Telbix Eterna Lighting

Telbix Eterna lighting buying guide

Eterna is a Telbix wall light sold in a one-light and a two-light size, with an opal matte or a clear glass shade, in antique gold or black. Every version is an indoor fitting on a 240V supply with an IP44 rating, and every version arrives without a globe. It is a bathroom wall light that also suits a hallway, a bedroom or a feature wall.

Below you will find the two sizes and the finishes, then what IP44 means in a bathroom and where to hang the light beside a mirror. It goes on to the globe, dimming, care and installation. It also names what Eterna does not do, so a buyer after a pendant or a light for inside a shower knows to look elsewhere.

What the Eterna range holds

The one-light wall light carries a single glass sphere. It stands 30 cm high and 16.5 cm wide and takes one globe, with a maximum of 25W. The two-light wall light carries twin glass globes. It stands 37 cm high, is also 16.5 cm wide and takes two globes, with a maximum of 25W each and 50W in total.

• The one-light wall light comes in Antique Gold Opal Matte, Antique Gold Clear, Black Opal Matte and Black Clear.
• The two-light wall light comes in Antique Gold Opal Matte, Antique Gold Clear and Black Clear.

Both sizes are built from glass and metal, weigh 1 kg and carry RCM approval. The globe is an E27 Fancy Round, sold separately, and the light is dimmable only if the globe is. Each box holds the wall light, basic mounting screws and the installation instructions. The light bulbs and globes page lists the E27 globes on offer.

One light or two

The choice is mostly about the wall. The one-light version suits a pair, with one fitting on each side of a mirror. The two-light version carries more glass and more light from a single position, and it stands 7 cm taller. It is balanced and symmetrical.

Opal matte and clear glass

Opal glass is frosted and spreads the light, and it diffuses light softly. Opal and frosted globes are the leading choice for modern wall lights. Clear glass shows the globe inside, and it suits only a decorative filament globe dimmed low.

The two glass finishes therefore pull in different directions. Opal matte gives a soft, diffused light. Clear glass makes a bolder design, but it hands the look to the globe, so the filament globe becomes part of the fitting.

Antique gold and black

Brass is still current in brushed, aged or unlacquered finishes and not in shiny polished brass, and the metal pairs with one other finish in the room. Antique gold can follow the tapware, and the hardware can carry the second metal. The gold and brass lighting page shows other fittings in the same tone. Black is the quieter choice and works beside most other finishes, with more fittings on the black lighting page.

Materials matter more in a bathroom than in a hallway. Avoid materials that degrade in moisture, such as raw ceramic, plaster, leather or rattan. The Eterna is glass and metal, and neither material is on that list.

What IP44 means in a bathroom

Bathrooms divide into zones around the bath, shower and basin. The minimum for zone 1, above a bath or shower, is IPX4, with IPX5 recommended, and zone 2, the area around a basin, has the same minimum. Inside a bath or shower, zone 0, the requirement is IP67. Outside the zones, IP44 or higher is the sensible choice because of humidity.

On those figures the Eterna IP44 rating meets the IPX4 minimum for zones 1 and 2 and is not rated for zone 0. The zones are the area within 600 mm of a bath, shower or basin, and a fitting beyond that distance may not need a rating at all.

Where to hang Eterna beside a mirror

Mount the centre of each light at 1520 to 1650 mm from the floor, which is about eye level, and 100 to 150 mm out from the mirror edge. A pair sits 70 to 100 cm apart.

The principle is face height, either side of the mirror. A single ceiling fixture tends to flatten the face and cast shadows on it, and sconces at face height reduce those shadows.

Put a wall light on each side of a bathroom mirror, because a single downlight above it casts shadows. A pair of one-light Eterna fittings fits that plan.

Eterna belongs to the task and accent layers. It gives a soft, diffused light, and a pair beside a mirror gives the face level light a bathroom needs. A ceiling light or a downlight toward the edge of the room covers the ambient layer. A bright setting at the mirror and a dimmed one for a bath at night shows how a dimmer earns its place.

