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If you are a venue owner, event production house, rental company, or house of worship, you may be wondering, "How many uplights do I need?" It requires careful consideration of several factors. These include the client’s expectations from the event or venue in terms of lighting, mood, theme, and overall visual impact, whether it's a full wash effect or accent lighting. The venue's layout, size, ceiling height, architectural features, pathways requiring lighting, the indoor or outdoor environment, and the budget are all important considerations to decide uplights per room and uplight spacing for achieving desired output.
This guide is meant for lighting professionals and venue and event companies that require the use of uplights for wedding receptions or corporate events and church sanctuaries to add the required drama and depth to the events with precision. This guide will also feature Rasha Professional’s uplighting models that enable you to make an intelligent choice for your business. So, let’s get started.
Uplighting refers to those lights that are positioned on the floor with their light focused upwards to bring required focus on walls, decor elements, architectural facades, and even drapery. The main aim of using wired or wireless uplighting is to add depth to the overall ambience of the event or venue with proper attention to focal elements. The uplight count plays a crucial role in influencing the decor element, as excessive usage can overwhelm the whole lighting experience. Whereas if too few uplights are used, the optimal effects cannot be achieved.
Therefore, using the accurate number of uplights helps to create a consistent ambience with perfect mood lighting that aligns with the theme of the event and ensures ideal moments for photography and videography. In addition, if there are pathways anywhere in the venue that require adequate illumination, the uplights can do the task effectively, creating a beautiful pathway and adding more vibrance to the event.
In most cases, the lighting professionals prefer to follow the spacing rule of 6 to 12 feet, depending on the visual effect that they want to build. Suppose they intend to create a continuous wash effect in a narrower area; they can do it with uplights. However, if specific elements need to be highlighted, wider spacing will be used to align with the client’s vision for uplighting placement at the event or venue.
Below is the step-by-step method followed in the process:
Measuring the Length of Wall: Here the lighting designers need to walk along the perimeter of the venue with a tape or laser measure.
Selecting the Spacing Requirements: In this case, the lighting professionals can opt for complete immersive wall wash with 6 to 8 ft of uplight spacing. However, 10–12 ft is ideal for accent lighting or clients that have budgetary considerations.
Beam Angle and Ceiling Height: The lighting professionals can use 40 to 60 degree wider beam angles that allow for better area coverage but also ensure brightness for taller ceilings. Also check the lumen output of each uplighting fixture to determine if the desired brightness levels are in sync with the overall lighting, theme, and mood of the event.
Application of Formula: Number of uplights: Total length of wall divided by spacing. For example, in a wedding hall that has a total length of 50 feet and the required spacing is 10 ft, the number of uplights required would be 5 uplights for that section of the wall.
There are uplight coverage calculators available online that you can use, but if your venue or event has architectural facades, it is important to consult lighting designers and technicians to assess the number of uplights needed for the given space.
Every event and venue layout is different and needs to be assessed carefully before deciding the number of uplights. In common scenarios, smaller venues require fewer uplights, typically under 12 units, while larger venues need close to 40 or more units for proper coverage. Let’s take a closer look at diverse setups and the number of uplights required:
It is always preferred to keep 2 to 5 units of uplights to ensure continuous performance in case some units are faulty.
Battery uplights for rental companies, event companies, and production houses provide the benefit of faster deployment and complete flexibility to highlight key areas or objects or add to the overall lighting requirements. The key benefit of wireless uplights is their flexibility without cables. The battery uplights involve higher costs initially, but their faster installation and flexibility help rental companies get ROI quickly by minimizing setup time and labor costs. The wired uplights provide a continuous power supply and are ideal for fixed installations. Choose between wired or battery uplights depending on your power needs and setup flexibility.
For understanding the difference between wireless uplights vs. wired setups, below is the checklist provided:
Events and venues having no or a limited number of power outlets
Events or setups that need faster setup
Venues or events where decor and aesthetics demand the use of wireless uplighting for professional looks
Events or venues where fixed setups need to be created
Events or venues where the focus is on the low upfront cost of uplighting
Events or venues where power outlets are available
Placement of the uplights is crucial, as it influences the coverage as well as the safety parameters of the events and venues. As a general rule, it is recommended to position the uplights equally on both sides of the venue, creating a perfect alignment with overall lighting setups. It ensures that all architectural elements and decor items are completely illuminated while keeping the pathway well-lit. In addition, in event lighting, uplights are used for ambient lighting, whereas in venues where dark areas are found, these uplights help to fill up those spaces.
Here are the tips for placing uplights:
As a general setup, it is recommended to maintain 5 to 10% spare units or have 2 to 5 spare units that can help to cover up if some units appear faulty during the event. It ensures that the lighting setup is perfect in events and venues with tight schedules and multiple bookings.
Main accessories required for uplights are mentioned below:
You can also explore our blog What Accessories Should You Consider for Battery-Powered Uplights to discover additional essentials like stands, diffusers, remote controls, and mounting gear that elevate your lighting setup.
It is recommended to use uplighting with a battery uptime of 20% higher than the event’s total duration to provide continuous performance. Additionally, if there is a delay in setting up the lighting or if any unit is faulty, maintaining the battery uplights with 20% higher battery uptime ensures that the shows can run nonstop. It is suggested to check battery recharge time to ensure readiness during the events and check battery lifecycle for durable performance.
You can opt for Rasha Professional’s IP65 uplight outdoor, the Core IP model that provides weather-resistant performances in diverse setups like large-scale events and outdoor festivals. It provides 8 hours of continuous performance with all colors on and 20 hours for single colors. It works with DMX, CRMX, and IR control, offering RGBAW + UV color led chips.
Crux battery powered uplight is another model that supports RGBAW + UV color led chips to create rich color blends with wireless DMX and 5 to 7 hours of battery runtime on a single recharge. It is ideal for corporate bookings and small-scale events.
To conclude, venue owners, rentals and production companies can decide on the number of uplight units by considering venue perimeter, ceiling height, accurate placement of uplights and overall ambience effects. Whether it's a large-scale event with faster deployment or a small-sized event that needs to be planned, Rasha Professional provides a range of models from Core IP to Crux. These models are meant for professional and rugged usage with their build, long battery uptimes and wireless DMX control provisions, helping your business gain repeat bookings from happy clients.
Upgrade your equipment with Rasha Professional’s uplight models that help provide consistent and reliable performances at every event and setup. Call us today!
