How to Upgrade your Entire Home to LEDs: a Room-by-Room Guide

Upgrading your home is a big job. It's also an opportunity to think about how lighting functions in your home. This guide takes you through the different functions light can have, what you need light to do in each room and how you can alter your lighting set up to improve it.

The Lighting Basics:

There are different types of lighting effects designed for different tasks. Once you have an understanding of this you can start thinking about your lights in terms of how they will help you to carry out everyday tasks.

The Shape and Fittings

There are three common fittings in the UK - the screw in, bayonet and spotlight (GUs) - but even these have variations.

In the UK there are 8 main types of light bulb shapes used for domestic purposes:

There are also 8 common fittings:

The Colour

All light bulbs come in different colours. Colours are measured in kelvins - the lower the kelvin, the more orange the light (source).

Light bulbs designed for the home tend to be available in just warm-white (slightly orange hue) or cool-white (slightly blue hue). LEDs are generally labelled with what colour they are so it's another thing to bear in mind when sourcing lighting for the home.

LEDs, Room by Room

You can replace light bulbs in any room of the house with LEDs. Let's take a walk through the typical home to see what light bulb fits where.

The Hallway

Type of lighting: General

Most houses will have general lighting in the hallway in the form of at least one overhead bulb and there are a number of options available to replace like-for-like when lighting in the hallway:

Replacement bulb/range: GE Energy Smart Range

Replacing CFLs, halogen or incandescent bulbs with The Energy Smart Range from GE will save you a lot of energy.

The range features 5W and 9W bulbs to replace 40W and 60W bulbs.

Lifespan: 25,000 hours
Fitting: bayonet and screw
Colour tip: For the hallway, choose a warm-white colour to create a welcoming feeling for guests.

The Living Room

Type of lighting: Accent/task (depending on your lifestyle)

Accent lighting is important if you want to create a relaxing environment, which most people do, since this is the room they'll chill out in after work or relax in on the weekends.

Lamps placed on the perimeter of the room help to radiate the light inwards, creating a warm glow.

Wall lights are a popular choice as they diffuse light into the room so are a good alternative to overhead lighting.

Tip - make the most of natural light:

People tend to spend most of their time in the living room so it's a good idea to make the most of natural light here by using bulbs that will complement natural light.

• If your living room is north facing this will usually provide a cold, harsh light so use light bulbs with warm tones.
• South facing rooms are bathed in direct sunlight most of the day which means a brighter, warmer light for longer. Use cool accent lighting to avoid drowning out natural light.
• East facing rooms will need extra lighting in the evening as the sun will have travelled to the opposite side of the house by mid-afternoon. Tall lamps by the windows will create the sense of light flooding into the room.
• Rooms which face the west provide maximum sunlight in the evening so follow the same rule as south facing rooms and opt for cooler accent lighting.

Replacement bulb/range: BELL LED Candle Opal Range

British manufacturers BELL provide a range of LED candle bulbs are the ideal replacement for traditional bulbs.

The candle opal range works well in living rooms as the light is less intense than clear bulbs so is more subtle.

For wall lights try the 4W opal candle bulb.

Equivalent to: a 25W incandescent bulb
Lifespan: 25,000 hours
Fitting: bayonet and screw
Colour: warm white

The Kitchen

Type of lighting: Task

The kitchen is often the busiest room in the home so it needs to be bright and welcoming and have sufficient lighting for people to be able to cook and entertain.

Tip - go for spotlights:

In larger kitchens, lighting can be used to designate zones, for example a pendant light over a dining table or kitchen island and spotlights over the cooking area.

There is a huge range of LED spotlights available which are a like-for-like swap for halogen bulbs. The brighter the better for kitchen spotlights so make sure you choose a bulb with at least 6W if spotlights are your main method of lighting the room.

Replacement bulb/range: Sylviana 5W GU10

A good choice to switch with halogen ceiling spotlight bulbs is the Sylviana 5w GU10

Equivalent to: a 50W halogen light
Characteristics: A wide beam and crisp light, so will reach far corners of even large kitchens.

Tip - illuminate your storage areas:

Try our LED strip light ribbon to light up a kitchen cupboard:

These easy to install, adhesive strips run off a DC 12V adaptor and can be used to light up any area of the kitchen. Add a unique look to the top of kitchen cabinets, the edge of work tops or anywhere else you fancy.

The Kitchen

Type of lighting: Accent/task

Use a variety of lighting so you have enough light to get ready in the morning and subtle lighting when you're relaxing before bed.

Tip - use one main light source backed up with ambient light:

Use one main light source, which would usually be the room's overhead light, and back this up with well-placed ambient lighting such as wall fittings above the bedside tables and lamps on the chest of drawers or even floor lamps.

Replacement bulb/range:

Overhead light: BELL 7W Dimmable LED

A dimmable overhead light in the bedroom is a great way to get the right balance of lighting and this super-efficient bulb from BELL will give you the same light as a 40W traditional bulb, at a fraction of the energy use.

Equivalent to: a 40W traditional bulb
Lifespan: 30,000 hours
Colour: pearl finish/warm white recommended for bedroom

Lamp light: BELL 4W LED Round Ball Opal

Even bedside lamps can benefit from an LED upgrade and BELL's round ball opal bulb range fits most modern lamp fittings and its round shape means it won't peek out of the top of lampshades. An ideal bulb for reading and relaxing.

Equivalent to: a 25W incandescent bulb