Television is still the most popular home appliance today - we can spend our free time with our family watching television programs and follow world news. Like any device, a TV needs a high-quality choice of mounting location. Let's figure out at what height it is correct to hang the TV receiver in the premises, and what is the optimal distance from the viewing place to the TV screen.
What determines the mounting height?
The mounting height of a TV depends on a number of factors, each of which must be taken into account. Failure to follow any of them could affect your health or the safety of using the device.
- Room area. The smaller the room where the TV will be located, the fewer potential places from which households can watch it. If this is a small room where the bed is the main resting place, then the TV is installed on the wall opposite to the bed at a height that takes into account the height of the bed itself and the average height of the residents of the apartment.
- The growth of the watchers. To determine the optimal height for hanging the TV, usually add the height of all family members who watch TV and get an average. In this case, you need to consider from what position you usually prefer to watch TV - sitting, reclining, standing or lying.
- Security . The height of the TV should be based on whether you have small children or animals at home. Both those and others during active games can touch the TV screen and both damage the equipment and harm themselves. At the same time, many children like to watch TV from the floor, and the height should be appropriate here. Do not forget about the curiosity of babies who love to stick their hands anywhere - and therefore the height should be sufficient so that the child does not have access to the cables and wires of the TV.
- Screen . The hanging height of the TV also depends on the diagonal of the screen, its type and resolution. Some TV models will show a distorted or darkened picture at the wrong height.
- Resting place . In addition to the growth rates of all households, it is also worth considering the height of the main resting places in the room. People usually prefer to watch TV from a sofa, chair or bed.
How to determine the optimal distance?
There are several standard schemes and rules for determining the optimal distance from the TV to the audience, regardless of the chosen room.
The larger the diagonal of the TV itself, the greater the recommended viewing distance. That is why it is not advised to buy large plasma models for small rooms.
In addition, the closer a person sits to the big screen, the more difficult it is for his eyes to follow everything that happens on it. This feeling can be compared to visiting a movie theater, where you have to look at a huge screen from the front rows.
There are two formulas regarding the distance from TV to the viewing point. The first refers specifically to viewing LCD TV models, and the second refers to viewing plasma options. So, when viewing LCD TVs with a diagonal of 65 inches (or 165 cm), the standard or optimal distance to the resting place is 3.3-5 m, and for the same plasma model this indicator is even greater - from 5 to 6.6 m ...
As for the comfortable height at which you need to mount the TV, there are also some tricks here. To find a standard and optimal TV placement on the wall, simply sit on the sofa or where you plan to watch TV from and close your eyes for a few moments. Then open - a point on the wall, which will be right in front of your eyes and will indicate the optimal height of the device (or the center of the screen).
When choosing height indicators, you should also be guided by the height of the resting places, of which there may be several in the room . In this case, it is recommended to act according to the following scheme: calculate the average growth rate of all household members, then divide it by 2 and add it to the height of the main resting place. The center of the TV screen should be at about this level from the floor.
Some people prefer to calculate the mounting height of the device relative to the TV diagonal itself . The following scheme works here: the larger the diagonal, the lower the device itself is located. So, with a diagonal of 32 inches, the recommended mounting height is 120 cm (from the floor to the center of the screen), and with a diagonal of 55 inches, the TV should hang at a distance of 95-100 cm from the floor.
Positioning the TV in different rooms
When buying a TV, most people do not think about the fact that different conditions for installing this device must be observed for different rooms. And here it is important to remember that each room in the apartment is designed for the individual needs of a person. Many of the following TV installation guidelines are general, but some are specific to specific rooms.
In the living room
The biggest problems when choosing a TV height begin when the device is mounted in a living room or hall. Today the living room can perform two functions at once:
- chosen as a place to gather guests;
- is a place for rest for the whole family.
In any case, several people will watch the TV from different points of the room.
The choice of height is complicated by the individual growth of the guests and the places in the room where they are located.
In the living room, people usually watch TV from three convenient points: from an armchair, from a sofa or from a desk. To choose the best place to mount your TV, sit at each of these points and determine the place where you will be most comfortable looking.
The main rule of installing a TV indoors is that the screen is always in the line of the eyes.
If the viewer's head is slightly thrown back or tilted down while watching TV, the position should be changed, since this position puts additional stress on the spine and cervical regions. In this case, the head should not be turned.
When choosing a place to install a TV in the living room, you also need to take into account the distance from the resting place to the device . This indicator directly depends on the diagonal of the TV screen itself. So, with a diagonal of 100 cm, a distance of at least 2-3 meters from the resting place to the device is recommended. This indicator applies specifically to new LCD models; for conventional TVs, the distance should be 25-30% longer.
And also a lot depends on the installation height of the TV. It depends on the height of the beholder and the height of the resting places themselves (sofas, chairs, beds). To choose the optimal height indicator, as already mentioned, you need to add the height of all households and choose the average option. In addition, you need to remember that each person has an individual resting place - it is one thing to reclining on a bed, and another thing to watch TV, sitting upright in a chair. Based on the described indicators, it is recommended to choose the optimal height option - usually from 0.75 to 1.35 m.
