Masterlighting

What is Masterlighting?

Masterlighting comes to us via Homelighting, a lighting wholesaler from Veria in Greece, founded in 1986. Homelighting carries the brand as Masterlighting Architectural Lighting: sleek lines of light in aluminium and plastic with built-in LEDs, for above a table, a kitchen island or a desk, or as a continuous line on the ceiling.

You do not replace a bulb in a Masterlighting profile: the LEDs are built in. For these profiles, the supplier states 3000 K, a colour rendering of Ra 90 or higher and a two-year guarantee. With Ra 90, wood, skin and food look natural, which matters above a worktop or dining table; more on that in colour rendering (CRI).

How do you read a Masterlighting code?

Each version has a code such as MP44.56P-143-S-3-O-OF-WH. The parts you need:

• MP44.56: the profile, 44.5 mm wide and 56 mm high. There are three widths (27.5, 44.5 and 61.5 mm) and two heights (56 and 70 mm).
• P, C or T after the profile: P hangs from suspension cables, C goes on the ceiling, T is a 48-volt ceiling version that is dimmable.
• 143: the length in centimetres. The lengths go in steps of 28 cm from 59 to 451 cm.
• S or H: standard or high light output.
• WH or BL: white or black.

Note: the product names in our shop start with Homelighting, because that is how the wholesaler supplies them. The brand is Masterlighting.

Which length and which light output should you choose?

Start with the length. Above a table or island, leave some space on both sides, so that the line follows the furniture and does not stick out beyond it: a 143 cm profile suits a 200 cm table, and a 171 or 199 cm profile a 240 cm island. How high a pendant should hang above the table is explained in pendant light above the dining table.

Then choose the light output. At the same length, H gives about 65 per cent more light than S. S is usually enough above a dining table or in a living room, where the profile is not the only light source. H is intended for a workspace, a kitchen worktop or a high ceiling. Because most versions are not dimmable, that choice is final: if in doubt, take a T version, which you can dim. How many lumens a room needs is worked out with the lumen calculator.

The width of the profile is mainly a question of proportion: 27.5 mm looks like a slender line, 61.5 mm like a beam. Above a long table in a large room, a narrow profile gets lost; in a small kitchen, a wide profile can look heavy.