Our kitchen lighting now in. Our kitchen is 15 x 18 and the cabinets will be fitted with under the cabinet xenon lights. On the ceiling, we have: 1. Five recessed light fixtures for over the sink and the front of the kitchen. All five are incandescent and on a dimmer. 2. Four recessed light fixtures for the back of the kitchen. All four are incandescent and on a dimmer. 3. Three mini-pendents over the kitchen table in the middle of the kitchen. All three are incandescent and on a dimmer. Clearly, we have plenty of lights and they are well spaced and placed. So, what spot light bulbs would you recommend for the nine recessed lights and the three mini-pendents? I see the recessed spots come in 65 watts, but is that too much? TIA for your recommendations.

For a dimmer switch, the size and rating of the dimmer switch dictates the amount of watts that can be placed on luminaires controlled by the switch. Most off-the-shelf residential dimmers are rated at only 600 watts. What this means is that for a 120 volt circuit utilizing a 15amp breaker, your maximum amount of a watts that can be used on the circuit is 1800... BUT, the maximum amount of light bulbs controlled by each 600 watt dimmer is the equivalent of 10 60 watt bulbs for a 600 watt total. You can increase the amount of lights and their wattages only by installing higher rated dimmers switches (800 watt or 1000 watt). In addition to that, each room in your house must be designed to provide a minimum of not less than 8% of window glazing area to floor area for natural lighting in any room, OR provide a minimum of 6 footcandles of artificial light over the entire area of the room at a height of 30 inches above the floor. (International Residential Code 2003/2006

I saw this thread of posts regarding Seagull (low-voltage) Ambiance Lighting. Here's some responses to several questions. 1. "Clear or frosted bulbs?" Personally I would suggest 'clear' for task lighting, 'frosted' if you'll be able to see the actual bulb. 2. "5W or 10W bulbs?" I use 10 watt for task, 5 watt (in some cases) often for behind glass doors. As a rule, I generally use 10 watt. 3. "I can't find stranded 10/2 anywhere, only solid copper?" For the actual wire where the bulb holders clip in, you must use their 'stranded 10-2 wire' (9373-12 or 9373-15 : 100' rolls), available in white or black (yes it is pricey). If you purchase another brand of stranded 10-2, make sure it fits the Seagull wire holder. 3a. NOTE: BY CODE, YOU MAY NOT RUN THIS STRANDED CABLE IN THE WALLS OF YOUR HOME. Rough wire using Romex. 4. "...Dimmers?" If you're using a Magnetic tranformer, you should use a magnetic dimmer. They do cost more money. Remember, you are dimming the line voltage to the transformer ... not dimming the low voltage output from the transformer. 5. "...Spacing?" General rule of thumb is one bulb holder every 4 to 6". 6. "Since this is low voltage, there is not requirement that you use Romex, which you will not find stranded." UNTRUE! You cannot (by Code) run the 10-2 stranded in the wall. 7. "Isn't 10/2 a little heavy? Is it a 20A circuit? I'd think 12/2 would be fine for in-wall." Your wire inside the walls should be 10-2 Romex for 12 volt systems and (can be) 12-2 Romex for 24-volt systems. 8. As suggested in one post, DO make sure your low voltage output is properly fused. Just because it's low-voltage, don't think that it can't be dangerous. 9. Break up your 'homeruns'. For example: If you have lights to the left and right of the sink, make 2 separate homeruns. Likewise, left and right of the cooktop, 2 separate homeruns. Don't try to run the entire kitchen low-voltage system on one homerun. Splice/Junctions: You aren't supposed to do any splices in the wall. The Romex comes out below the cabinet int a Seagull (9459-12, 9459-15) 'Compartment/Splicer'. This will splice Romex to their stranded.

We have 5" Juno Cans with the Alzak Wheat Haze trim centered over the countertop edge and spaced about 3 feet apart. We use 75 watt halogen floods on dimmers. On full bright they provide excellent task lighting with no dark spots. Dimmed they give the kitchen a nice glow. Halogen lamps also make the granite sparkle. We do have zeon under cabinet fixtures, but we use these more for "mood" lighting. They are really not needed for task lighting. Both types do give off some heat, but we do not find it excessive. They may cost more to operate, but the look they give to the kitchen is worth the extra $'s. Hey, that granite cost a lot as well. At any rate, we do not have the lights on all the time.