What are the guidelines for using flood lights versus spot lights in a home? My husband and I are experimenting with the different types and are confused about what looks best and where.

 

Flood lighting, such as par30 bulbs give a wider swath of light from the fixture, while the spot light will have a more concentrated beam of light, and can be directed to wash a wall, or highlight pictures, fireplaces, etc. Generally for downlighting, use the par30's. They are halogen and will give a better light. Hope this helps.

 

Actually you can get a par 30 in a flood, a narrow flood and a spot. The same as with a par 38.

I have used narrow floods in one application because they were 25 feet off the floor. If the light source was 10 feet away from the intended lighted area, I would have use floods to cover the intended area.

I also used a spot from about 15 feet away to light up an area about 3 ft x 3 ft. to highlight the crucifix on the wall.

You also have different wattages in each lamp size as well.Then you have different types of light (halogen, incandescent, etc. )

What you need to do is figure out what you want to light. Are you "highlighting" something. Are you providing for a general light? How bright do you want the lights to be? Do you want a white light or a warm light?

there are lighting sales houses that can assist you in determining the correct light for whatever application you have. There are charts (photometric charts) available that will give a pattern for a particular bulb at a given distance as well as the lumens available at a given distance. That will help you decide what spread of pattern you need and what wattage you need.

There are pro's that do this for a living. Many offer help at no charge (with hopes of selling lamps and fixtures of course)