Lights is needed in every room. You also will need electricity in every room. So what did I learn from my experience?
The cost of your HDB now includes wiring. For new flats, HDB will provide the wiring for your lights, for all the typical spots. For my four room, that means one for each room, and one just outside the master bedroom toilet. The switch panels will also be provided. All wiring is built into the walls.
Shifting those power points. If you want to customise the locations, your contractor will need to get an electrician to come in and re-lay the wires, which can include some drilling work. That's why you got to work on the lighting and switch locations before the painting starts.
Decide where the power points will go. You should get the electrician to move any power socket points and light locations to your preferred locations. For power points, I suggest you should take note where your electronics will be placed, like television, dressing table, work desk, refrigerator. Do consider have one near the dining table, to power that steamboat in the future.
For lights, you can get them to lay extra light points, e.g. I got them to set up a second light point in my corridor wall to provide more light there.
Power for your kitchen. Take note where your power points will be in the kitchen. One needs to be near the stove to power the hob, and have a few to power your appliances like rice cookers, ovens, etc.
Where I got my lights from. I bought my lights mostly from Lightings.com.sg. It has the best prices I can find. After travelling to so many shops, they provided me with value for money. I actually visited their store at Tradehub21. I feel that you just have to see the lights light up before buying them. I did not include light installation, relying on my contractor's men to install instead. Make sure you know the price you got, does it cover delivery and installation.
Becoming an light expert in a 5 minutes. To become an expert on buying bulbs, check out this video by the US government. It will teach you all about lumens. It will also talk about warm or cool lights. That means whether they are more yellowish, or more white respectively. You can also have a mix of the two, to get a more balanced light effect in your room.
Replacing them in the future. See if you can get some spare bulbs from the light store. I intentionally purchase lights that use the same size light bulbs, so that I can save on how many spares bulbs I need to keep in my storeroom. There are different sizes of bulbs and tubes, so take note what wattage yours require and what sizes. So that next time you don't buy the wrong replacements.
I personally keep a number of Phillips bulbs. They are pretty reliable, and I can use them for most of my lighting.
Paying S$3.90 for a ceiling lamp. For the extremely budget conscious people, IKEA's LOCK Ceiling Lamp actually have a very simple lighting frame you can use for places like your store room and corridors. It can support up to 60W bulbs, providing around 400 lumens.
Also note that the IKEA's bulbs that they place near the LOCK Ceiling Lamps are 11W bulbs. If you need brighter ones, look for other choices.
LED Lights are really nice. I have looked at LED lights as well. Very cool looking and environmentally friendly due to their low power usage. But unfortunately, i avoided them, because the savings you could have from using them, is offset by the costs of replacing them when they fail. And for a LED strip or panel, when one LED fails, you can't just replace that one LED. The whole strip needs to be replaced.
The cost of your HDB now includes wiring. For new flats, HDB will provide the wiring for your lights, for all the typical spots. For my four room, that means one for each room, and one just outside the master bedroom toilet. The switch panels will also be provided. All wiring is built into the walls.
Shifting those power points. If you want to customise the locations, your contractor will need to get an electrician to come in and re-lay the wires, which can include some drilling work. That's why you got to work on the lighting and switch locations before the painting starts.
Decide where the power points will go. You should get the electrician to move any power socket points and light locations to your preferred locations. For power points, I suggest you should take note where your electronics will be placed, like television, dressing table, work desk, refrigerator. Do consider have one near the dining table, to power that steamboat in the future.
For lights, you can get them to lay extra light points, e.g. I got them to set up a second light point in my corridor wall to provide more light there.
Power for your kitchen. Take note where your power points will be in the kitchen. One needs to be near the stove to power the hob, and have a few to power your appliances like rice cookers, ovens, etc.
Where I got my lights from. I bought my lights mostly from Lightings.com.sg. It has the best prices I can find. After travelling to so many shops, they provided me with value for money. I actually visited their store at Tradehub21. I feel that you just have to see the lights light up before buying them. I did not include light installation, relying on my contractor's men to install instead. Make sure you know the price you got, does it cover delivery and installation.
Becoming an light expert in a 5 minutes. To become an expert on buying bulbs, check out this video by the US government. It will teach you all about lumens. It will also talk about warm or cool lights. That means whether they are more yellowish, or more white respectively. You can also have a mix of the two, to get a more balanced light effect in your room.
Replacing them in the future. See if you can get some spare bulbs from the light store. I intentionally purchase lights that use the same size light bulbs, so that I can save on how many spares bulbs I need to keep in my storeroom. There are different sizes of bulbs and tubes, so take note what wattage yours require and what sizes. So that next time you don't buy the wrong replacements.
I personally keep a number of Phillips bulbs. They are pretty reliable, and I can use them for most of my lighting.
Paying S$3.90 for a ceiling lamp. For the extremely budget conscious people, IKEA's LOCK Ceiling Lamp actually have a very simple lighting frame you can use for places like your store room and corridors. It can support up to 60W bulbs, providing around 400 lumens.
Also note that the IKEA's bulbs that they place near the LOCK Ceiling Lamps are 11W bulbs. If you need brighter ones, look for other choices.
LED Lights are really nice. I have looked at LED lights as well. Very cool looking and environmentally friendly due to their low power usage. But unfortunately, i avoided them, because the savings you could have from using them, is offset by the costs of replacing them when they fail. And for a LED strip or panel, when one LED fails, you can't just replace that one LED. The whole strip needs to be replaced.
Check out the rest of my Renovation Blog
Master Bedroom | Bedroom 2 | Bedroom 3 | Bathrooms | Dining Room | Living Room | Shelter | Service Yard | Kitchen
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