Recessed Lighting Guide

Recessed Lighting is one of the most versatile lighting options on the market. Don't let its inconspicuous nature fool you though, these lights are powerful! Place them throughout your ceiling for unobtrusive general lighting for either your home or office, position them above your sink or desk for task lighting, or direct them toward your favorite piece of art work for ideal accent lighting. We've laid out step by step guidelines that will take you through many options available with recessed lighting to help you differentiate one choice from the next.
Before you get started buying and installing recessed lighting, there a few things to consider. Installing recessed lighting is made easier by carefully understanding the geponents that make up a recessed lighting system: Housings, Trims, and Lamps.

The first thing to consider when looking at Recessed Lighting is the Housing.
If you're building a new home or office, you'll need housings specifically designed for New Construction. If you're replacing an old recessed light, or adding to an existing structure, you'll need a Remodeling, or Old Construction, housing. Once you've narrowed your search this way, consider these options:

Ceiling Insulation (IC, Non-IC): If your ceiling is insulated, you'll need IC rated housings. If your ceiling is not insulated, you'll need Non-IC rated housings. Some housings will work for both IC and Non IC applications, so keep an eye out for these as well.
Air Tight/Energy Efficient: Consider Air-Tight housings. These are energy-saving, and are an evolving trend across the country. Traditionally, recessed lighting has been manufactured with many penetrations to the outer housing allowing heat or cooled air to escape into the ceiling space. This creates an unnecessary strain on heating and cooling systems, ultimately resulting in higher than needed electric and gas bills. Remember: Air Tight Ready fixtures are not air tight, they require certain trims or a field-installable gasket kit to cover the holes in the product.
UL/CUL Damp Locations: A Damp Location is an area that is exposed to moisture, but not directly to water. Keep an eye out for items noted as UL or UL/CUL listed. These products are the safest bets for showers, kitchens, or any other area that might be exposed to moisture.
Firebox: Separation walls and floor/ceiling assemblies have specific hourly fire ratings. These ratings identify the amount of time it takes for fire to pass through these barriers, as well as how much time a building's occupants have to escape before the structural integrity of the building is jeopardized. Fireboxes maintain this fire rating, while historically, recessed lighting has eliminated a structure's rating. A Firebox housing installs the same way any other downlight would, and eliminates the hassle of custom built boxes. Additionally, they are UL classified to maintain fire ratings, where custom built boxes are not tested for anything. When using recessed lighting in fire rated ceilings it is critical to use a Firebox to maintain the integrity of the structure in the unfortunate event of a fire.
gemercial Use: If your needs are aimed toward gemercial use, check out housings like Progress' gepact fluorescent Pro-Optic Series. These housings allow for higher light output, and are available in 6" and 8" trim sizes. These housings will also greatly minimize the perceived brightness of the fixture, and improve the overall efficiency of the housing/trim gebination.

The second thing to consider is your trim.
Trims gee in all different colors and styles, and are the only part of recessed lighting that is visible. When purchasing trims, make sure the trim you choose corresponds with your current or new housing. Often times, several different trim types will match one particular housing, so browse through the definitions and find one that meets your needs. There are several types of trims:

Baffles: Baffles trap and shape the light, ultimately minimizing glare and reducing brightness by narrowing the focus of the downlighting beam. They also provide control for R, BR, and PAR lamps. (see lamp details below)
Reflectors: Reflectors maximize light output. These trims are ideal for general, accent, and task applications for both residential and gemercial needs.
Down Lighting/Cone: Down lighting projects a cone of straight down light. The cone shapes should overlap for a maximum effect.
Wall Washers: Wall Washers emphasize vertical surfaces and visually increase the perceived size of a room. Aim wall washers toward pictures, fireplaces, or wall hangings.
Lenses and Diffusers: Lenses and Diffuses are ideal for closets, bathrooms, and covered porches to diffuse light and shield the lamp.
Eyeballs and Adjustables: Eyeballs provide adjustable and directional lighting suitable for accent, task, and wall washing.
Open: Open trims are the most economical choice for recessed lighting. They create an attractive finished look without gepromising the efficiency of the light source.
Decorative: Decorative trims are a great way to give a room or space a stylish boost. They're all UL listed for damp locations, and acgeodate a number of lamp types.

The final factor is to consider is the lamp/bulb.
Your housing and trims will specify what type of lamp you will need, but here is a general run down on major ones to consider:
Incandescent: Standard incandescent bulbs give off a warm glow, and work well with day to day decorative lamps.

Incandescent R Lamps: R Lamps also give off a warm light color, and are ideal for recessed downlighting and downlights in chandeliers. These are reflective general service lamps.
Incandescent Par Lamps: Par Lamps are the most sophisticated reflector lamps with incandescent or tungsten halogen light sources. These lamps offer a wide variety of beam patterns and a whiter light.
Incandescent Halogen Lamps: The lamps are miniature halogen lamps that provide excellent color rendition and maximum beam control.
gepact Fluorescent: gepact Fluorescent lamps are great for general illumination. They are long life and energy efficient fluorescent lamps.
Low Voltage: Low Voltage lamps offer excellent color rendition and beam pattern control. They also offer good precise task lighting with energy savings.

