Where should overhead kitchen lighting be pointed

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JoeNorm

Senior Member
Location
WA
The area in question is the countertop area of the kitchen with the sink and a little bit of work space. The ceiling above this area is in the neighborhood of 14ft tall. No uppers here. As you're standing at sink you are in a big bank of windows looking out at a nice view. To the right a couple feet is where the stove is, this will have cabinet lights and lights on range hood.

I thought about putting some sort of light at the top of the first window above the sink but then thought that might get a little "busy" in the trim details of the window. Could place around with some LED strip somewhere. Or the hanging pendants from the ceiling.
 

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
How about a lamp, perhaps a small floor-lamp, standing on the counter, with a goose-neck shape like the faucet, but bigger?
 

synchro

Senior Member
Location
Chicago, IL
Occupation
EE
The area in question is the countertop area of the kitchen with the sink and a little bit of work space. The ceiling above this area is in the neighborhood of 14ft tall. No uppers here. As you're standing at sink you are in a big bank of windows looking out at a nice view.
...
I thought about putting some sort of light at the top of the first window above the sink but then thought that might get a little "busy" in the trim details of the window. Could place around with some LED strip somewhere. Or the hanging pendants from the ceiling.
In your situation I think any pendant light suspended from the tall ceiling should be placed above the top of the window, so that it can't swing into the window glass. This may be obvious but I've seen dumber things out there.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
In your situation I think any pendant light suspended from the tall ceiling should be placed above the top of the window, so that it can't swing into the window glass. This may be obvious but I've seen dumber things out there.

Unless it is a window that opens and you frequently experience high winds, what is going to make it swing?

This is an interior designer decision more so than the average electrical installer decision, best to check with whoever that is, might just be the woman that is going to live there.
 

synchro

Senior Member
Location
Chicago, IL
Occupation
EE
Unless it is a window that opens and you frequently experience high winds, what is going to make it swing?
Kids that climb on the counter. They do whatever they can.
Someone accidentally letting go of the light after they swing it foreward to replace a bulb.
Earthquakes if they happen in that locality.
Murphy's Law.
Probably other things if I gave it more thought.

In a related story, a co-worker of mine told me that when he and his wife were young she saw a mouse on the floor and then jumped up onto the kitchen counter with a single leap! He said he wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it himself.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Kids that climb on the counter. They do whatever they can.
Someone accidentally letting go of the light after they swing it foreward to replace a bulb.
Earthquakes if they happen in that locality.
Murphy's Law.
Probably other things if I gave it more thought.

In a related story, a co-worker of mine told me that when he and his wife were young she saw a mouse on the floor and then jumped up onto the kitchen counter with a single leap! He said he wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it himself.
Common sense is don't do that again. We don't need extra rules for these kinds of things. Personal preference rules are ok, and are called design decisions. Pendant hanging in center of room can have similar "what if's", guess we need to ban all pendants now?
 

synchro

Senior Member
Location
Chicago, IL
Occupation
EE
Common sense is don't do that again. We don't need extra rules for these kinds of things. Personal preference rules are ok, and are called design decisions. Pendant hanging in center of room can have similar "what if's", guess we need to ban all pendants now?


In my post I was simply making a suggestion for the OP's specific case, and not mentioning or implying that there should be any rules:
In your situation I think any pendant light suspended from the tall ceiling should be placed above the top of the window, so that it can't swing into the window glass...
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
In my post I was simply making a suggestion for the OP's specific case, and not mentioning or implying that there should be any rules:
Ok. Still, some may want a luminaire to show through the window, pendants are mostly installed for appearance. And many other factors can go into whether it is likely to even see much physical abuse. Extra high ceiling like OP has may very well have a window that is pretty high to the top also, yet the bottom of luminaire can be pretty far from the ceiling before it is within reach of most people standing on the floor level.
 
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