THE ELECTRIC HOME JOURNAL

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 32, 21 February 1930, Page 22

THE ELECTRIC HOME JOURNAL

FLLECTRICITY has played an important part | in the modernisation of the home, of which electric light was, in most cases, the forerunner, but too little attention has been given to the selection of effective, suitable and harmonious fittings. Good lighting is the least expensive of home comforts and frequently costs no more than bad lighting. The difference between the two is only a matter of using the same amount of current in the right way. The chief essentials of good lighting are ecofrect electric lamps (that is to say, -of the correct wattage for the purpose for which they are being used), correct position, suitable provision for switching on and off conveniently, and ample wall plugs. Years ago, crude methods and practices were inevitable, but to-day, so much progress has been made in the field of illumination that there is no excuse for bad lighting, where electricity is installed, nor for using any kind of lamp, without regard to position, effect and suitability. Suitable, efficient and artistic fittings are available for every environment. Good lighting conduces to good work and comfortable and recreative leisure. _° IPE two types of lamps in general use to-day _ are the vacuum and the gas-filled. A considerable saving in current consumption is possible by the use of the latter, which gives at least 40 per cent. more light than vacuum lamps for the same wattage. For instance, if vacuum lamps at present in use are discarded and replaced with gas-filled of 40 per cent. lower wattage, the same strength of light is available, and electric light bills are automatically reduced by 40 per cent. By veason of their brilliance, they are liable to be a source of glare in the higher wattages, and should therefore be used in a pearl, opalescent or inside-frosted form (unless with an enclosed fitting), for the pur pose of securing diffusion. ACUUM lamps are used mainly for the lighting of cupboards, pantries, attics, ' etc., where the number of burning hours is small and the lower cost of a lamp is a more important consideration than the small amount of current consumed, but for passages, halls, nurseries, sick rooms, and so on, lamps should be used that are fitted with a neat chain device, that reduces the light in five stages from full normal lighting of 60 watts

to 5 watts, or "out," enabling the user to obtain just as much light as is wanted and no more. Another device, much in use in Europe (and | there is no reason that what obtains there or elsewhere should not obtain here) is for lighting wardrobes, cupboards, »vantries, etc., where, by means

of a simple arrangement, the lamp is switched on or off by the opening or closing of the door. For this purpose, a 25 watt lamp is sufficient. The user is not so concerned with the candle-. power at its source as with the efficiency at the place at which it is being used. Light should not be stinted in the kitchen, 70 being a desirable wattage for a central. light, which should be either daylight blue or pearl, or inside frosted, and 40 watt lamps in a bracket over sink and range are very desirable additions. Hall lighting naturally depends on the size of the hall, but at full should not be less than 70 watts, e

» Kor central lgnting? in the aining-room, an opal lamp of 100 watts is recommended, or a pendant of three lights of 40 watts edch, not necessarily all switched on together, unless required. In either case, additional light, which can be switched on or off at will (in the form ‘of wall brackets, or general lighting with special fittings of semi-direct or indirect type), is an advantage, when the wattage should not be less than that of the area of the room in square feet. qt is probably in the lounge, drawing-room, or principal living-room, that lighting effects will most repay careful study, from the view of efficiency, economy, and last, but not least, artistic effect. Here, a central fitting, preferably of the concealed type, wall brackets, and, at least, one standard lamp are called for, but with a 25-watt lamp in the standard, the central light of 100 watts can often bé dispensed with, the wall brackets providing a half-way compromise when desired. The idéal bedroom is fitted with a central light, which need not be excessive, say 40 to 60 watts, a 40-watt lamp bracket on either side of the dressing-table, and, it goes without saying, an adjustable bracket lamp inimediately over the bed-head, with a switch within easy reach of the occupant, which need not be more than 20 watts. ~ At first glance it may look as though the upkeep of such an installation would be a costly matter, but on reflection it is apparent that only on very rare occasions, if ever, would even half of the lamps be in use at the same time, whereas the convenience, comfort, and brightening influence in the home would be immeasurable. Extra lighting points will save their initial cost over and over again, from the resulting economy of being able to switch off the central lighting units, using the lamps of lower wattage, each for its own Special purpose. "THE ‘introduction of shades and fittings of decorative types and designs in a variety of patterns, colours and forms, now, more than ever in the past, makes it possible for electric fittings to harmonise with and definitely add to the value of any decorative scheme, and it is nothing short of tragedy from the artist’s and architect’s point of view that so many people should be content with the single bare light, hanging from the ceiling on a single cord, which is either a feeble or glaring example, as the case may be, of how NOT to do it -Continued on page 25.

\ , Home Lighting (Continued from page 22.) ANDLE-FITTINGS in -wall brackets, with their soft glow, have a dainty and perennial charm; lantern fixtures, displaying all the artistry of the old-time craftsman, strike a note of distinction, while the beauty of a brilliant form of glass fitting-bevel-led glass panels of geometrical design with metal bindings-defies description in words, and although somewhat fantastically styled "futurist" is greatly looked to for the completion of Jacobean and Tudor apartments, where architects have found it a difficult and intriguing study to introduce a scheme of lighting in keeping with a period. Progress has been made in the lighting of both old and new homes (the older and more mellow homes often responding the more admirably) so that lighting can and should be raised from the plane of mere utility to decorative illumination and enhancement of the charm and beauty of the home.