How to Choose the Perfect Lighting for Your Media Room

(NewsUSA) - Now that football season is underway, it's time to make sure your media room is up to the task of hosting fans and providing the best atmosphere for cheering on your team. The American Lighting Association (ALA) offers great play-by-play tips to effectively light your media room.

Reduce Glare on More Than Just Your TV

Brent Protzman, manager of energy information and analytics for Lutron Electronics Company Inc., says Lutron conducts extensive research to determine how lighting and shading controls influence visual entertainment. That's because some people like to check their fantasy football teams or catch highlights on their laptops, tablets or smartphones while still watching the game on TV.

Protzman says, "Glare from the amount of daylight can be overwhelming on these devices. The trick is to lower shades and dim overhead lights to make it easier to do tasks."

Joe Rey-Barreau, an education consultant for the ALA and an associate professor at the University of Kentucky's School of Interiors and College of Design says, "Using different lighting layers is always the best option for media rooms. A single lighting layer could be fixtures that are of the same type. For example," he explains, "one layer could be recessed lighting in the media room, another layer could be wall sconces, a third layer could be an integrated architectural lighting system such as a cove or niche."

Adding three layers of light, along with dimmers, gives homeowners the maximum level of control over their lighting, which effectively illuminates the room without too much glare.

Dim the Light to Your Personal Preference

Light fixtures such as pendants and glass globes tend to create bright spots in a room, which can be problematic for viewing television screens with direct glare and reflections on the glass. To create the perfect viewing atmosphere, Protzman suggests dimming light fixtures to a very low level. "Your eyes will be able to quickly adjust and adapt to the changes in light levels," he says.

According to Protzman, people tend to perceive smaller decreases in light level than what really changes. This means if you dim a light by what seems to be 30 percent in brightness, you will actually reduce the light level by as much as 90 percent. Not only do light dimmers allow you to create a media space to your liking, but, as an added bonus, they save energy as well.

To receive the best product selection and professional expertise, visit your local ALA-member retailer for media room lighting options.

For a list of ALA-member showrooms, please visit AmericanLightingAssoc.com