How should you light a room with an aquarium?
by Randall Whitehead, IALD
Q: "Where is the best place to put lighting in an open-plan living room that features a large aquarium positioned in the wall where a TV would usually be? I worry that hanging lamps will reflect off the glass tank."
Randall Whitehead: Oh, I’m full-to-the-brim with suggestions. If the light inside the tank is brighter or equal in brightness to the light in the room, there will be little or no reflection off the tank. This is the same theory we use when lighting a garden. In order for people to see the garden from the inside without looking through a reflection on the glass, the light outside needs to be equal to or brighter than it is inside.
Most aquarium lights are on the bright side, plus you could place your hanging lamps on a dimmer. Another option is to use pendants and/or sconces that are opaque (solid) or semi-opaque (slightly translucent), so they would provide ambient, indirect light without causing a reflection on the glass of the tank.
Q: “Who makes a UL-approved recessed LED fixture? Permlight sells one that is apparently UL-approved, Title 24-compliant and able to retrofit into Juno or Halo housings by cutting off the socket and hardwiring it into the housing. According to Juno, removing the socket and putting any other brand’s product in their housing voids the warranty and the UL approval. Are there any other options out there, or am I lucky enough to have stumped the lighting guru? If so, what’s the prize?”
Randall Whitehead: Stump me? I don’t think so. But, I do admit that the questions have been getting more intriguing as of late. Regarding Permlight, they did team up with Progress Lighting, which offers a UL-listed/Title 24-compliant housing and trim combo (Progress P87-ATQL housing with the P8058-30QL27K trim). Another company to look at is Cree Lighting (formally LLF); they offer a housing and trim combo that is also UL-listed and meets Title 24 requirements (H4-LR4E30-LT430A). I’m sure there are other manufacturers of recessed LEDs out there, but these are the two I have tested so far.
By the way, if you do stump me, the prize is any of the large stuffed animals from the top shelf, or a chance at what’s behind door number three. I’d go with the door.
