I have a 28'x28'finished basement space. It has 2 42" windows on 1 exterior wall. It's a general purpose rec type room with 8' drop ceiling. Person who is helping the owner with her lighting tells me that 12 6" can lights with LED trims(670 lumens) will be sufficient light. 2 sets of 6 cans in a rectangular layout. I disagreed and said 2 sets of 10 (6' spacingx8' spacing). Any professional opinions appreciated. Owner seems to take everything this lighting specialist says as gospel. I feel that she thinks I am trying to oversell the lighting. Thanks.
6"can lights
- Thread starter nizak
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FionaZuppa
Senior Member
- Location
- AZ
- Occupation
- Part Time Electrician (semi retired, old) - EE retired.
probably best to drop this into the Lighting forum.
one switch, or many dimmers ??
lumen output and lens type play a big role in this. i'll also point out that bulb color makes a diff too, 2700K will seem more bright than say a 5K bulb at same lumens because human eye is more sensitive to yellow area of the spectrum.
From Cooper:
General Downlighting
Width of beam (W) is generally equal to height (H) of room.
For proper spacing of fixtures, use the following rule
of thumb: for multiple units, space fixtures 5? to 6? apart
in 8? to 10? ceiling heights to achieve relative uniform
lighting. For example: a 12?x16? room using a 65W BR30
bulb would require a minimum of six fixtures to be
uniformly lit.
your room is ~4x bigger than a 12x16. according to this general rule you would need about 24 65W BR30's to achieve uniform lighting across the whole space. subtract out where light may not be desired, like directly over/near a wall mounted TV panel or over/near a fireplace, etc.
one switch, or many dimmers ??
lumen output and lens type play a big role in this. i'll also point out that bulb color makes a diff too, 2700K will seem more bright than say a 5K bulb at same lumens because human eye is more sensitive to yellow area of the spectrum.
From Cooper:
General Downlighting
Width of beam (W) is generally equal to height (H) of room.
For proper spacing of fixtures, use the following rule
of thumb: for multiple units, space fixtures 5? to 6? apart
in 8? to 10? ceiling heights to achieve relative uniform
lighting. For example: a 12?x16? room using a 65W BR30
bulb would require a minimum of six fixtures to be
uniformly lit.
your room is ~4x bigger than a 12x16. according to this general rule you would need about 24 65W BR30's to achieve uniform lighting across the whole space. subtract out where light may not be desired, like directly over/near a wall mounted TV panel or over/near a fireplace, etc.
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