(Topic ID: 248027)

Gameroom lighting placement to reduce glare

By Lido

4 years ago



Topic Stats

  • 8 posts
  • 7 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 4 years ago by pinfixer
  • Topic is favorited by 1 Pinsider

You

Linked Games

No games have been linked to this topic.

    Topic Gallery

    View topic image gallery

    9712601E-E01F-495C-9D93-2D8D5174EB1B (resized).png
    7B124D39-5DB5-4035-8BEA-6F2FE61B575D (resized).jpeg
    IMG_9700 (resized).JPG
    IMG_8872 (resized).JPG
    Game-Room-layout-and-light-placement (resized).jpg
    #1 4 years ago

    I'm getting ready to wire up the game room and was hoping to get some input on the lighting. There are a few Pinside threads on this subject already which have helped me put this layout together (I also thought I remembered some standard placement advice that was posted in the 90s on RGP, but unfortunately I haven't been able to find that info). My eyesight isn't great, so playing with the games' lighting alone won't be fun for me. The goal is to light up all the games without creating much glare.

    The room is roughly 15x14, so the plan is to put two rows of five games each facing each other along the two shorter walls. The ceiling is about 9' high. I'm thinking of putting a single row of four can lights down the middle of the room with each light spaced so it will be behind the player and between each of the games that are next to each other (i.e. not centered above each game/player). There will be a dimmer switch to control them so that could help mitigate glare a bit as well. I'd probably also put three of the same lights directly above each row of games on a separate switch for times when I'm working on them.

    Obviously it would be nice if the setup allowed for me to reduce the number of games to four on each wall in case the room feels too cramped and still not have terrible glare from those lights.

    Here's a rough sketch in case my description wasn't clear:

    Game-Room-layout-and-light-placement (resized).jpgGame-Room-layout-and-light-placement (resized).jpg
    #2 4 years ago

    I used rails with spot lights pointing to create ambient light.

    IMG_8872 (resized).JPGIMG_8872 (resized).JPGIMG_9700 (resized).JPGIMG_9700 (resized).JPG
    #3 4 years ago

    Also. Color changing LED smart light bulbs work for reducing glare for those that don’t want to move fixtures. When I want to play I change the color to something with zero to no glare.

    #4 4 years ago
    Quoted from Lido:

    I'm getting ready to wire up the game room and was hoping to get some input on the lighting. There are a few Pinside threads on this subject already which have helped me put this layout together (I also thought I remembered some standard placement advice that was posted in the 90s on RGP, but unfortunately I haven't been able to find that info). My eyesight isn't great, so playing with the games' lighting alone won't be fun for me. The goal is to light up all the games without creating much glare.
    The room is roughly 15x14, so the plan is to put two rows of five games each facing each other along the two shorter walls. The ceiling is about 9' high. I'm thinking of putting a single row of four can lights down the middle of the room with each light spaced so it will be behind the player and between each of the games that are next to each other (i.e. not centered above each game/player). There will be a dimmer switch to control them so that could help mitigate glare a bit as well. I'd probably also put three of the same lights directly above each row of games on a separate switch for times when I'm working on them.
    Obviously it would be nice if the setup allowed for me to reduce the number of games to four on each wall in case the room feels too cramped and still not have terrible glare from those lights.
    Here's a rough sketch in case my description wasn't clear:[quoted image]

    Seems like a solid plan.

    I have a similar 5 a side setup without the middle lights. I can confirm you'll get tons of glare from those green lights.

    I cant put the middle row in without significant plaster removal (2 story house).

    I do have a dimmer so that mitigates it some what. I mainly play with lights off and let the ambient light from machines be enough to play.

    Check out the reflections on the roof when the lights are on full brightness!

    7B124D39-5DB5-4035-8BEA-6F2FE61B575D (resized).jpeg7B124D39-5DB5-4035-8BEA-6F2FE61B575D (resized).jpeg

    #5 4 years ago

    I put 6 can lights in center of room (18x15) with dimmer. Play with dimmer on 10%. Lighting. I like the idea of putting lights on a second switch to work on pins. Looks like I'm not finished with my lights just yet. Thanks for the idea.

    #6 4 years ago

    I have small xenon track lights than can be aimed and are on a dimmer. Positioned back from the machines but aimed down. The dimmer is key to getting the right amount of light.

    9712601E-E01F-495C-9D93-2D8D5174EB1B (resized).png9712601E-E01F-495C-9D93-2D8D5174EB1B (resized).png
    #7 4 years ago

    Thanks for the feedback everyone. I've read a few suggestions about can lights that can be aimed, but was thinking that straight down would cover both sides of the room. I'll have to see the can lights and how spread the light is. Also considering perimeter lighting above some molding.

    #8 4 years ago

    Great points everyone. When I did my game room I found indirect lighting (as mentioned) softened many of the "hot spots" caused by can or pendant lighting. Lido has seen my game room and I also use advertising lights (soda, beer, etc.) for additional ambient lighting. If I were to put games against a wall I'd probably make two circuits, one with the cans and overhead lighting as suggested, and then a 2nd circuit with strip lighting with color changing option (also mentioned) but place the strip lighting in such a way that it is behind the head of each of the 5 games on each side. This will create a warm "glow" throughout the room. Or place the strip lights behind a barrier in the ceiling for a similar effect.

    One thing I would also take into consideration is the 1st circuit with can and pendant lighting. This circuit can have the lamps directed actually towards the game so when servicing, polishing, repairing, etc there's abundant lighting in the room minimizing the need for a flashlight or auxiliary light source. I also agree as I've gotten older I like having lots of light on my games when working on them. Nothing is more frustrating to me than trying to hold a lamp in one hand while trying to fix something with the other

    While we're on the topic, also consider using LED lighting as the extra heat from incandescent lamps is really not something we need more of here in So Cal. Also, some of the prices being thrown around look crazy high to me. I'd befriend an electrical contractor and get a better wholesale deal. I've also found great lighting deals at Habitat for Humanity stores which get overstock from a lot of the big box hardware stores and often it's still new in it's packaging.

    Finally, if you decide to use hardwood flooring and have a hard ceiling it would probably help to add some sound deadening to the room as well. However I'm just mentioning that to the group at large as I know Lido has a great ear for audio. LOL

    Reply

    Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.

    Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!

    Donate to Pinside

    Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!


    This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/gameroom-lighting-placement-to-reduce-glare and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.

    Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.