How many Recessed Lights and Where


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Old 12-06-09, 06:02 AM
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How many Recessed Lights and Where

I am renovating a very small room in my basement to be a future office. As such I want the room to be nicely lit since it is a workspace but not overdoing it.

The room is very small, 10'5" x 7'4" with a soffit (15" wide) running parallel to the 7'4" wall. The soffit is 23" from the edge of the room and contains ductwork for central A/C and heat.

How do I determine where to place my recessed lights? I am thinking two in the larger portion of the room (using the soffit as the dividing point) on a diagonal and one on the other side of the soffit so it is not dark in there.

However, the ceiling is only 7' high so is this going to be enough light. Do I use 6" cans?

Thanks!!!
 
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Old 12-06-09, 09:57 AM
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For very rough guidelines, imagine a circle about the same diameter as the distance from the ceiling to the work surface. This will approximate the light distribution for a 6" open baffle trim with a PAR flood.

Be careful of placing the light behind your back as that would shadow the desk area. A desk lamp would help to alleviate this.

Have you considered a surface mount light?

IMO the lights on a diagonal would look strange.
 
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Old 12-06-09, 12:50 PM
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6" cans will give you the most light for the least amount of money. If you have too much light you can always adjust the light level down by adding a dimmer or changing to lower wattage lamps. It would be difficult to increase the light level because the cans are only allowed lamps so high. You can also supplement your lighting with a desk lamp.
 
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Old 12-06-09, 06:17 PM
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Originally Posted by pcboss
For very rough guidelines, imagine a circle about the same diameter as the distance from the ceiling to the work surface. This will approximate the light distribution for a 6" open baffle trim with a PAR flood.

Be careful of placing the light behind your back as that would shadow the desk area. A desk lamp would help to alleviate this.

Have you considered a surface mount light?

IMO the lights on a diagonal would look strange.
I bought (3) cans today, 6" fixtures... However, I bought the trim that has the bulb extending ever so slightly beyond the fixture. I figured this will give me a better distribution of light given the low ceilings....

However, it sounds like one is not enough and to play (2) one would land where my soffit is. So... If I put the two "east" of the soffit, what do I do behind this? It is behind my desk but will be soooo dark, is there a linear light I could buy to recess back there or am I overthinking it?
 
 

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