[rcantor]

Hi Guys I need some help with a layout of my recessed lighting. I have enclosed a link to picture of what i was thinking about, but i am not sure its the correct layout for the room. I was going to use 4" cans with 50watt light bulbs.


The 46" tv will be placed in the center of the room.


Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[rcantor]

Anyone?

 

[budk]

I can't tell, but it appears your soffit is pretty close to the lights on the left side. If so, you may find that you don't like the way those lights will illuminate the soffit.


It also depends on how "high" your soffit is in relation to the distance to the light, the type of bulb used, whether or not there are any diffusers or reflectors and the subsequent light funnel pattern.


I prefer to use more lights than I think i will need and put them on separate zones with dimmers. That way, you can set the lighting as needed whether it be dimmed in one part of the room or the other or if you want them all on bright for cleaning, etc.


AND, you must be more patient for a response. while waiting for a response, go look at other threads to see what people have done in similar situations.


Best of luck.

 

[rcantor]



Quote:
Originally Posted by budk /forum/post/18184097


I can't tell, but it appears your soffit is pretty close to the lights on the left side. If so, you may find that you don't like the way those lights will illuminate the soffit.


It also depends on how "high" your soffit is in relation to the distance to the light, the type of bulb used, whether or not there are any diffusers or reflectors and the subsequent light funnel pattern.


I prefer to use more lights than I think i will need and put them on separate zones with dimmers. That way, you can set the lighting as needed whether it be dimmed in one part of the room or the other or if you want them all on bright for cleaning, etc.


AND, you must be more patient for a response. while waiting for a response, go look at other threads to see what people have done in similar situations.


Best of luck.

Thanks for the reply. The soffit is about 1 foot away from the soffit and the soffit is about a foot lower than the ceiling, my thought is that it wouldnt really effect it to much, but im not really sure what im doing. I do plan on having the front section on a different dimmer than the rear half.


My main concern is that the room will not get enough light, do you think that the room will have enough light? I was thinking of using the baffle trim? I am a total newb at this.

 

[budk]

Actually, I don't think you have enough lighting for an 18 x 18 room

 

[rcantor]



Quote:
Originally Posted by budk /forum/post/18184449


Actually, I don't think you have enough lighting for an 18 x 18 room

Sorry to be a bother bud, but how many/ what size lighting would you suggest for this space?


I really appreciate you taking the time to comment.


Thanks!

 

[ArmandoM]

Why use such small cans? I'd only use 4" cans for accent lights & such myself.

 

[rcantor]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ArmandoM /forum/post/18184522


Why use such small cans? I'd only use 4" cans for accent lights & such myself.

What would you suggest using? how many? in what configuration?

 

[budk]

I used 4" cans in my room. I very much like them in a low ceiling (7'10") but in the rest of my home where I have 9' ceilings I used 6" cans.


The 4" cans just looked right to me for my theater. I based my comment of you not having enough light based on my room. My room is only 10'2" x 20'6" approx. and I have 6 lights in just the ceiling and it's really marginal for having enough light. Plus, I prefer to run cans somewhat dimmed as it doesn't seem as harsh as running them full on. With that in mind, I like to use more cans and use just dim them to the preferred lighting.


My little theater has 23 cans in it. 14 of them are in the soffits and 3 above the stage and they were meant to be accent lighting, but with as dark as the room is, they are also needed for the times that I need the room brighter, such as for cleaning.


For your room, I'm would probably put 5 across the back, 5 across the middle and 5 (or 4 if the stairs are in the way) across the front. I would want at least 2 zones and possibly 3, one for each row.


There is not any right or wrong answer, it's all what you want.

 

[3fingerbrown]

keep in mind that recessed lights leak sound through the ceiling to elsewhere in the house. This may or may not be a big deal. Surface mounted lighting, such as wall sconces, track lighting, etc., mitigate this issue.


6" cans provide more light.

 

[ArmandoM]

My room is similar in size to bud's.. 13 X 25 feet, and 7.5 foot high ceiling. I have six 6" 75 watt cans in the ceiling, and twelve 4" 50 watt cans in the soffit that goes all the way around the perimeter of the room that light the posters, equipment rack, screen, etc.


I think it's enough light for a dedicated home theater, If it was my home office or something, and I didn't have the perimeter lighting, I'd for sure want more of the 6" cans for a room that size.

 

[budk]

good point on the cans leaking sound, although many of us build surround the cans with boxes designed to contain the sound and handle the heat of the cans.


Speaking of heat, I only use 35w bulbs in my 4" can lights and they are almost never turned all the way up.


In my narrow room, I decided against sconses because I thought they would be a distraction and a physical obstruction. I'm extremely happy with that decision and with the number and spacing of my can lights. Just as a point of reference.


Best of luck.

 

[Cathan]

Not to disagree with Bud, but that may be enough lighting if it is for a dedicated theater room. My space only has five sconces and no cans and I think I have plenty of light. I wouldn't want to spend a lot of time reading in the room, but for the pre/post movie lights, its fine. As an added bonus the lack of cans means my sound proofing was easier.


If the room is for multiple purposes, eight cans (5-6" are fine) and a sconce or two would be fine. Just move your cans so that they run in two parallel lines. I'd run them in 1/3 of the way from the soffet on each side (take the distance between the two walls to come up with the 1/3 lines). Run the lights closets to the TV on a separate dimmer switch. Add additional light around any bar or gathering areas you may build.

 

[budk]

Feel free to disagree with me... the lines forms over there!


As I tried to convey, there is no right or wrong answer although there is a lighting expert that jumps on here once in awhile and spouts a whole lot of data that is over my head.


The finish of the room has a lot to do with lighting as well. My black furniture, grey carpet and matte walls do nothing to reflect any light so my room needs more light than a room with lighter colored furnishings. I stand by my opinion that you should have enough light to brighten a room for cleaning and then dim it down for actual use.

 

[jumbodogs]

I'm not sure about how many lights you will need but I did 6" cans all over my house and I hate them. To big ... wish I would have gone with something smaller.

 

[rcantor]

Thanks everyone for your replys and help. I am going to be using 8 qty 5" cans, they seem to give a lot more light than the 4" and they are much much cheaper. They look much nicer than the 6" and use the same size bulbs.

 

[DMF]



Quote:
Originally Posted by rcantor /forum/post/18184473


Sorry to be a bother bud, but how many/ what size lighting would you suggest for this space?

Look at your spacing. You're sticking religiously to a 3' spacing on the X axis (even though that takes you too close to a soffit), but more like 6' spacing on the Y axis.


To give a good answer, we really need to know 1) how high your ceiling is, 2) what the room layout is, 3) what colors you're using, and 4) what light level you need - and where.


For just ambient light under a 8' ceiling, consider a 3x3 grid with 4' spacing. But for a real lighting layout, we need to now the layout of the room - where are the passages and entrances? Where is the screen? etc

Quote:
Originally Posted by ArmandoM /forum/post/18184522


Why use such small cans? I'd only use 4" cans for accent lights & such myself.

Size of the can has squat to do with it. The output in lumens is what is important. Since most 4" cans use MR-16 lamps, they often have higher usable output than larger cans.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rcantor /forum/post/18186400


Thanks everyone for your replys and help. I am going to be using 8 qty 5" cans, they seem to give a lot more light than the 4" and they are much much cheaper. They look much nicer than the 6" and use the same size bulbs.

Read what I wrote above.


And what is "much much cheaper"? You can get 4" LV cans for about $15.