The lighting plan

The Lighting Plan

Once you have decided on the lighting scheme you want to use, the next step is communicating your ideas to contractors and electricians - and for that you'll need to create a 'lighting plan'.

The Lighting Plan

This can be a scaled drawing of the ceiling and a scaled drawing of the floor, either combined on one sheet or separate on two sheets, with all the lighting marked on.

For wall lights, you should use elevation drawings to mark their height and positioning - around 1750 mm is my preferred height.

You will also need a comprehensive key to accompany the plans, explaining what type of lighting each different mark represents. Include as much detail as you can about each light effect, so that the right fitting is installed in the right place.

Next, you should consider the circuit lines, deciding which lights are linked and how. These can be shown by connecting each of the lights you want to be on the same circuit with dotted lines and having different colours for each circuit.

The Specification

Once the lighting plan is complete, you can enter the specification phase. There is typically a specification for each type of lighting included in your plan and will detail the type of control, any equipment required, the colour temperature and beam widths if required.

The Decorative Schedule

Often worked on closely with the interior designer, this document will show visuals of each decorative light. It's also an opportunity to work collaboratively to decide on the best light for a specific space.

The Control Schedule

Next, you can move on to creating the control schedule. This will list each light fitting and will cover details such as what the light source is, what the load is, whether it requires a remote driver and whether it dims or not.