One of the first thing homeowners finishing their basements consider is lighting. Basements typically get little to no natural light, which influences the psyche. Cutting new windows and doors might not be in the budget, but professionals who do basement finishing in Glastonbury, CT, can show homeowners how to make the most of their basement lighting.
The Mind
Everyone knows by now that natural light lifts the mood and makes us happier. Its opposite is Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. This is when the mind is affected by small amounts of natural light in winter. You also see SAD in offices with no windows. Spending a long period of time with no or little natural light would be unpleasant and might explain the crotchety nature of the person waiting on you in that office.
Lighting Can Get Around This
Bulbs and tubes come in two flavors – daylight and full spectrum. There are two measurements to which to pay attention: Kelvin and color rendering index or CRI. Kelvin is the measurement of color temperature. The scale goes from 1,000K to 10,000K.
A good rule of thumb is that the sun at high noon is at 5700K. You want to avoid bluer light, due to circadian rhythm disruptions such as blue light from computer screens and TVs.
CRI is the measurement of how faithfully a color is seen for what it is. In this case, the higher the number the better the color rendering. Ninety percent is considered the best.
What It Means for You
Full spectrum bulbs and tubes represent the range of light from orange to blue. Daylight bulbs and tubes represent just the white light range. In basement finishing in Glastonbury, CT, full spectrum would represent the whole range of daylight light and would be best in this setting.
