CE Pro November/December 2024 - 9

Lighting
FIXTURES | CONTROLS | MOTORIZED SHADES
Let Go of Thinking About Lighting
Design in Usual Layers
By David Warfel
For generations, task,
ambient, and accent layers
of light have led many, me
included, toward a brighter
future. But a lot has
changed in lighting design.
There is nothing inherently
wrong with task,
ambient, and accent layers
of light. These three types
of lighting sometimes go
by other pseudonyms like
" play of brilliants " or " sparkle, "
but in any form they
have held the hopes and
dreams of lighting professionals,
design pros, and
clients for many years.
As I look around today,
I see a nearby floor lamp
that provides all three
layers - good strong task
light directed down toward
the chair, soft ambient light
reflected off the ceiling, and
comforting accent filtered
through the lampshade.
So perhaps we shouldn't
completely abandon task,
ambient, and accent to
retire... but to simply step
aside into an advisory role.
The wide world of lighting
has changed dramatically
over the past 20 years,
yet we still rely heavily on
language and concepts that
are older than I am. Task,
ambient, and accent are still
cepro.com
used as stand-ins for good
lighting, but they struggle
to encompass all the
complexities of our modern
approaches.
Energy conservation
was the primary focus of
lighting design when I was
starting out 25 years ago;
an energy-first focus might
render both ambient and
accent lighting wasteful.
Now, energy conservation
is merely one of many
important modern design
considerations.
There is growing interest
in preserving night skies
from light pollution (and
saving energy and money
at the same time). Light's
impact on human health
and wellbeing is increasingly
well-documented, yet we
struggle to change lighting
to respond to the research.
And we have smart light
bulbs that change colors
in sync with daylight; this
would have been nearly
impossible to achieve when
I started out.
Unfortunately, task, ambient,
and accent layers must
be stretched to encompass
these and other newer aspects
of good lighting. They
just were not built to hold
the future. Indeed, we will
This space's total lighting is soft, more inviting, more
comfortable, with little glare even while appearing brighter
thanks to its designer's insights.
consult that trio from time
to time, but in reality we are
going to do things differently
from here on out.
Relying on outdated
concepts, terminology,
techniques, and technologies
puts the industry at
risk of failure. Think I am
exaggerating? Visit a brandnew
million-dollar home
filled with wafer lights, see
the glare bomb pendants
over the kitchen island, and
listen to the designer talk
about undercabinet task
light as part of the " great
lighting " in the home.
Today's lighting world
would be nearly unrecognizable
by the first users of
task, ambient, and accent.
They would be astounded
by our ability to submerge
lights in the bottom of flower
vases, by the proliferation
of solar novelties that litter
our landscapes, by light
bulbs you can talk to and
strip lights that can party.
I believe that they'd also
urge us to keep up with the
times.
DAVID WARFEL is Chief
Evangelist of Light at
design firm Light Can Help
You (lightcanhelpyou.com).
November/December 2024 CE Pro | 9
LIGHT CAN HELP YOU
http://www.lightcanhelpyou.com http://www.cepro.com

CE Pro November/December 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CE Pro November/December 2024

CE Pro November/December 2024 - Intro
CE Pro November/December 2024 - Cover1
CE Pro November/December 2024 - Cover2
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 1
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 2
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 3
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 4
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 5
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 6
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 7
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 8
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 9
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 10
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 11
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 12
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 13
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 14
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 15
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 16
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CE Pro November/December 2024 - 18
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 19
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 20
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 21
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CE Pro November/December 2024 - 32
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 33
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 34
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 35
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 36
CE Pro November/December 2024 - 37
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CE Pro November/December 2024 - 72
CE Pro November/December 2024 - Cover3
CE Pro November/December 2024 - Cover4
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https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/cepro/october_2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/cepro/september_2021
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