What is a lighting plan and how do you make one?

A lighting plan is a drawing of your ceiling and walls showing where every light point goes, what it has to do and which switch it sits on. You make one before the electrician arrives, because after that the conduits are fixed and every change means chasing walls.

What has to be on it

• The floor plan of the room with its dimensions
• Every light point with its spacing and its distance to the walls
• The type per point: recessed spot, wall light, pendant
• The switch groups: what comes on and goes off together
• Where a dimmer goes
• The color temperature per zone

That last one is almost always forgotten, and it is the cheapest thing to decide in advance.

Step 1: draw what is there, not what is coming

Start with the furniture, not the ceiling. Where does the sofa go, where the dining table, where the counter? Light belongs to what happens in a room, and you only know that once you can picture the layout.

Note which way you face as well. A spot directly behind your back at the reading chair casts a shadow on your book.

Step 2: divide into three layers

A room with one layer of light feels flat. Three layers make the difference:

• General light — the ceiling spots, for the base level.
• Task light — above the counter, the dining table, the reading chair. Here you have to be able to see.
• Accent light — wall lights and accents that give the room depth.

Aim for about two thirds of your total lumens in the first layer and fill in the rest. Putting everything in the ceiling is the most common mistake.

Step 3: work out your lumens

Per room: roughly 100 to 150 lumens per square meter for a living room, 200 to 300 for kitchen and bathroom, and around 100 for a bedroom. Multiply by your floor area and divide by the output per spot.

With our Quaro you plan with 400 lumens each, with the Ferro with 600. Choose the stronger spot in large or tall rooms: fewer holes, less wiring.

Step 4: spread them across the ceiling

Rule of thumb for the spacing: ceiling height divided by two. At 2.60 meters that is about 1.30 meters, with 60 to 80 cm to the wall. Symmetry counts for more than the exact measurement — everyone sees a crooked row, nobody sees ten centimeters of deviation.

Draw in the joists if you know where they are. A spot that lands on a joist has to move anyway.

Step 5: decide your switch groups

This is where the most is gained, and it costs the most to change afterwards. Do you want the spots above the counter to switch separately from the rest? Then separate conduits have to run there.

Note per group whether a dimmer goes in as well. If you want to dim, you need spots with a dimmable driver and a suitable dimmer; see the dimmer guide.

Step 6: choose your color temperature per zone

3000K as the general choice, 2700K in the bedroom and seating area, 4000K above a worktop. Keep it the same within one room.

If you work with CCT spots such as the Lesto or the Lyvo, you can postpone that choice until installation. Do note on your plan which setting goes where, otherwise it will be all over the place within a year.

What you end up with

One sheet per room that tells the electrician exactly where to run conduit, and tells you how many spots to order. The range is with the recessed spotlights.