When placed correctly, recessed downlights can be great for both ambient and task lighting. Whether you’re on your way to build your dream home or you’re looking to upgrade your home, recessed lighting offers many benefits in achieving style and function. It offers a neat, streamlined look for homes. It can add light in a room, make it appear bigger or highlight a piece of art. Whichever way you use it, you should know the proper spacing and other considerations before starting your lighting project.
Know the details and measurements
Initially, take note of the room’s size, ceiling height, type of room and whether it is an open plan space or just one room, and areas that need special focus. After this, it is time to determine how many downlights you need. Multiply the room’s width and length to get the square footage then multiply by 1.5. You will get the total wattage to light the area.
Choose the bulbs, then divide the total wattage by the bulb’s wattage to know the number of downlights to use. If this is confusing for you, you can always get the services of an electrician to complete the lighting installation.
Consider the ceiling’s height for proper spacing
Light from recessed downlights spreads down like a cone, which typically crosses 30 inches from the ground. If the ceiling is higher, you do not need additional downlights but a higher wattage or brightness. To make it simpler, the rule of thumb is to divide the height by two in order to get the correct spacing. That means if the ceiling is 10 feet high, the downlights should be 5 feet apart from each other.
The downlights should be about two or three feet away from the walls to avoid creating shadows in the corners.
Consider dimming
Dimming options are now offered for recessed downlights. This is a wise move so you can adjust the brightness of the light and set the mood you want. Feel free to use switches that allow you to control several zones for added flexibility.
Use proper angle for task lighting
When using downlights for task lighting, getting the right beam angle is key. Use a narrow angle of 60 degrees or less
Select the right bulb
There are different options for bulbs, like other types of lighting. You can choose from incandescent, halogen, R bulbs or low voltage halogen bulbs, but the popular bulbs used today are LED bulbs for their efficiency. Check out LED downlight UK products. They last longer and offer greater cost savings.
Like any other lighting project, it pays to know your home before installing recessed lighting. You can seek advice from a trusted professional if there are other parts needed. You can always ask a qualified electrician to install downligthts for you if the project seems too technical.