Colour temperature and brightness at the vanity

Colour temperature is measured in kelvin. 3500K to 4000K with a colour rendering index of 90 or higher suits the vanity, and 3000K suits general light. 2700K to 3000K suits a relaxing corner, and 2700K and 4000K should not be mixed in one sightline. 4000K is neutral for bathrooms and 2700K to 3000K is warm white for living areas.

The right setting depends on the job. About 2700K gives a soft warm white at the mirror, and 2700K with a colour rendering index of 90 or higher suits wall lights in general. 3500K to 4000K gives accurate colour at the vanity. A warm 2700K to 3000K globe gives a softer room, and a 3500K to 4000K globe gives truer colour at the mirror, so the choice depends on whether the light is for grooming or for atmosphere.

Brightness targets vary. A vanity needs 800 to 2,000 total lumens depending on the mirror size. Functional bathroom light needs about 500 to 800 lumens per square metre and grooming needs 1,200 to 1,600 lumens. The two measures count differently, so treat both as ranges and not as a target.

Wattage is not brightness. Each globe is capped at 25W, and about 800 lumens matches an old 60W bulb at roughly 8 to 10W in an LED. An LED globe sits well inside the 25W cap, and the lumen figure on the packaging is the number to compare.

E27 globes

E27 is the Edison screw base with a 27 mm cap. It is the most common base in Australia and runs on 240V mains. E14 is the smaller screw base, and B22 is a different style, a push and twist bayonet, so neither swaps with E27.

US E26 bulbs look similar but run on 120V and do not suit Australian fittings. Check the base marking on the socket or on the old globe before ordering, and choose 240V versions. The Eterna takes E27 globes of 25W at most, and the globe is not in the box.

Dimming

The Eterna is globe dependent for dimming. A dimmer works only if the globe is dimmable. Not every LED is dimmable and a non-dimmable globe on a dimmer can flicker. The dimmer itself needs to be compatible with LED fittings, and a mismatch gives flicker or a limited dim range.

Cleaning the glass and the frame

Turn the power off at the wall switch or the circuit breaker before cleaning any fitting, and let the globes cool first.

Installation and who does it

The Eterna must be installed by a qualified electrical contractor, in accordance with AS/NZS 3000, with electrical protection by a licensed electrician only. Hard-wired fittings are different from plug-in lamps, and a licensed electrician must install the hard-wired kind. Eterna is the hard-wired kind.

Plan lighting before the fit-out begins and consult an electrician early, because zoning rules make later additions difficult and costly.

Using Eterna outside the bathroom

The wall light also suits living areas, bedrooms, hallways and feature walls. The height figures change with the room. Hallways take 1700 to 1800 mm and a bedside light sits 750 to 900 mm above the mattress, with pairs 1800 to 2400 mm apart on longer walls.

A bedroom pair suits the one-light version, and a hallway run suits repeated one-light fittings. The two-light version carries more presence on a single wall. Allow one light on each side of a bed and one every 2 to 3 metres along a hallway.

What Eterna leaves out

Eterna has no pendant. Every fitting is a wall light, so a bathroom that needs a pendant over a bath or a vanity needs a different range, and the pendant lights page covers those. Eterna is rated IP44, which is below the IP67 that applies inside a bath or shower, so it is not a light for that spot.

Eterna is also an indoor fitting, so a porch or a patio needs an outdoor rating. For the general bathroom choice, the bathroom lighting page covers every type of fitting, and the wall lights page covers the wider wall light choice.

Choosing between the Eterna versions

The decision follows the wall. A mirror with room for two fittings points to a pair of one-light wall lights. A wall with a single position points to the two-light version. Opal matte gives the softer, diffused light, clear glass suits a design that wants to show the globe, and antique gold or black follows the tapware and hardware already in the room.

Before buying, check the zone with an electrician, the E27 base, the 25W cap per globe, the dimming plan and the mirror height. The electrician can confirm the rest on site.