thanks to its excellent colour rendering index of Ra=100, halogen lamps are the ideal solution for illuminating a desk.
- Modern LEDs also offer a good colour rendering and additionally are particularly energy-efficient.
- To avoid glare, the illuminant must not be directly visible. The lampshade should hide the illuminant so that you cannot look directly into it while you are standing as well as while you are in a sitting position. In no case may the lampshade be transparent enough for bulbs to shine brightly through it and to thereby cause glare.
- Where possible, you should be able to control table lamps from the comfort of your seat or whilst lying in bed. It is therefore beneficial if the switch is located on the lamp itself and not midway down a long cable. If the table lamps are used in the living room or bedroom, it is recommended to use a table lamp version equipped with a dimmer as it allows for an individual adjustment of the lighting mood.
