Recessed lighting how many do i need

The number of recessed lights you install depends on how high your ceilings are. Taller ceilings and lower ceilings usually require the same amount of lights, although you probably need stronger bulbs the higher the ceiling is.

LightUp proposes the following rule of thumb: divide the height of the ceiling by two. So, for example, if you have an 8-foot ceiling, place the lights four feet apart, and so on.

This should be a baseline, although this depends on the strength of the bulbs being used and the room's general purpose. According to HomeDepot , before installing your recessed lighting, you need to do three things:. What do you want to use the room for? Do you need general lighting? If so, you need bright, even lights. If accent lighting is required, bright, focal point-based lights will do the trick. If you want to feature a mantlepiece of painting prominently, you need a wall wash bounce light from the ceiling off the wall.

For areas such as showers or steam rooms wet areas , you need to be more specialized with specific trims. Make sure to measure your room and draft a plan for your recessed lighting layout. Your best bet is to use grid paper and note everything in the room, such as your shelves, workspaces, counters, and more. As mentioned earlier, the general run of them is the height of the ceiling divided by two. That should tell you how far apart your lights need to be.

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Width lights: 5. Width lights: 6. Width lights: 7. Width lights: 8. Width lights: 9. Width lights: Results Number of Lights: 1 light. Number of Lights: 2 lights. Number of Lights: 3 lights. Number of Lights: 4 lights. Number of Lights: 5 lights. Number of Lights: 6 lights. Number of Lights: 7 lights. Number of Lights: 8 lights. Number of Lights: 9 lights. Number of Lights: 10 lights. You might have a specific reading chair that you already know needs extra lighting.

If you fall in this category, center that first recessed light exactly where you want it and space the rest of the lights around it see Tip 3 for spacing. Another situation that usually calls for focal lighting is fireplaces. Having gimbal recessed lighting above a fireplace allows you to throw accent lighting on the mantle to show off those family pictures or even just the amazing stone work of the fireplace. If you prefer to simply space the recessed lighting evenly around the room without any particular focal point, place your first light in the center of the room and go from there.

To determine how far apart to space your recessed lights, divide the height of the ceiling by two. If a room has an 8 foot ceiling, you should space your recessed lights approximately 4 feet apart. If the ceiling is 10 feet, you'll want to put about 5 feet of space in between each fixture. Use this rule as a base line, though. To compensate for these issues, a smart strategy is to "overlight" the room with dimmable lights and then control the brightness with dimmers.