Lighting Help

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mkjj123

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I'm in the process of building out a pool room in my basement and am on the final step of the pool table lighting. I built a recessed ceiling above the table and planned to build lights into that. I was planning to use flat panel LEDs but they aren't going to work, I'm now looking at other options and have a question, which I probably should have asked prior to finishing the ceiling. To keep the room 'open' and not block the view with a hanging light, I was going to mount lights right from the ceiling, so they'd be 7+" from the floor. In reading about light height, I'm finding that the lights should be mounted lower so as not to blind you when playing. If i keep the lights high enough, will this be OK and not be glaring on the eyes when looking across the table?

Thanks for any thougths and guidance on this.


Regards,
Michael
 
My idea has always been, keep the light on the table for playing. Then allow ambient lighting to light up the room to the desired amount.
 
I agree, and that's my intent. I don't want the light off the sides of the table. There is room lighting for the rest of the room. Will celing height lights be an issue with glare on the eyes?

Thanks for the response.
 
mkjj123 said:
I agree, and that's my intent. I don't want the light off the sides of the table. There is room lighting for the rest of the room. Will celing height lights be an issue with glare on the eyes?

Thanks for the response.
Click to expand...

Yes, very much so unless you use the right diffusers for the lights, they will probably still shine down in your eyes. I used two 4' three LED light troffers that I purchased at Homes Depot. Built the light and purchased the egg crate diffusers from a local lighting store. I ended up adjusting the height to get complete coverage on the table. There was still way too much light dispersion if I were to mount it on the ceiling. I know they make thicker diffusers, the ones in the picture are 3/4" if I remember correctly.

Aloha
 
Here is a picture with the light over the table, even with the diffusers, the light spreads out pretty far on the floor, and the light is just a 6' or so from the floor. With out the diffuser it would light the entire room and blind everybody in the process.

Good luck.

Aloha
 
We have a designed LED about to be released for just pool tables.
working on a release very soon proper light super long life and major reduction in electric consumption.
 
Blinding lights

I know this kind of out of left field, But as I was learning about product photography it really went into understanding glare.
Any smooth nonmetallic surfaces create polarized reflection aka ( glare ) .

In theory LED lighting should be the best type of lighting to buy.
First it doesn't emit heat and second ist that it is the type of lighting that doesn't produce polarized electromagnetic waves ( aka glare ) as long as the LED is not defused or reflected.............

Tungsten lighting produces heat and can be a safety hazard ..............
Florescent lighting and tungsten lighting produces polarized electromagnetic waves that when comes in contact with any non metallic smooth surface creates polarized reflection ( aka glare ) .

There are ways to filter out glare if it becomes a concern.........
 
The main problem with the lights being so high is that shadows develop under the rails and balls. This doesn't seem like a big deal but it affects my game quite a bit. You don't realize how much it affects your aiming when you can't clearly see the edge of a ball or the edge of a rail or the outline of the pocket. It's not the brightness of the light, it's the angle that the light is coming from so I would make sure that light is at the correct height if you're serious about pool. If this is just a rec room for your kids or something then I guess it's not a big deal but if you're going to mount a light you might as well do it right. Anything worth doing, is worth doing right.
 
buska95 said:
We have a designed LED about to be released for just pool tables.
working on a release very soon proper light super long life and major reduction in electric consumption.
Click to expand...

Is this the light that looks like a flat screen TV? I have a similar problem as the OP.
 
mkjj123 said:
I'm in the process of building out a pool room in my basement and am on the final step of the pool table lighting. I built a recessed ceiling above the table and planned to build lights into that. I was planning to use flat panel LEDs but they aren't going to work, I'm now looking at other options and have a question, which I probably should have asked prior to finishing the ceiling. To keep the room 'open' and not block the view with a hanging light, I was going to mount lights right from the ceiling, so they'd be 7+" from the floor. In reading about light height, I'm finding that the lights should be mounted lower so as not to blind you when playing. If i keep the lights high enough, will this be OK and not be glaring on the eyes when looking across the table?

Thanks for any thougths and guidance on this.


Regards,
Michael
Click to expand...

If you put linear polarized film over you lights there will be no glare ................
 
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ktrepal85 said:
The main problem with the lights being so high is that shadows develop under the rails and balls. This doesn't seem like a big deal but it affects my game quite a bit. You don't realize how much it affects your aiming when you can't clearly see the edge of a ball or the edge of a rail or the outline of the pocket. It's not the brightness of the light, it's the angle that the light is coming from so I would make sure that light is at the correct height if you're serious about pool. If this is just a rec room for your kids or something then I guess it's not a big deal but if you're going to mount a light you might as well do it right. Anything worth doing, is worth doing right.
Click to expand...
ktrepal85, thanks for the insights. I'm not a pro by any means, and i don't plan to be one, however I'm putting in a Diamond Pro Blue, so while I'm not a pro, I would like the room to be pro-quality.

As for your remarks on shadows when light is higher, I would think the higher the light the less of a shadow you'd get, since the light is shining more directly straight down. I'm thinking of the shadows on the balls, but maybe you're referring to shadows under the rails?


Thanks
 
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