5 Types of Indoor Lighting Fixtures at Batteries Plus

Choosing the right indoor lighting fixture for your home or business can get a bit tricky. After all, different spaces have different lighting needs and a fixture that works well in one location might prove inadequate in another. Today, we'll be taking a closer look at five of our most popular lighting fixtures and discussing the spaces they work best in.

#1 Surface Fixtures

Surface fixtures mount directly to the ceiling and typically feature a glass or plastic housing over the bulb.

Pros

Surface fixtures are the most basic type of lighting fixture. They've been a staple of homes and offices for decades, giving off a bright, omnidirectional light that's well-suited to almost any space.

Cons

Although very practical, surface fixtures are not the most stylish of lights, so some home and business owners may want a fixture that's more decorative instead.

Best Suited For:

Business applications: Most offices & work facilities

Home applications: Living rooms, bathrooms, bedrooms, hallways, basements, work rooms & garages

#2 Recessed Lighting

A recessed light is a downward facing light installed into a hollow opening in the ceiling.

Pros

Recessed lighting provides a nice even level of lighting that allows you to illuminate the entire room. They also come in a variety of different styles, making it easy to customize your lighting to match the style of a particular room.

Cons

Recessed lighting can be difficult to install. For starters, you have to cut into the ceiling in order to mount each light. You also need to run additional wiring to each individual light, unless you are using a junction box, which can be difficult in a drywalled ceiling. Because of their design, you will need to install a number of recessed lights in order to properly light a room.

Best Suited For:

Business applications: Offices, bars & restaurants

Home applications: Living rooms, bathrooms, bedrooms, hallways, kitchens & basements

#3 Track Lighting

Tracking lighting consists of a number of different lamps, called heads, which are affixed to a track that is mounted to the ceiling.

Pros

Since the heads can be swiveled and repositioned, track lighting is typically used as accent or display lighting and is particularly well-suited to calling attention to particular objects or parts of a room.

With track lighting there is a minimal amount of installation. If you need additional lighting, it's as simple as adding a few more heads to the track. Another advantage is that the fixtures come in a variety of different materials and styles, making it easy to match to the aesthetics of any room.

Cons

Since track lighting is a directional source of light, it's mostly used for more aesthetic purposes. It's not a great way to light up a whole room and is typically used in combination with other fixtures.

Best Suited For

Business applications: Bars, restaurants, retail showrooms, art galleries, museums & other display rooms

Home applications: Hallways, basements, bathrooms, kitchens, offices & home display rooms

#4 Decorative Fixtures

Decorative fixtures feature stylish designs that allow them to become a part of the room's overall aesthetic. Some examples include: Pendant lights, wall sconces and chandeliers.

Pros

Decorative fixtures add beauty to the spaces they're used in and are a great way to create a focal point for a room. They're also well-suited to specific task oriented lighting. For instance, Pendant lights are a great source of additional lighting for food prep areas in kitchens.

Cons

Like with track lighting, decorative fixtures are typically used with an additional source of light, as the fixtures themselves are often not suited to providing an adequate level of light for an entire room.

Best Suited For

Business applications: Hotels, restaurants, display rooms, reception halls, concert halls & amphitheatres

Home applications: Kitchens, dining rooms, bedrooms & living rooms

#5 High Bay/Low Bay Lighting

Bay lights are used to illuminate large commercial spaces. The chief difference between high and low bays lies in the height of the building that they're used in. High bays are designed for spaces with ceilings ranging from 20-40 feet above the floor, whereas low bays are used in buildings with a ceiling height of 20 feet or lower.

Pros

Bay lights are a source of bright, well-distributed lighting. They're designed to provide large groups of people with the illumination they need to perform a variety of tasks.

Cons

Non-LED bay lighting often features start-up times before they reach their maximum light output. Additionally, halogens and fluorescent bay lights often suffer from high energy consumption and high heat output and are prone to flickering issues. Switching your bay lighting to an LED option will help solve these issues.

Best Suited For

Business applications: Warehouses, stadiums, gymnasiums, storage rooms, athletic facilities, auto body shops, aircraft hangers & big box retailers

Home applications: Not used in homes

Pay Attention to the Wattage of Your Bulbs

When it comes to lighting a room, your choice of fixture is only part of the equation. You'll also want to pay close attention to your choice of bulb. All fixtures, regardless of style, will have a maximum wattage rating and it's very important that you abide by this number. Using a bulb with a wattage that exceeds the maximum wattage can damage your system's wiring or socket, increasing the risk of fire.

The maximum wattage rating can typically be found on the fixture itself or on the manufacturer's website. If you're not having any luck with either of those avenues, just match the wattage of the new bulb to the one you're currently using. If you absolutely cannot find the maximum wattage rating for a particular fixture, your best choice is to use an LED bulb. LED lights consume less energy and give off less heat than incandescent and halogen bulbs and will therefore have a lower overall wattage. For more information on finding the right light bulb for your needs, visit our Lighting Purchasing Guide.

Trust Batteries Plus for All Your Lighting Needs

Whether you're searching for a simple replacement bulb or need help transitioning your business facility's entire lighting scheme, Batteries Plus can help. Browse our selection of lighting solutions online, including light bulbs, fixtures, ballasts and emergency lighting. Looking for a light bulb for your car, motorcycle or other vehicle? We carry those too.

If you own or operate a business, consider signing up for a free business account. You'll receive volume discount pricing and other perks, including a dedicated advisor that can help recommend more efficient lighting solutions that can help save your business money. But don't take our word for it, read about what our customers have to say about how partnering with Batteries Plus helped saved them money.