Recessed lighting is an important feature of a house that helps you to increase the amount of light present in a particular room or space. Recessed lighting is very effective if it is placed correctly.
Today, we are going to discuss and find out how far apart recessed lighting should be from each other.
How far apart should recessed lighting be?
On an eight foot ceiling, recessed lighting should be placed four feet away from one another and on a ten foot ceiling, the distance is five feet. The general rule of calculating the distance between recessed lights is to divide the height of the ceiling by two.
Let’s look at different set ups to find out how far apart recessed lighting should be installed or placed.
In a kitchen:
The kitchen is one of the most important spaces of your house. Mainly because it is a common area where everybody can go. That is why using recessed lighting in a kitchen is a common practice because of its practicality.
How far apart recessed lighting should be placed in a kitchen depends on a lot of things.
First of all, the square foot size of the ceiling should be divided by two to find the distance between each recessed light.
If you have a kitchen that has a 9 square feet ceiling, then you will have to install recessed lights by maintaining a gap of 4.5 feet between each of them.
In a living room:
Using recessed lights in your living room can enhance its beauty significantly. While installing recessed lights in your living room, you will be required to divide the height of your living room ceiling to find what the exact distance should be between each recessed light.
If you have a eight foot ceiling, then the recessed lights should be placed at a distance of four feet from one another.
The diameter of the recessed lights can also influence the distance between the recessed lights. If you are planning to install six inch recessed lights, then the distance between them should be six feet.
In a basement:
Installing recessed lights in a basement is similar to installing recessed lights in any other room of your house. You will need to divide the height of your basement ceiling to find out how far apart recessed lighting should be placed from each other.
If your basement has a ten foot ceiling, then you will need to install the recessed lights by keeping a distance of five feet between them.
How far apart should 4 inch & 6 inch recessed lights be?
It is believed by experts that the diameter of a recessed light represents the space you need to maintain while installing the lights. So going by this rule, 4 inch recessed lights should be installed by maintaining a distance of four feet between them.
On the other hand, the distance you need to maintain while installing 6 inch recessed lights should be six feet.
Apart from this general rule, recessed lights come with a manufacturer’s spacing criterion that can be used to find the accurate distance between each recessed light. The goal is to multiply the space criterion with the height of the ceiling to find out the exact distance.
If you are going to install 4 inch recessed lights possessing a spacing criterion of 1 in a room that has a 9 foot ceiling, then the maximum space between each of the recessed lights can be 9×1 = 9 feet.
Do I have to use formulas to space out recessed lights? How do you calculate how many recessed lights are needed?
One does have to use some proven formulas when it comes to spacing out recessed lights. Let’s discuss in detail about how you can calculate the number of recessed lights needed for a particular room.
The ceiling height:
The most general rule of calculating the distance between recessed lights is to find out the ceiling height. The height of the ceiling needs to be divided by 2 to measure the distance between each recessed light.
For example, if you are planning to install recessed lights in a room that has a 10 foot ceiling, then you will need to place the recessed lights at a distance of five feet from one another.
The diameter:
The diameter of the recessed light can also help you to calculate the space between recessed lights. 4 inch recessed lights need to be placed four feet apart from each other.
You will need to install the lights by keeping a distance of six feet when it comes to 6 inch recessed lights. The diameter of the recessed lights indicates the distance between them.
Spacing criterion:
Recessed light manufacturers also give an estimation about the space between recessed lights in the form of spacing criterion. The range of spacing criterion is from 0.5 to 1.5. Spacing criteria alone can not decide the space.
You will need to multiply the ceiling height by space criterion to calculate the exact space between recessed lights.
If the space criterion is 1.5 and you are going to put recessed lights in an area that has a 10 foot ceiling, then the space between the recessed lights can be maximum 15 feet.
How many recessed lights do you need per square foot? Can you have too many recessed lights?
The experts believe that at least one and a half watt of recessed lighting is required per square foot. That is why measuring the area of your room is important to know how many recessed lights you need.
If you install too many recessed lights in a room, it can ruin the entire lighting of the room. The same thing can happen if you place too few recessed lights in a room as they can create patches of shadow in the entire area.
You can follow the manufacturer’s instructions while installing recessed lights inside your house. You can also seek the help of an electrician in order to place recessed lights. If the size of your ceiling is 10 square foot, then you should place a recessed light for every five square feet.
You can also multiply the ceiling height by the space criterion provided by the recessed light manufacturer to find out how many recessed lights you need per square foot.
Where should I place recessed lighting? How do you space out 4 recessed lights?
Placing recessed lighting might seem like a daunting task. But it can be done easily if you manage to follow some rules and regulations. Let’s discuss how you can space out 4 recessed lights to shed light on those steps.
Find out the purpose:
First of all, you will need to find your purpose for using recessed lighting. You will have to be sure about why and how you want to use the lights.
If you want to use the 4 recessed lights to light up a particular wall, then you will need to place the recessed lights by keeping a distance of eighteen to thirty six inches from the wall. The rule is the same if you want to light up a painting on the wall.
Calculate the distance:
Next, you will need to calculate the distance you have to maintain between the recessed lights. You can start by dividing the height of the ceiling by two to find out the amount of distance in foot required between your 4 recessed lights.
If you have an eight foot ceiling, you can place the lights at a distance of four feet from each other.
How far from the wall should recessed lights be? How far should recessed lights be from cabinets?
Experts suggest that you should install your recessed lights at least one foot away from the wall. But the ideal distance between the wall and the recessed lights is in the range of one and a half feet to three feet.
If you place the recessed lights too far from the wall or too close to the wall, it can ruin the purpose of installing recessed lights.
If you have cabinets in the room where you are going to install recessed lights, you will be required to place the lights at least two feet from the wall. This will keep an adequate gap between the recessed lights and the top of the cabinet.
Final Thoughts
One needs to place recessed lights from one another on their ceiling by dividing the height of the ceiling by two. The diameter and the space criterion of the recessed lights can also influence the distance. Most recessed lights are placed at four to six feet away from one another.