

The four main purposes for lighting include: General lighting: a bright, even illumination pattern that covers an entire room. You can use this page for help with accent and art light placement. Step 1: Determine the Purpose of Your Lighting As always, the first step in planning your recessed lighting layout is to identify the purpose of your lighting. Accent lights should also be controlled by their own switch.
#RECESSED LIGHTING LAYOUT TOOL PORPORTIONAL INSTALL#
Niches and soffits are great places to install accent lights, and can provide a whole new feel to a room. If appropriate for the room, choose one or more focal points such as artwork or architectural features to highlight. The unobtrusive design of recessed lights makes them ideal for accent lighting. Task lights should be controlled by their own switch, separate from the general lighting whenever possible.


Its purpose is to provide additional light in areas where it would be beneficial for performing tasks.Įxamples would be above a kitchen sink or island, above a desk in a home office, or above a reading chair in the corner of a room. If an area in the room would benefit from additional overhead lighting, consider adding task lights in addition to the general lighting. Choose the LED lights that you plan to use. Decide where and how you’d like to control the the lighting. Based on the number of lights, decide on a layout (pattern). Determine the number of lights that are appropriate for the room. The cones of light that shine down from each recessed light will overlap and work together to fill the room with light.ġ. The general lighting layer consists of a grid of lights spaced evenly across the ceiling. The goal is to give you control over the ambient light in the room, day or night. What activities will the occupants be performing, and which lighting layers would be beneficial? General LightingĮvery room needs general lighting to provide overall light for the room. When designing the recessed lighting for a room, approach it as three separate layers: General Lighting, Task Lighting, and Accent Lighting.Ĭonsider how the room will be used. This can be stressful for a homeowner because it’s hard to know exactly how the lighting will function until it has actually been installed and turned on.įortunately, we have a tried and true method for planning and designing the recessed lighting for a room that’s based on the principle of lighting layers. Recessed lighting is the kind of home improvement that you want to get right the first time.
