Experiences with an online lighting consultation?

Hello everyone,

are there any homeowners here who have used the lighting consultation service of a lighting designer via the internet? For this, you have to send the building plans by email / contact form and apparently pay about 200 EUR for 1-3 rooms up to 100 m².

Is it worth it?

If yes, where have you had good experiences?

Or did you do the lighting planning of your house yourself? If yes, in which rooms did you decide on spotlights and why.

Let us know what you think about the topic of lighting (-consultation).

Thanks and regards

That is some easy money!!!
You can surely mark burn points as well, right? Otherwise, plan lots of window areas so it gets sufficiently bright fairly quickly.

But that doesn't help you much at night... I would take a look at what is available nearby. It's currently rather difficult to make an appointment on-site because of Corona. We found one in our area and had him show us in his "Lichtraum" what light and lighting mean and how they make a difference. We were much wiser afterward. I initially planned almost all spots everywhere (and far too many, too), but the planner first made the basic lighting based on our plans, for a flat rate in the low three-digit range. Before we lay the electricity and KNX, he will come again for a construction site appointment and further details will be discussed. That is still part of the planning. Then we will get suggestions for suitable lights and can still optimize the current plan.

That doesn't help you that much at night... I would take a look at what is available in the area. At the moment, it is rather difficult to get an appointment on site due to Corona. We found one in our area and had him show us in his "light room" what light and lighting means and makes. We were much wiser afterwards.

At first, I had planned spots almost everywhere (and way too many), the planner first made the basic lighting based on our plans, for a flat rate in the low three-digit range.

Before we lay electricity and KNX, he comes again for a construction site appointment and further details are discussed. That still belongs to the planning.

Then we get proposals for suitable lights and can optimize the current planning further.

True, but at night I sleep. Joking aside. I have a lot of U-Rail from Paulmann in the ground floor and in the bathrooms, and indeed you can do something wrong (especially in the kitchen), but they also offer online support on how to position things. Everything else is common sense and a few hours of online research.

But if you have absolutely no plan, from my point of view, on-site planning would be preferable.

I am skeptical about that.

What types of results does the service provider deliver?
Locations for ignition points?
Recommendations for beam angles?
Recommendations for light quantity?
Recommendations for light color?
Recommendations for CRI?
Recommendations for specific products?
...
How does he address your wishes, preferences, and lifestyle habits?

If you have the necessary cash, I believe that personal consultation and lighting planning would definitely make sense.
Reasonable lighting planning is, in my opinion, more complicated than one thinks.
However, I would also be skeptical about an online plan like hampshire already wrote.
Probably still better than nothing though.

I would plan spots in the hallways (alternatively wall lamps).
In the kitchen above the work surfaces. Above the kitchen island I would prefer pendant lights.
Wall spots on the stairs (alternatively wall lamps or LED strips).
And in the bathroom combined with backlit mirrors and wall lamps.
No spots in living, dining, and sleeping areas. If then only as decorative wall lighting.
The furniture definitely has to be in place before starting with the lighting planning.

If possible, divide the lighting into three groups.
Basic, task, and decorative lighting.
Of course, it’s all a matter of money.

I don’t believe you can make a reasonable lighting plan after a few hours of online research.
If you only start planning on site in the shell construction phase, then you have already lost.
Unless you just put a lamp in the middle of the room.