Which recessed lights for basement?


  #1  
Old 11-13-05, 05:39 AM
G
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Pleasantville, NY
Posts: 494
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Which recessed lights for basement?

I am planning a basement finishing project and I plan on installing recessed lights. The basement will have a laundry room, a small bathroom, an office and a large play room. The floor joists are exposed so I plan on using new construction fixtures.

The ceiling will be 7' high and will be a patterned, white, 1X1 Armstrong tile. How should I decide which size aperture I should use (4", 5" of 6")? Does the size of the aperture affect what the max bulb wattage can be? What are the things I should be thinking about when I choose a size?

Thanks in advance.
 
  #2  
Old 11-13-05, 08:36 AM
J
Member
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: United States
Posts: 17,733
Upvotes: 0
Received 1 Upvote on 1 Post
This site might help. Because your ceiling is low, you probably need more lights. The type of can and the type of trim affect the maximum wattage. But most of them can accept up to 75 watts. If you want more, you'll need to choose carefully.

I'm not sure that cans are the ideal solution for all of these rooms. A fluorescent might be better in the laundry room, and an over-the-mirror multilight vanity fixture is probably better for the bathroom. The recessed cans are good for the office and play room.

Use wide flood bulbs to get the greatest dispersion.
 
  #3  
Old 11-13-05, 09:08 AM
G
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Pleasantville, NY
Posts: 494
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Which recessed lights for basement?

John,

First, thanks again for your guidance on my previous posting regarding converting my wall switch to allow me to control a ceiling fan. I'll post an update when I'm done.

Thanks for the link and for the suggestion regarding the laundry and bathroom. Why is fluorescent light a better choice in the laundry?
 
  #4  
Old 11-13-05, 09:25 AM
J
Member
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: United States
Posts: 17,733
Upvotes: 0
Received 1 Upvote on 1 Post
Don't get me wrong--I love recessed cans. I like the light and the feeling they give most rooms. But they aren't very efficient, and they don't disperse the light very well, especially with low ceilings. They are great for general lighting when used in combination with task lighting, or in larger rooms where you have a lot of lights. Otherwise they can create shadows, and may give a room a cave-like feeling. In laundry rooms and bathrooms and closets and kitchens, you don't want shadows, and you generally need good light. Surface mounted and fluorescent fixtures spread out the light much better than cans, and create more even, shadow-free lighting.

When using cans, I like to install lots of them, and then control them with multiple dimmer switches for times when you want less light. Dimmers will also make the bulbs last much, much longer.
 
  #5  
Old 11-13-05, 10:38 PM
C
Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Yorba Linda, CA
Posts: 325
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
I like cans too, but with a seven foot ceiling you may have trouble getting the light to spread out. You may end up with little puddles of light everywhere you put a can and not much else.

You can help to mitigate this somewhat by putting the lights close to the wall and painting the wall a light color. The "bounce" off of the walls will help to even out the light. You may also want to consider including some wall sconces or table lamps to help even the light out more.

Whatever ceiling light you choose, it will help if you set the bulb height a bit lower than normal to help throw light sideways.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: