Recessed Lighting

 

If you’re remodeling your existing home, or building a new home, you might want to consider including recessed lighting in your overall lighting design. Recessed lighting has a number of advantages over track or monorail lighting systems, and it can add both style and function to any space.

Recessed lighting can be used in a variety of ways, including accent, task, and of course general lighting of a room or other space. They’re great for low-ceiling areas or anywhere where a hanging light fixture would be a distraction or could get in the way. Recessed lights are available as downlights, wall washers, and adjustable accent lights in a variety of configurations.

Recessed lighting offers a clean, streamlined look in a home. Most of a recessed fixture is hidden above the ceiling, with only the trim visible, so it’s a great way to brighten a room without adding clutter, highlight plants or artwork, or add task light to a work area.

So where should you use recessed lighting? The first consideration is the ceiling in the room or other space where the fixtures would be installed. The easiest areas to install recessed lighting fixtures are between the ceiling joists of new or remodeled homes. Be aware that if the fixture is to be installed near ceiling insulation, you must choose a unit that is IC housing rated for that type of area. If there is no insulation present, you can go ahead and install a non-IC rated unit.

When formulating your lighting design, you’ll want to match the size of your recessed lighting fixtures with how close or far apart they’ll be when installed. One rule of thumb is that three inch fixtures should be placed three feet apart, six inch fixtures at least six feet apart, and so on.

You’ll also want to consider the room’s function and final layout when desiging your recessed lighting. You’ll want your fixtures centered over the items you wish to illumninate, whether it be a plant, a bookshelf, a piece of artwork, etc. And choose a fixture that’s adjustable if you’ll want to change the angle of the light at a later time.

You’ll also want to avoid placing recessed lighting fixtures too close together or in rows down the center of the room. You don’t want your friends thinking that the Mother Ship is landing while you’re watching a Monday night football game!

You’ll find that there are many styles of low voltage recessed lighting, and multiple recessed spot lights are available in a variety of styles as well. These recessed units are typically square in design, do to the fact that these units have two or three bulbs each.

Recessed lighting is typically available with standard incandescent bulbs, which give off a warm, soft light. These are the same bulbs used in most lamps and fixtures (until recently, when CFL bulbs became the industry standard).

While the standard bulbs do work in recessed lighting, the most common form of lamp used in indoor recessed lighting is a reflector bulb. These bulbs have a sort of mushroom shape, with a flat top that allows the lamp to lay flush against the ceiling or wall.

Another type of bulb for recessed lighting is a halogen bulb. These are similar in shape to a reflector bulb, but they provide a brighter, whiter light, and they last longer as well. For accent lighting in your recessed fixture, one of the best bulbs you can use is a low voltage halogen lamp. These give the best light spectrum, the brightest spread, although they do require a low voltage transformer which may cost more initially to install.

LED recessed lighting, on the other hand, is available in 4 or 6 inch trim, depending on the application. LED recessed lighting offers the homeowner both energy savings, and a longer bulb life, which saves even more money over time.

Further Reading:

• Installing Recessed Lighting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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