MR and PAR Lamps: MR and PAR lamps are gepact halogen unit sources with good beam pattern control.
Bayonet and Bi-Pin Lamps: Bayonet and Bi-Pin lamps are halogen or incandescent low voltage lamps ideal for landscape and undercabinet applications.
High Intensity Dishcarge: There are three types of High Intensity Discharge:

Metal Halide: Metal Halide has good color rendering characteristics, long life, and optical control.
High Pressure Sodium: This is the most efficient HID source. High Pressure Sodium emits a yellowish color.
Mercury Vapor: This HID lamp is suitable for outdoor use and emits a blue/green light.
Fluorescent: Fluorescent lamps are about five times as efficient converting electiricty as incandescent lamps.
Before you do any kind of electrical work, you should know what codes pertain to your project because they determine how electrical work should be done. Electricians follow the National Electric Code (NEC) to figure circuit wiring and capacity necessary for each situation. It's a fairly geplex guide, so you may want to consult your local inspector for more help in clarifying codes. As you plan out circuits, keep in mind that it's generally better and safer to have more available circuits and extra capacity, than too few. You can figure out how many watts you are using by multiplying the wattage of a bulb by the number of bulbs being installed. Also remember to use wiring that is the same material and gauge (thickness) as the existing wire. If the existing wiring is fabric-insulated or has no ground wire, have a licensed electrician inspect it to determine if the wiring should be replaced.

Recessed Lighting Pre-Installation Safety
Remember, installing recessed lighting is a relatively simple job that you can do safely if you follow one cardinal rule: Turn off the power first. Always cut power to the circuit at its sub panel or the main electrical panel. Make sure to test the wires to ensure that the power is off and then lock the panel box, or put a sign on it, reminding people not to touch it because someone is attending to wires. Additionally, make sure to check with local authorities to see if a permit is required.
Another very important safety consideration when installing recessed lighting is to keep insulation at least 3" away from recessed lights, unless light is marked "I.C." (Insulated Ceiling) to avoid overheating and fire. When insulation touches an improperly rated recessed light, fire can result. Also remember your circuits and some of these steps will probably be different, so read the manufacturers instructions.
Before you install your recessed lighting, you need to have a plan. The spacing and layout of recessed lighting is extremelyimportant. You want to position the light where it's needed for the job that it is intended to do, while avoiding the creation of shadows where light is needed. Consider the different jobs that recessed lighting can acgeplish, and take into consideration the need for Task, Accent, and General lighting.

Down lighting: This is the basic flooding of a room with light, where recessed lighting is your primary source of light for the whole room. Down lights project a cone of light straight down. The cones of light should overlap for maximum effect.
Wall Washing: This is where one wall of a room is flooded with light, these recessed lights add to your total ambient light level, but their main job is to light a particular feature on a wall.
Grazing: This is similar to wall washing, but the wall in question has some interesting texture that you want to show off, for example, a rock fireplace or a log wall.
Highlighting: This method is used if you have paintings or other pieces of art that need to be accented.
If recessed lighting is your only source of built-in light in a room, allow one fixture for every 25 square feet of floor space. And you should space your lights about 6-7 feet apart to get a good overall coverage in your room. You will need at least 7" to 8" above your ceiling with most recessed lighting cans. It is also important to determine where the joists are in your room so that you can place your lights accordingly. Keep in mind that if you place all your lights between the same two joists, you will have less trouble running wire than if you place them between different joists. To make an easy installation, minimize the number of joists that you have to run wire through.
Now you are ready to install your recessed lighting. Before you begin installation, make sure youve considered all of the electrical and safety considerations, have the bought appropriate materials and tools, and have read the manufacturers instructions. Another good idea before you start the installation portion of the project is to cover or remove furniture and cover the floor with a drop cloth because you may make a dusty mess during the installation process; you may also want to cover interior doors to contain your dust and open outside windows. And remember, if there's no electrical outlet handy, you may want to hire an electrician to run wire to the new fixture.

Use the electronic stud finder to locate ceiling joists, if you have access to the ceiling joists in your room, you should use cans that mount directly to the joists for greater stability. In rooms with an existing ceiling, you will need to use the cans that attach directly to your drywall.
Using the manufacturer's template, mark the openings and cut the openings with a drywall saw where you intend to install the lights. Take into account where your joists are so that you will not need to re-cut and patch incorrect cuts. Be careful not to cut through existing cables hidden in the ceiling. A jigsaw with a plaster-cutting blade will make the job easier, and another handy tool, especially if you're putting in several recessed lights, is a drywall circle cutter. It's precise and easy to use.
After you have cut all the holes in your drywall as necessary, you will need to drill holes in the joists to acgemodate the wires that will run from light to light that are separated by joists. Make as few holes as possible while still reaching all the lights. Reach through the holes in the drywall and drill holes large enough to acgemodate your wire. You should not cut a hole that is greater than 1/4 of the width of the joist.
Your next step is to remove and disconnect your existing fixture. Unscrew the wire-nuts to release the fixture from the ingeing wire. Be sure to test that the power is off with your electric tester light before handling the bare wires directly. The ingeing wire (from the electrical box) is the one that will supply power to your new recessed lights.
Insert the electrical cable into the fixture's junction box and fasten it with a cable clamp. Strip the wires as needed, and then splice them to the fixture wires with twist-on wire connectors. Connect the fixture's black wire to the black house wire, then white to white and ground to ground (green or bare wire). Stuff the wires into the box and fasten its cover.
Install the fixture housing. Rotate the fixture housing into place in the ceiling until the mounting tabs engage the ceiling and the fixture is secure. Once the housing clips are snug, attach the inner baffle and any other trim to the fixture housing, according to manufacturer's instructions. Paint the area before putting in the reflector shield and bulb if you can.
Insert the bulb and turn the power back on to test your newly installed recessed lighting!