Room by room · for Android
Draw the room, place ceiling lights, wall lamps, floor lamps and LED strips with your finger, and see an estimate of how bright the room may be. Then take the plan to a qualified electrician.
Coming soon to Google Play
The Android app is not in the store yet.
2,200 K · warm white
Example data The sample living room in these screens, 4.2 × 5.4 m, layout “Downlights”
01 Plan
2,700 K · warm white
Create a project for each room with its width, length and ceiling height, choose what the room is for, then put the lights where you want them.
Four kinds of light, each with its own symbol on the plan
Dashed lit areas are notional. The plan shows each light and the notional area it lights, worked out from its beam angle and height. The circles are a picture of coverage: real luminaires have no hard edge, and the circles are not used in the lux estimate.
02 Estimate
3,000 K · warm white
The app estimates the room’s average illuminance in lux with the lumen method. It is one figure for the whole room, and you can follow how it was reached.
The lumen method
lux = total lumens × utilisation factor × maintenance factor ÷ floor area
Example data, sample living room 7,070 lm × 0.60 × 0.80 ÷ 22.7 m² = about 150 lux
Both factors are explained in the app and can be changed: pick a light, medium or dark room finish, or set your own value. The defaults are simplifying assumptions, not measured values.
The estimate is set against indicative light levels for household tasks, such as general lighting, reading, kitchen worktops or a bathroom mirror, for living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms and home offices.
General guidance, not a standard. There is no official standard for how bright the rooms of a private home must be. The ranges in the app span what publicly available lighting guidance suggests for household tasks. Treat them as a starting point and trust your own comfort.
03 Compare
4,000 K · neutral white
Create several layouts of the same room, for example downlights versus a pendant and lamps, and compare them by estimated brightness, total power and equipment cost.
Order the layouts by
Brightness is the lumen-method average for the whole room with this room’s factors.
04 List and energy
5,000 K · neutral white
A list of the lights you need with quantities, characteristics and estimated cost, grouped by type. Prices are your own estimates for the luminaires only. Installation, drivers, switches, cable and the electrician’s work are not included.
Enter how many hours a day the lights are on to see the indicative yearly energy use in kWh. Type the unit rate shown on your own bill or tariff to see an estimated yearly running cost. The app has no built-in prices. Standing charges are not included.
Example data, with a unit rate of 25p per kWh typed in 75.8 W × 4 h × 365 days ÷ 1,000 = 110.67 kWh × 25p = £27.67 a year
05 Export
6,500 K · cool white
Share the project through the Android share sheet, or print it. The PDF shows the numbered plan, the position of every light, the luminaire list and how the figures were estimated.
For discussion with a qualified electrician
The export shows where you would like the lights and what they are. It contains no wiring, circuit or cable information. The electrician must check the technical safety of the installation.
Limits
It is one average for the whole room. It does not calculate the light at particular points, how even the light is, glare, shadows, daylight, or whether anything complies with a standard. It counts every lumen the same, whatever the fitting or the direction it points.
Lighting Design Planner helps you decide where lights go and estimates how bright the room may be. It gives no wiring, circuit, cable or installation instructions and checks nothing about electrical safety. A qualified electrician must check the technical safety of the installation.
Bathrooms and other special locations have additional requirements that the app does not check. Show your electrician where you would like the lights and let them decide what can go there.
Use the estimate to compare ideas and to prepare a conversation with a qualified electrician or lighting designer.
No. It is a planning estimate: one average illuminance for the whole room by the lumen method, with factors you can see and change. It does not work out the light at individual points, uniformity or glare, and it does not check compliance with any standard.
They span what publicly available lighting guidance suggests for household tasks. They are indicative general guidance for homes, not a standard and not a requirement.
No. It gives no wiring, circuit, cable or installation instructions. Discuss your plan with a qualified electrician, who must check the technical safety of the installation.
No. The running cost uses the unit rate you type in from your own bill, and the equipment cost uses the prices you enter for each light. The app has no built-in prices.
No. There is no account, and the app has no internet permission. Everything is saved on your phone.
It is free, with no adverts and no in-app purchases.
Coming soon to Google Play
The Android app is not in the store yet.
Questions or suggestions: [email protected]