Children often love to play on the floor and watch their favorite shows or cartoons there. In this case, the minimum installation height of the TV is recommended.
In the bedroom
The most logical option for mounting a TV in the bedroom is to mount it on the wall opposite the main bed. Installing the device in front of the bed will make viewing the most comfortable and pleasant, and will not limit you in choosing a place on the bed - this position will be optimal in any case.
The same principle applies to the bedroom - the TV must be at eye level. In this case, we mean watching programs in a sitting position.
To watch TV in a reclining position, it is better to buy models with an adjustable bracket , where you can freely change the angle of the device screen - this function should be provided specifically in LCD TVs. Usually the screen is tilted no more than 30 degrees. If this tilt is not present, the broadcast picture will be less bright and darker.
You should be especially careful with TVs with a TFT matrix. This technology distorts the picture unpleasantly when the screen is placed in a non-standard tilt angle.
The deflection angle of the TV screen when placed in any room should be no more than 30 degrees.
It should also be mentioned that doctors generally do not recommend installing televisions in sleeping rooms. The bedroom is the place where our eyes (as well as the entire body) should rest, not strain.
In the kitchen
In the case of installing a TV in the kitchen, there are 3 universal options: above the refrigerator, on the bedside table or on the wall. However, despite these universal positions, it is always worth taking into account the size of your kitchen and the number of people who usually stay in it. So, in small kitchens, where 2-3 people are already cramped, the TV is usually installed for the background and does not perform a visual function, in this case the location of the device does not play a special role.
If you have at your disposal a large kitchen with many places for relaxation, which can accommodate up to 6-7 people at the same time, then you need to consider several subtleties when choosing the optimal place for the TV.
- Installation near household kitchen appliances, stoves, sinks and microwave ovens is not allowed. This can damage the device or dirty the TV screen.
- The kitchen is designed not only for eating food, but also for cooking it, and then the height of the TV should be chosen based on your height. The TV screen should be in the line of your eyes anyway. The same principle of height selection works in a situation where you like to watch TV while eating while sitting.
- During the day, while watching TV, which is placed near the windows, you will be faced with the appearance of annoying glare that will light up the picture. Either do not install the device near windows, or buy impenetrable textile curtains (rolls will do) that will create a good shade.
- The TV set can only be placed on stable surfaces; ordinary kitchen tables will not work here. As an optimal solution, you can use niches or shelves specially designed for the screen size.
In the nursery
When choosing a place to install a TV in a nursery, there are as many features as when placing a device in a living room. All problems begin with the fact that children spend a lot of time playing and constantly changing their location in the room. Often, children watch TV sideways, while doing their own business. The main task of the parents in this case is to find the optimal mounting point for the device.
The broadcast picture should be equally clear and rich both when viewed from the bed and when viewed from the floor.
The height of your child in a sitting position will help determine the height of the placement . Combine the child's height when viewed on the bed and when viewed on the floor, then find the average height.
It is very important to take care of the safety of both the device itself and your child. There are several points to consider here.
- The equipment should be placed at a sufficient height so that the child does not touch it during active games. This can not only ruin the TV, but also injure the baby himself.
- Place the TV at such a height that your child cannot reach the outlet or cables by himself.
- The viewing angle of the TV will greatly affect the baby's vision. The picture from any angle should be clear, not overexposed or darkened. The adjustable bracket is also useful for this.
- In the case of a nursery, the distance from the TV to the viewing position also depends on the diagonal of the device screen . So, experts advise putting children at a distance of at least 2.5 m from the TV screen.
- Remember that a television set at the wrong height can adversely affect the development of the cervical spine.
Children grow up very quickly, and therefore from time to time check whether the child is comfortable watching TV in the current position.
It is much easier to adjust the TV mounting height or tilt angle than to deal with the consequences in the form of poor health for your child.
Installation tips
The experts have prepared a short list of tips to help you quickly cope with the placement and hanging of the TV.
- We insulate the wires. Before you hang the TV on a permanent place, you need to take care of such a moment as aesthetic design. Leaking wires and connecting cables can not only spoil the overall appearance of the device, but also potentially harm your children or pets. Usually, the owners resort to 3 ways of insulating cables: placement in the wall, in a cable channel or equipment of a special TV zone. The most popular is the cable channel, which hides absolutely all cables and looks like a narrow ledge in the partition from the outside.
Here you should also take care of the outlet where you will connect the TV - it is best to place the TV receiver so that it is no more than 40 cm from the bracket or the device mount.
- Choosing a mount and a wall. Modern TV models weigh relatively little (usually no more than 40 kg), but still need a strong mount in the form of a special TV bracket. And also it is worth taking care of the strength of the wall on which you will install the device. So, walls made of solid materials such as stone or brick can withstand even the heaviest models without problems, but walls made of plasterboard or chipboard will need an additional horizontal beam or rack. Make sure there are no wires or piping in the wall where you want to place the bracket.
- Choosing a bracket. Recently, it is the universal or adjustable brackets that have become more and more popular. And not in vain - despite the high cost, these devices allow you to change the angle of the TV at any time, turn the device in the right direction and place it in absolutely any room.
For how to hang the TV on the wall, see below.