Kitchens are replacing the living room as the heart of the house. Increasingly, family members are drawn to the kitchen where they can talk about their day as mom cooks dinner. For those who are blessed with a spacious kitchen, it can also be a multi-tasking room where the kids work on their homework and dad reads the papers. Lighting, then, becomes an important consideration. Smaller kitchens, on the other hand, may not be suitable for reading but you will still need to properly light up your work areas. And who says you cannot chat in a cramped area?

Unlike in the past when we only had incandescent bulbs, there are now other lighting options, such as fluorescent lights including the compact screw-on versions, LED light bulbs, and halogen bulbs.

Incandescent bulbs, although they can be used for diverse uses, are on the way out because of their high power usage and their comparatively short lifespan. It is estimated that they can last only up to a maximum of 2,000 hours.

Fluorescent lights are cheaper to run but the color of their light is unpleasant and, worse, they have a flicker effect that is ultimately depressing to some people. Also, these lights contain small amounts of mercury. Compact versions use the same technology as the standard models so they have the same advantages and disadvantages. Their long lifespan, estimated up to 10,000 hours, is a further advantage.

LED lights are quite expensive compared to the other lighting options but they can last up to 60,000 hours of operation and have low operation costs. These do not need filaments that burn out thus they last much longer.

Halogen lights, like incandescent bulbs, use a tungsten filament to produce light. Unlike them, however, halogens use a quartz casing and contain gas from the halogen group instead of argon or nitrogen as in the incandescent bulbs. The properties of the halogen gases allow for a longer bulb life span, about 4,000 hours. Halogen bulbs also produce more light per unit of energy, that is, they are brighter yet more energy efficient.

When planning for your kitchen lights, be sure to position them in places where they can light up your working spaces. If you need to install more than one light for adequate lighting, do not hesitate to do so. One of the most common mistakes when lighting up a kitchen is to use a single bulb hanging in the middle of the room.

Pendant or mini-pendants often work for island worktops. If you have cabinets over your countertops, you can install lights beneath them. Track lights mounted on the ceiling can also be used. These are flexible and can be pointed to any place in the room. For ambient light, close-to-ceiling lights or set of lights can provide you with soft lighting. Bigger kitchens can even have chandeliers to dress them up.

Halogen bulbs can be used for all these applications including ambient lighting. They are especially suited for mini pendants and track lights, and because they can generate more light, they are best for lighting up work areas.