Track lighting is often used by people who are looking for a versatile and interchangeable way to light particular sections of a room.
Track Lighting Explained
Track lights involve placing one or several lighting fixtures upon a track that allows the fixtures to be moved or replaced as needed. Many people use this type of lighting to accentuate pieces of art or other items.
Some designers use this form of lighting to create a visually appealing lighting pattern that can be changed if necessary. These adaptable lights are quite popular among designers and homeowners.
Find Lighting
Walk into any home improvement store and you will undoubtedly find plenty of different track light offerings. This lighting comes in a wide variety of colors and shapes, and the interchangeable capabilities of this type of lighting means that installing it does not necessarily marry a person to a certain look in their home. Lighting can also be purchased online from many different resources:
- The Home Depot offers many different types of track lights. Whether the homeowner is looking for a simple block of lighting or an artsy light display, it can be found in this store. Home Depot also has workshops to demonstrate to buyers how to correctly install track lights.
- Lamps Plus offers a dazzling array of track light systems, including some very intricate and interesting arrangements. This store offers ready-to-install systems, custom-made systems, and complete kits that come in a wide variety of colors and designs.
- ATG Lighting caters to lighting professionals, but will sell products to the public as well. There is no shortage of available products from this company, as they carry more than 200,000 different types of fixtures including plenty of track lighting options.
Install Lighting
The degree of difficulty of installing track lights depends on a few different factors:
- The location of the installation
- The proficiency of the installer
- The complexity of the system being installed
A simple track of lighting is not incredibly difficult to install, but not all track light systems are on simple tracks. Spiral tracks, angular tracks, and geometrically designed tracks are all options for this type of lighting, and the more complicated the setup, the higher the degree of difficulty when it comes to the installation.
Although there are plenty of lighting professionals available to install lighting within a home or business, many people prefer to take on the task themselves. There are countless books and video tutorials on the subject, and almost every major home improvement store will occasionally host a do-it-yourself session on installing various types of lighting. Online tutorials are also available in abundance:
- Arcadian Lighting offers tutorials online for a variety of lighting installation projects, including the installation of track lights.
- Better Home Organization not only offers step-by-step tutorials, but also lists different ways to decide on the placement of lighting.
- Merillat offers a comprehensive list of lighting tutorials under their News & Information tab which are easy to follow. The emphasis on this website is on kitchen lighting.
There are plenty of other online tutorials available. Readers should be sure to choose a tutorial from a reliable source so you know the instructions are accurate.
Energy Efficiency
There are several different ways to make the track lighting in your home more energy efficient. The placement of the lights can be laid out so the least amount of energy is needed to sufficiently illuminate the room. Energy efficient light bulbs can be installed to use the least amount of energy needed while still maintaining brilliance. Energy efficiency tips can be found on the Alliance to Save Energy website or by requesting an energy audit through your local power company. Although the energy audit may not reveal items specific to the track lighting systems within the home, the overall knowledge gained from the audit will undoubtedly reveal ways to lessen environmental impact.
