Lighting

Most people with sight loss need and benefit from enhanced lighting, and good lighting can allow you to make the most of your sight.

Improving the lighting in your home

Everyone needs good levels of light and as we get older we need more. Did you know, by the time you are aged 60 you are likely to require three times more light than when you were aged 20?

Improving the lighting in your home doesn't require a lot of difficult or complicated adaptations. Often, lighting can be improved by:

• Plugging a table, desk or floor light into existing sockets
• Fitting bulbs that give more light
• Changing shades and fittings to increase light levels or change the direction of light to reflect from white surfaces
• Fitting shades that don't shield light.

Lighting in and around the home: A guide to better lighting for people with visual impairment, written by the Thomas Pocklington Trust, contains more information on the importance of lighting. It provides advice on the different types of light bulbs and lighting available, choosing lighting and how to create a safer home and stay as independent at home as possible.

A full range of lighting products for your home are available to buy in the lighting section of the RNIB Online Shop.

Watch our video

You can also watch our video, which features Barrington, who discusses how having the right lighting in his flat has helped make things easier since he lost his sight.

You can also download the Using lighting and talking products as low vision aids video transcript.