How far apart should pot lights be

Question

Does anyone know of a good website that calculates how many potlights there should be for a room in my basement and where they should go? I am finishing my basement and am thinking of buying 3 inch potlights (the small ones)...except I don't know how many I should use for good lighting.

Answer 1

Here's a good site for info on number of recessed lights and their layout - http://www.forteelectric.com/Howtolayout...

Think about how you'll use the room, and create lightscapes with placement and multiple switch circuits (and dimmers!).  If this is a media room, wall washers provide indirect light, letting you dim the main overhead lights for TV viewing, without sitting in a dark room.

As a general rule of thumb, downlights are spaced at 3/4 to 1 times the distance from the ceiling to the surface being lit.  For an 8' ceiling, that would be 6-8' spacing between fixtures.  For wallwashers, place the lights out from the walls 1/4-1/3 the wall height and aim the 1/4 of the way down the wall.  To flood the wall with light, the light-to-light spacing should be 1/4 the wall height.  For spots of light, space at about 1/2 the height.

If anyone in your family is bothered by the glare from overhead lights, 4" cans give a tight down-beam with little lateral glare.

Jim W -- ennnhhh - Wrong Answer -- The NEC does NOT specify minium lumens per room.  It only specifies that there must be a swtiched receptacle in each room.  It's not uncommon for tract homes to only have built-in fixtures in the kitchen, bathrooms and hallways.

Answer 2

Do you mean can lights?  No matter, the lights should be placed to provide lumens/ square foot that is calculated according to the NEC. If you take the area measuremnet of the room to the electrical supply they should be able to give you an answer. If you use a track lighting system, you can add more fixtures as needed.