Install Recessed Lights

By Dave Donovan

Is your home feeling a little outdated? Are you tired of looking at the old coffee table lamps that just don't shed suitable light? Do you cringe when you imagine what that 300 watt halogen lamp is doing to your electric bill? If you answered "yes" to any or all of these questions, then you may be interested in installing recessed lights to solve your lighting needs.

Recessed lights are basically lights that are installed above your ceiling, so all you get is directional lighting without all the cords and mess. If you've ever been to an art gallery or a fine restaurant, you may have noticed recessed lights in use. Art galleries use them to showcase works of art. Fine restaurants use them to cast a warm glow throughout the restaurant, without the glare of traditional lamps. Now you can add that touch of class and warmth to your own home, and it's easier than you can imagine.

Tools

• Drill
• Volt-Ohm Tester
• Wire Strippers
• Romex Stripper
• Screwdrivers
• Wire Fish
• Metal Coat Hanger
• Pencil
• Tape Measure
• Stud Finder
• Drywall Saw

 

Materials

• 12/2 Romex Wire (or wire compatible with the rest of your lighting)
• Romex Connectors
• Electrical Tape
• Drywall Screws
• Drop Cloth
• Goggles and Face Mask

 

1. Take an in-depth look at the room you want the lights in. You may want to draw the room on a piece of paper and map out how the lighting will affect the room, and where the lights will be placed. If you like to move the furniture around often, keep in mind how the furniture arrangement will be affected by the lights. You can move the furniture, but you can't move the lighting. Unless you're working with a drop-ceiling, you'll want to find out which way the ceiling beams run with the stud finder and lightly mark them so you can easily know where they are located. The recommended distance between fixtures is about 6 feet, so the tape measure will help you find the right distance.

2. Decide on the type of recessed lighting that will work best for your room. There are many choices to pick from, such as directional "eyeball" fixtures, standard downward pointing fixtures, and multiple choices in light bulb intensities. Eyeball fixtures are ideal if you want to spotlight some art on the wall, but for overall light, downward facing fixtures shed more. Also, you'll have to choose between fixtures that attach to the ceiling beams or the ceiling drywall itself. Attaching to the beams adds the most support, but some ceilings are not easy to access and the fixtures that attach to the drywall will prove easier to install there. In a drop-in ceiling, fixtures can come with clamps that grab onto the metal rails for support.

3. Next, you'll have to make sure the circuit you're adding the lights to can handle the additional load. For this tutorial, we'll assume there is already a light installed in the center of the ceiling that we will be removing to facilitate the recessed lights. Turn on the ceiling light and any other lights or equipment that are supplied by the breaker. Go to the electrical panel and take the cover off. Be careful, the panel is live! If you already know which breaker is the controlling circuit, then set your Volt-Ohm tester to Amps and probe the wire attached to the breaker. Some VOM's have a clamp that gets connected to it instead of the regular wire probes, and some have a "U" shape at the end that slides over the wire. Check the VOM's directions to make sure you are doing it correctly.

Now that you know the amps that the breaker is pulling, put the cover back on the panel. We next need to see if the breaker will handle the load. You will need to combine the amps that the breaker is drawing with the amps that the new lights will add to it. Here is the equation to figure out the amps the new lights will add: AMPS=WATTS/VOLTS. Add up the total watts of the new lights and divide them by your house voltage. For example, if your house voltage is 120 volts, and you are adding six 40 watt lights to the circuit, the equation will be AMPS=240/120, so the answer would be 2 amps. Now, if the breaker is a 20 amp breaker and it's only drawing 10 amps, then the new lights will only raise it to 12 amps, so you're good to go. Keep in mind, that even though a breaker is rated for a certain amperage, it really shouldn't be handling more than 80% of the listed rating. So, a 20 amp breaker should really not be handling more than 16 amps of load.

4. Once you figure the lighting load and your light locations, cover the furniture with the drop cloths and drill a tiny hole in the ceiling where you want your fixture to be installed. Unwind the metal coat hanger and stick one end through the hole. Most recessed fixtures need about 8 inches of clearance above the drywall. Do this with each location so you know you won't run into any trouble later on.

5. Use the cutout blueprint that came with your lights to trace the hole for your lights. Use the drywall saw to cut out the fixture holes (Make sure you have the goggles and face mask on during this part!) Now go back to the panel and turn the breaker OFF.

6. Once all the holes are cut, use the wire fish to pull the wire from hole to hole, starting at the last light-hole in the line. Cut the wire at each hole, leaving about 24 inches both coming and going from each hole. Disassemble the original ceiling light and remove it. Fish the wire from the "first" light to the junction box.

Now you should have all the holes cut, and there should be wires both coming and going from each hole, except the last one in the line (only one set of wires coming into the hole). Now it's time to start installing fixtures. It's best to start at the last light in the line.

7. Use the romex stripper to strip back the plastic romex sheath to expose the individual wires. Open the junction box on the light fixture. Slide the wire through the romex connector and tighten the screws on the connector, leaving about 8 inches of wire available.

8. Take the knockout on the junction box out and slide the wires through. Use the locknut to connect the romex connector to the junction box. Connect the wires together (black to black, white to white, and ground to ground) with the wire nuts and tape the wires with electrical tape where the wires meet the nuts. Stuff the wires back into the junction box and close the cover.

9. Lift the can into the hole and secure it with the retaining hardware that came with it. To finish the installation, attach the decorative outside ring to the canister and screw in the light bulb.

10. Follow these same directions with each of the remaining lights. Once you get to the main junction box, simply connect the wires together (again, black to black, etc.) and install a round blank plate to cover the old box. Make sure the switch is in the OFF position. Turn the breaker back on. Turn the switch on and admire your new recessed lighting.

All that's left now is to remove the drop cloth, clean up the mess, reposition the furniture, and enjoy your new lights. To get the most out of your new lighting, you may want to look into adding a dimmer switch to the mix to get just the right amount of warmth and ambiance for your room.

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Dave Donovan is a freelance copywriter living in Atco, N.J. An electrician for 15 years, an injury forced him to pursue his true passion - writing.

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