Free, in-depth lighting guides — written by a lighting industry professional

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Free reference guides

Everything below is written from real fieldwork, not repackaged spec sheets — no login, no paywall.

🌿 Outdoor & Garden Lighting
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How Far Does Outdoor Light Really Travel?
Lumens, lux, glare and light trespass explained
  • The inverse square law, worked through a real example
  • AS/NZS 1158.3.1 path lighting targets
  • Real fixture wattages by application
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Why Fitting Construction Matters
Materials, coatings and IP ratings for exterior lighting
  • Why IP rating alone doesn't predict corrosion resistance
  • AS/NZS 2312 / AS 4312 coastal corrosivity zones
  • What actually fails first, and what to spec instead
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🔌
In-Ground Fittings & IP68 Joins
Water ingress, cable entry, and doing the join properly
  • The two routes water actually takes into a fitting
  • Step-by-step for a proper direct-bury IP68 join
  • Why the cable join matters as much as the housing
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Decorative & Accent Lighting
Festoon, fairy lights, colour-changing and tree lighting
  • Real festoon spacing and catenary wire guidance
  • RGB vs RGBW vs RGBCCT explained honestly
  • Uplighting vs moonlighting for trees
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Fittings That Live in Water
Materials, water chemistry and cable connections
  • Why "submersible" isn't one single spec
  • Freshwater vs chlorinated vs salt-chlorinated pools
  • Why connections must never sit below the waterline
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🔦 LED Strip & Driver Basics
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How to Install LED Strip Lighting
The complete installation guide
  • Substrate selection and surface prep
  • Strip quality, colour temperature and neon silicone
  • Wiring and commissioning done properly
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How to Choose an LED Strip Driver
Voltage, wattage headroom and common wiring mistakes
  • 12V vs 24V — which to use and when
  • The 80% derating rule, explained properly
  • Five wiring mistakes that kill strips early
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🎛️
Dimming Compatibility & Why LEDs Fail Early
Two problems that are usually the same problem
  • TRIAC, 0–10V, DALI and PWM explained plainly
  • The compatibility trap behind most flicker complaints
  • Why "the LED died" is usually "the driver died"
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🍽️
Cove & Under-Cabinet Lighting Done Right
The details that separate clean from amateur
  • Concealment technique and colour consistency
  • Heat management in enclosed cabinet voids
  • The "dotty strip" problem — SMD vs COB explained
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📖 Lighting Fundamentals
☀️
What is Lux? Understanding Lighting Levels
Lux vs lumens vs candela, and how to calculate it
  • Recommended lux levels by room and task
  • AS/NZS 1680 standards, explained plainly
  • How to actually calculate lux for a room
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🎯
Choosing the Right LED: CCT, CRI & Beam Angle
Plus why light is a direct physiological input
  • Real CCT, CRI and beam angle defaults by application
  • Melanopsin, circadian response and 1800K night lighting
  • Why flicker sensitivity varies between people
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📊
How to Read a Photometric Datasheet / IES File
Without being a lighting designer
  • What an IES file actually tells you
  • What it doesn't tell you — and why that matters
  • Free viewer tools worth knowing about
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🪞
How to Light a Face Well in a Bathroom
Not just the room — with real diagrams
  • Mirror width bands and why edge-only sconces fail
  • Why diffuser material determines shadowing
  • The physics behind the bounce technique
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🌙
How Artificial Light Affects You — Melatonin & Melanopsin
A deep dive into circadian lighting design
  • CIE S 026 and melanopic EDI — why lux isn't the whole story
  • WELL Building Standard's actual circadian benchmarks
  • A practical framework, scaled from fixed CCT to tunable white
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🌀
All Things Ceiling Fans
Sizing, styles, winter benefits & the new LED options
  • Sizing by room area, and the 2.1m AU clearance rule
  • AC vs DC motors, and the winter destratification trick
  • The "strobe trap" — lighting placed near a spinning fan
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Pendants Over the Island AND the Dining Table?
How to avoid it looking too busy
  • Why dining gets the statement pendant, not the island
  • Three real configurations, with a clear default
  • The practical reason islands are the wrong spot for it
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These guides are free reference material only — not a substitute for professional electrical or lighting design advice. All installation work must be carried out by a licensed electrician. Read full disclaimer →