There is a very good chance that the recessed light fixtures in your home are the same commodity-grade fixtures used in most production homes across the country. When you consider how they were chosen for your job, it isn’t that surprising. Most home builders and even architects are not lighting experts. They typically leave the job of choosing your lights and even finalizing their placement to electricians.

Lighting design is the art and science of correctly selecting and locating lights to make a home more beautiful and livable. Our involvement in lighting design has revealed a number of benefits we can provide you simply by upgrading your current fixtures.

If your home has a standard 4”, 5” or 6” can light, we can easily help you improve the look, feel and performance of the lighting in your home in less than a day. Read on to learn about 5 BIG benefits of upgrading your lights with BRAVAS. 

1. Color

If you have ever shopped for LED lights, you know that it is like learning a new language, and the consequences of misunderstandings can be significant. One of the biggest things you must learn is color. Bulb manufacturers use terms like “daylight” or “soft white”, but what they are really describing is the color of the light. Color temperature of light is measured in degrees Kelvin, and getting the same color of light across your house can be tough. Cheaper fixtures are very inconsistent from light to light, and are often tinged with other colors, like green or purple. Architectural grade fixtures, like those we sell at BRAVAS, are more exact in their color, and can even be specified as warm dim. This means that as the light dims it automatically warms in color, mimicking a traditional incandescent bulb. This provides that beautiful candlelight atmosphere that we have grown to anticipate as we dim our lights.

2. CRI 

The next factor in choosing lights is the way in which they show color, known as the Color Rendering Index. The sun produces a beautiful full-spectrum light that makes colors look incredibly vivid. CRI describes the ability of an artificial light to produce that same vivid color. When lights have a low CRI, things like your food, clothing, and textiles look washed out and muddy. As CRI increases, the colors become more natural and vibrant. BRAVAS sells fixtures up to 98 CRI, while most builder-grade fixtures of the past struggle to reach 90. If you want your art, clothing, furniture, paint, and even food, to look beautiful every day, the right light can help.

Kips Bay Project by Yates Desygn & BRAVAS DFW

3. Beam Angle

If you ever had one of those heavy metal flashlights where the front ring could rotate to focus the light, you have seen an example of how much beam angle matters. When the flashlight spread the light out, it simply could not shine that far, and when it was focused, you could only see what it was aimed at. Most builder-grade recessed fixtures have an incredibly wide beam angle. If your home has 8’ ceilings, this may be correct, but for most luxury homes, this ends up lighting up the air and the ceiling, not the room around us. By focusing light correctly, we can use less energy, create less glare, and provide light where it is needed at all times.

4. Glare

Most of us wear sunglasses or a hat when we have to spend time outside in the middle of a cloud-free day. Bright light directly above us is uncomfortable, largely because of glare. For the same reason that football players wear black paint under their eyes, it is important that recessed light fixtures control glare. Cheap LED “wafers” place the light right at the ceiling plane, and create massive amounts of glare. Quality LED lights use a combination of depth, optics, and baffles to control glare. When your ceiling is “quiet” (free of distracting light), it allows you to relax and focus on the things and people in your space.

5. Linear Light

If we are considering upgrading your recessed lights, it only makes sense to look at your linear lights as well. Modern LED linear lights are brighter, whiter, and more attractive than ever before. Upgrading or adding linear lights in your kitchen, bathrooms, or entertaining spaces can improve your ability to work, increase drama, and decrease the reliance on overhead lighting.

Project by BRAVAS Houston

If you think the lighting in your home could be improved, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your BRAVAS sales team today. We would love to review your existing lighting and to create a plan to upgrade your home. We believe that this simple upgrade can make your home a better place to live, work and play.