recessed lights in kitchen - electrician coming today - help

13 years ago

Hi all,

Ok, DH discussed the location of the recessed lights in the kitchen for 2+ hours (!) last night - but didn't make a decision. Not sure why we didn't hve our KD help out with this - but now it's a bit late since the electrician is coming today...

Here is some background on the kitchen:

Painted white (well, slightly off-white) inset cabinets (the two cabinets flanking the range will have glass doors - and don't worry, I know about the grease issue... :). The island will be antiqued black (amaretto). There are no windows in the kitchen, but the kitchen is open to the dining room which has french doors and 2 windows.

We will have 2 mini pendants (50 watt each) over the island; under counter (fluorescnt) lights; and 2 puck lights under higher cabinet above sink. The recessed lights are 4" fluorescent/CFLs(we are required to use fluorescent here).

So here are the options that we have come up with. I would love any feedback you have. Which one do you think will be better? Or maybe you have a suggestion to make it better?

OPTION 1: 7 cans, 3 placed over the edge of the counter top, others scattered for general lighting. Seems like a lot of lights for the size of the kitchen, but maybe we need this many (??)

OPTION 2: 5 cans placed more in walkway between counter and island. Without having lights right above the edge of the counter, I'm not sure if the uncabinet lights - even if placed in the front part of the cabinet - will give enough or the right kind of light. Is 5 4" cans enough?

Maybe you have an OPTION 3 for me? Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer :)

Thanks you!

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Comments (5)

David
13 years ago
If you're willing to consider using LED lights, the cost may not be prohibitive.
eg - LR 6 current pricing is ~ 80.
Price of the can ~ 15. (title 24)

Built in CFL can ~60
Trim ~ 20.
Bulb ~10
David
13 years ago
I would keep the light over the sink and perhaps make the light can pattern more regular - not scattered.

I would not use less than 6 lights. 7 would probably be better.
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Hard to answer this without more info but... we have what they call the "walk around lights" all on one switch; basically the lights that light the path of travel I would keep your sink light seperate also our bar lights are seperate, too as far as the prep area it would depend on its location...you may not want to leave it on with the bar lights, maybe to eliminate its own switch you put it with the sink light? it really does depend on where it is at in your layout
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Right now with option 1, the walkway light is lined up with the the sink light, which makes sense (on paper anyway). I was thinking that the 100W of pendants would light the island - will the mini pendants give you the light you need or are they more decorative fixtures? Busybme make a good point about also knowing what lights go on which switches. I did my switches exactly like Sandy did but in reality, once I want one work zone on I almost always turn on the others too. In hindsight I might have been just as well off to do just one switch for the overhead fixture and one for task lighting. That way when I leave the room, I would only have to turn off one or two switches instead of going to each counter and turning them off. It's really hard to decide this upfront - you might want to do a mental "run thru" of cooking a meal and see if you can imagine yourself working the lights as part of the process.
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Lighting is one of this week's rotating renovation obsessions, so I understand your dilemma. I made an appointment with a lighting designer at a good sized local lighting store last week ($75 for an hour, which I think was money well spent), so that might be an option for you if you live in a place where that's available, as I found it really helpful. Soft, incandescent-like dimming is a goal for me too, and I know that most LEDs just get dimmer rather than also getting warmer like good old "real" bulbs. Satco, however, makes warm dimming bulbs, and Juno has warm dimming housings. I haven't actually seen either of them, so I can't comment on how they look, and there may be others out there too, but that's an option you might want to throw into the mix (even though we're supposed to be clarifying things, not making them more complicated!) Let us know what you decide and how you like it. I keep wishing there were ONE easy area, but I haven't found it so far.
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In my view (preference) the lights should be in the ceiling where they can illuminate the counter tops and be outside the user's direct field of view unless he looks up. Shadows from objects and users should be kept in mind. However, this seems to best apply to more conventional 8 - 10 foot ceilings. I suppose pointable light housings mounted to exposed beams might work in a cathedral configuration. In addition, small lights under cabinets will help. I'm surprised that your electricians would bid on a job without an electrical plan.
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remodel-mama
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks davidtay - As far as I understand we cannot switch out the fluorescents for LEDs. We were told that Title 24 is not up to date with the technology and that fluorescents are still required in the kitchen... Did I miss something?
David
13 years ago
That is not true. The LR6 and CR6 CREEs are title 24 compliant.

In reality both the CREE Lights are more efficient than the standard spiral CFLs (~50 - 55 lumens per watt).

Most people use T8 fluorescent tubes just for the sake of title 24 compliance and cost.
David
13 years ago
From the rule book
Lighting in Kitchens. A minimum of 50 percent of the total rated wattage of permanently installed lighting in kitchens shall be high efficacy.
EXCEPTION to Section 150(k)8: Up to 50 watts for dwelling units less than or equal to 2,500 ft2 or 100 watts for dwelling units larger than 2,500 ft2 may be exempt from the 50 percent high efficacy requirement when the following conditions are met:
A. All low efficacy luminaires in the kitchen are controlled by a manual-on occupant sensor, dimmer, energy management control system (EMCS), or a multi-scene programmable control system; and
B. All permanently installed luminaires in garages, laundry rooms, closets greater than 70 square feet, and utility rooms are high efficacy and are controlled by a manual-on occupant sensor.
NOTE: For the purpose of this requirement, kitchen lighting includes all permanently installed lighting in the kitchen except for lighting that is internal to cabinets for the purpose of illuminating only the inside of the cabinets. Lighting in areas adjacent to the kitchen, including but not limited to dining and nook areas, are considered kitchen lighting if they are not separately switched from kitchen lighting.
9. Lighting internal to cabinets. Permanently installed lighting that is internal to cabinets shall use no more than 20 watts of power per linear foot of illuminated cabinet.

From the Cree LR6 product sheet
TestedandcertifiedtoULstandards.Suitablefordamplocations.
Â UtilizeGU-24basefornewconstructionprojectsinCaliforniaor otherareas wherehighefficacylinevoltagesocketsarerequired.
Â ExceedsCaliforniaTitle-24highefficacyluminairerequirements. Â ENERGYSTARÂ®qualifiedSolid-StateLightingLuminaire.

HTH

Here is a link that might be useful: Title 24

recessed lights in kitchen - electrician coming today - help

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recessed lights in kitchen - electrician coming today - help

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