Lighting

Lighting installation and repairs are the most common jobs for our electricians. Over our many years in business we’ve completed literally tens of thousands of these repairs and installations. We can supply you with lights we can install for you, or we can install lights you have supplied yourself.

Lighting can change the whole look and feel of the room and the home. SFE can install everything from elaborate chandeliers that will work as a centrepiece to your dining room, to simple and stylish lighting options for all the rooms in your home. Another great and really simple lighting option we can install for you are dimmers on existing lights. This way, you can control how bright or dark you want it to be in the room, depending on the occasion.

The different types of lighting are ambient lighting, task lighting, and accent lighting. Ambient lighting is the general lighting that lights up an area. Task lighting is just what it says. It’s lighting that lets you perform specific tasks. For example, the under bench lighting in your kitchen. Or a reading light above your bed to help you reading at night. Accent lighting adds drama to a room or area and shows off specific features that you want to stand out, like lighting to show off a piece of art.

LED Lighting

A lot of homes have a lot of halogen down lights installed, which used to be a popular option. However these produce a lot of heat, the light globes are a pain to change, and they use a lot of energy. Changing these over to a LED downlight is usually pretty inexpensive, and a great option for any property. LED lighting in cost saving, safer, and saves you time.

Things to know about LED lighting as an option for you:

1. Cost saving! You save on your energy bill when you have LED lighting installed, and also on the cost of globe maintenance. Not to mention the time you save replacing light bulbs when they blow that you won’t have to replace anymore with an LED light.
2. No mercury. There’s no mercury contained in LED lighting like there is in some other lights. That means if they smash there is no danger of mercury poisoning.
3. Upgrade your fixtures. Installing LED is a great opportunity to give your home a lighting face lift and make things look more modern. Ask your SFE LED lighting electrician for more information.

Things to keep in mind when having LED lighting installed:

1. Always have a licensed electrician be the one to replace your lighting. Never DIY electrical work.
2. SFE have completed thousands of LED lighting upgrades in Scotland. If you want your job to be in safe hands, give us a call.
3. There’s an LED option for almost every type of light nowadays. So if you want something a bit different, let us know and we can discuss the options with you.
4. LED lighting is the way of the future. Upgrade your home’s lighting to keep up with the latest technology.

Outdoor lighting:

1. Spot Lighting

These are great for lighting up your pathways, patio, deck, pool, and garden. These lights can help maintain safety in your home especially in the areas mentioned above. With these lights installed, you can easily find your way to your front door. They also make the use of your patio and deck possible when it’s night time, great for entertaining. Spot lights with sensors improve your home’s safety and are convenient when coming home at night.

2. Security Lighting

Installing outdoor lights can be an excellent way to ward off people with the wrong intentions and establish security at your property. While spot lights can help with your home’s safety and security, flood lights are another option. These are very bright lights that provide illumination to wide areas. Most types of flood lights are designed to stay on, but they can be set up with motion sensors to quickly turn on only when someone passes under them or is in the immediate vicinity.

3. Decorative Lighting

Lanterns and lamp posts are great decorative lighting for homes and outdoors. These can easily enhance any space in your home and make it look appealing. The best places to install these are on the outlines of your home, front door, garden and patio. Some options are bollard lighting, up lighting, or feature lighting.

Emergency lighting:

Emergency lighting is entirely different from regular lighting. These lights are not used to simply illuminate spaces. In case of emergency, these lights may be the building occupants’ only guide to safety. It is crucial to therefore, to have them installed by a professional electrician and use these facts as your guide:

1. Emergency lights for home or office use are meant to illuminate key areas: hallways, stairwells (or any other passage leading to an exit) and exit points. They should also properly illuminate changes in direction toward exits; any trip hazards; storage areas of firefighting equipment and first-aid kits; call points and outside final exits.
2. There are 3 main types:

• Escape route lighting – this is used to illuminate escape or exit routes.
• High risk task area lighting – this is used to illuminate areas where dangerous materials or processes are contained and need to be closely monitored.
• Open area or ‘anti-panic’ lighting – this is used to illuminate large open spaces and provide enough light to make people feel safe enough to evacuate.

3. These lights are not meant to be used as standby lighting or supply illumination should the mains power fail so people can continue working. They are for use in emergencies.
4. There are various regulations for installing and maintaining emergency lights that can vary, which is why it is best to have an expert electrician install and maintain these fixtures for you. These fixtures can be required to undergo monthly 30-second tests, and annual 90-minute full-load tests to ensure they will operate fully in the event of an emergency.

Lighting is one of the most important features of your home. Lighting can change the look and feel of a room, it can be practical, it can be decorative, and it can be used for security purposes. And remember LED lighting is a great option for any property as well. At SFE, we are lighting experts, having been installing lighting in Scotland homes since 2016.

We can provide expert advice on what lighting will work for you, and we keep up with the latest in lighting trends and technology to ensure you are well informed. We can provide appropriate detailed lighting engineering design for specific projects. In addition we have an interior designer who can help with specific lighting aesthetics.

Get in touch with us today to find out more about what we can do for the lighting in your home or business.