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Lighting is an important part of a successful facility. In many ways the heat system and lighting in a yoga room are more important than anything second to the actual activities taking place in the room. There are many issues to consider when selecting lighting. The goal is to find the balance between light efficiency, safety, and aesthetics.

Safety Issues

Over-heating destroys light fixtures and can cause fire; you must be cautious when selecting light fixtures for a hot yoga room.

The ambient temperature in any room is usually higher at the ceiling. The temperature at the ceilings in hot yoga rooms has often been found to be in excess of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. This can adversely affect both light bulb life as well as fixture components and ballast life, especially when normal fixtures with A type bulbs (common light bulbs) are used.

As with most other elements in the hot room, the most common devices are not designed to withstand temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. In light fixtures, the above-normal heat produces two effects: the wire used is no longer able to carry as much electrical load as designed and may need to be de-rated, and the materials making up the light fixture have a tendency to cook and crumble at an accelerated rate.

Considering these facts it is better to look for low heat-producing devices to avoid superheating. For example, it is better to use electronic ballasts in fixtures rather than magnetic, as the magnetic run hot and react poorly to increased ambient temperature.

It is also wise to avoid low voltage lighting, which is also susceptible to thermal overload shut-off by its own heat under normal temperature conditions.

Efficiency

It has been proven that other than using outside cooling agents, the most effective and dynamic high temperature lighting is achieved through fiber optic lighting. This is because the light source can be remotely installed.

But most hot yoga studios will use fluorescent lighting, which is the most cost effective light source available. We advise using indirect lighting as much as possible-- that is, lighting which is reflected off a source into the space.
Bouncing light off a white ceiling is often an excellent way to light the room.

By installing a perimeter of shelving 18 inches down from the ceiling and then placing 2-bulb flouresent fixtures and rewiring the ballasts to light either a single bulb or both bulbs, one can achieve an attractive and inexpensive effect. This can be supplemented with a few central luminaires to achieve the required level of light.

Do's and Don'ts

Don't aim direct light into the eyes of the customers as some people are very photo-sensitive.
Don't think of your lights as a secondary heat source.
Do use the coolest burning fixtures available.
Do ensure that lighting circuits are not heavily loaded.
Do use dimmers and dimmable ballasts in your flourescent and other fixtures whenever possible. Dimmers can extend bulb life up to 4x!
Do any fancy or creative lighting you might desire in the lobby or locker rooms.

Some versions of indirect fluorescent light fixtures will be shown on this site as well as some examples of poor choices in lighting. There are a great many products available on the market. Lighting designer Dave Bourgeois will be more than helpful in your design. See our vendors page for more information.

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