What Size Recessed Lights Should I Use?

trudymom

16 years ago

New construction, great room, vaulted ceiling, 4 recessed cans. Should I use 5" or 6", and why?

Thank you!

I posted this in lighting too.

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Comments (7)

formula1
16 years ago
Use 6" - sloped ceiling cans available, flat ceiling fixtures more reasonably priced in our experience (because they sell a lot more).

5" - sloped cans not available (Juno).
amyks
16 years ago
I love our 5 inch cans. They were more expensive, but I think they look much nicer than 6 inch. It really does make a difference, go to a lighting store and take a look, I'm sure they have both. Of course formula1 is right, if they don't make them for sloped ceilings, then I guess you don't have a choice in that instance. But check out the 5 inch if you are putting them anywhere else in the house.

Amy
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The light fixtures in your brochure pics are way to glary. Definitely not subtle. I wouldn't want to live with them. Our great room is some similarly sized to yours and we have the fan lights plus six 6" can lights, two cans skimming the fireplace brickwork and four cans spaced on a larger square pattern around the room, all on dimmers. The newer pancake LED lights have the light source even with the ceiling surface, not recessed, if you use them you will be creating glare as well. I choose to use the recessed cans and retrofit them with LED lamps to get the best of both, recessed LED lighting. Our ceiling fan has three 40W equivalent LED's on the bottom, and four 60W equivalent LED's on top, all behind milky glass. Everything in the house is 3000K. The fan lights are fine for TV watching, and we don't use the extra can light normally, but at family gatherings opening presents we do need the extra light.
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6" is the default recessed fixture that most builders and electricians will install. It is efficient cost-wise compared with installation (their concerns). I'd expect them to be placed in certain areas or spacing based on that 6" size, so by just switching those existing locations to a 4" fixture may not be adequate. It just depends on the lighting concept you are trying to achieve with each space, and at the same time I also wouldn't expect a builder or electrician to have followed any.
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anthem
16 years ago
I think smaller cans are definitely better. In all the nicer homes, all I see are 3", 4 and 5" cans. I rarely see 7" unless its for some really large area where the can's size looks small in comparison to the space its in.

If you have the issue of slope - then your choices are either stick with the ones that can handle sloper in the lower end recessed cans or go with one of the higher-end cans that can are adjustable to handle it.
carolyn53562
16 years ago
We have 4 6" cans in our great room that has a flat 18' high ceiling and really like them. You get more light from a 6" can than from a 5" can, so I think the amount of lighting you will need to get from your cans will be important in your decisiion. When you have a vaulted ceiling and the lights are far off of the floor, I don't think the difference in the look between 5" or 6" is significant (IMO). We don't use our 6" for general lighting, but do use them when we need the room to be really well lit. They do a great job of lighting the room and I usually turn them on when I am reading in that room, which I didn't think I would be doing when we installed them. Our 4 6" cans really can light the whole great room. Good luck.
msm859
16 years ago
5" looks a lot better. i don't know how a 6" gives more light -- they both use the same bulbs
carolyn53562
16 years ago
Whether a 5" looks better than a 6" is a matter of personal opinion. As for whether a 6" gives off more light, if they do use the same bulbs then msm is right that the light they give off was the same. If a 6" housing will take a bulb with a larger beam angle (or whatever you call it) than a 5" housing, then a 6" light would give you a bigger circle of light than a 5" housing. Recessed lights give off light in a cone shape and I assumed that you could use a bigger bulb with a 6" than with a 5" and then get a bigger light cone--but check with your lighting store to find out for sure that 5" and 6" use the same size bulbs because beam angle will be important if you are only using 4 lights in your room. I suggest that you find a vaulted ceiling that is the same height as yours (your builder might be able to help you with that) and see what you think of the size of the lights that they have and the amount of light that you get from them. Good luck!

What Size Recessed Lights Should I Use?

Comments (7)

formula1

amyks

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