Hanging lights are light bulbs which are affixed to a lampshade attached to the ceiling through a series of chains. These hang down in the form of a pendant chain; hence they are also named as pendant lights. Hanging light is an umbrella term for various forms of light fixtures including hanging lamps and ceiling lamps. The most common ones that are found in almost every house are the ones that have a bulb inside an enclosed shade or a shade that has one end open.

Though pendant lights and hanging lamps are used to enhance the aesthetic beauty of the room, they may also be employed to add extra lighting to a particular corner for performing tasks effectively. Usually, ceiling lamps are placed in entry passageways, staircase areas and porches to provide a subtle, dim lighting appearance. Smaller hanging lights are placed to lay special emphasis on specific areas such as paintings or photos. They are extremely helpful in drawing traffic to a certain desired position. At times, switching on all the lights is not required and in those cases, using these pendant lights that do not illuminate the entire room is the perfect solution. Moreover, not turning on the entire lighting system saves a lot of electricity and helps you save those extra bucks.

Strategic positioning of hanging lamps and ceiling lamps can significantly impact the lighting in a room. If these are mounted on one corner, they help in defining that particular area and similarly, if they are placed in the middle of the ceiling, they provide a dim ambiance to the entire room. It all depends on how you want to design the house and how much investment you wish to make in setting up different styled lights. The hanging lights that have the bulb mounted upwards work on the concept of reflection where light is thrown on the ceiling first following which it indirectly bounces back in the entire room, and these types of lights are used for general lighting. On the other hand, the pendant lights that have the bulb mounted downwards reflect light only on the particular area, although the spreading capacity also varies according to the lampshade used.

Hanging lights for regular illumination purposes function to provide a silhouette of all the corners and edges of the room. Single pendant lights may add to the general lighting system apart from their attention on individual corners. For example, if you wish to read a book in your room without disturbing others, you can turn off the regular lights and switch on the individual hanging light for better illumination.