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Downlights provide perhaps the most important layer of light in a room: ambient. Installing ceiling spotlights and other downlight types in your space is a must-have if you want a well-lit, well-balanced home.
In this downlight layout guide, we’ll help you plan your downlight design scheme to maximise the functionality and aesthetic appeal of your fixtures.
How to Plan Your Downlight Layout Â
Whether you’re looking to plan your kitchen downlights layout or are working instead on a relaxing bedroom downlight layout, this guide will help you plan from start to finish.
Functionality and Usage
Knowing how you intend to use the room is critical. The function of the room will decide the position of the lights as well as how much brightness you’re going to need. LED downlights have an advantage over typical pendant lights in that you can position as many of them as you need around the room to accomplish your lighting goals.
Focal Points
The first thing you’ll want to do is determine what areas you want to focus on the most. Figure out which parts of the room you want more light in and make that your starting point. For example, in the bathroom, you may want your starting point to be the sink or shower area. You can light those areas first, and then install other downlights around those.
Edges of the Ceiling
Take care to ensure even downlight and spotlight spacing near the edges of the ceiling. If you have them too close to the wall, it can cast shadows and make the room feel smaller and darker. Instead, you should be sure that your spot light spacing is about 75 centimeters from the edge of the ceiling.
Height of the Ceiling
Since the lights will shine downward from the ceiling, it will naturally illuminate in the shape of a cone. You want to aim it so the lights intersect above the floor at a height of about 75 centimeters. Higher ceilings, for example, won’t need more downlights to provide proper illumination, necessarily; they will just need bulbs with sufficient lumen counts to be powerful enough to reach down to the floor.
Colour Temperature
Colour temperature is a way to discuss the warmth or coolness of a given light. They exist on a scale between 1,000 and 10,000 Kelvin units. Toward the top of the spectrum, you’ll find cooler lights. At the bottom of the spectrum are the warmer lights.
In domestic settings, warm white light around 3,000K to 3,300K colour temperatures tend to be preferred. They provide a warm light that is still bright and visible, so it’s easy to see while also being comfortable and easy on the eyes.
How Far Apart Should Spotlights Be?
The distance between downlights is an important factor to consider when planning your layout. Poor positioning could mean dark spots and shadows throughout the room, which is easily avoidable if you just plan ahead.
Downlight positioning will vary depending on the room and ceiling size, of course. In general, it is recommended that your downlight spacing be about two feet apart. This will provide plenty of even illumination throughout the room, leaving no room for shadows to take form.
How to Fit Recessed Ceiling Lights in Each Room of the HouseÂ
You may find your downlight needs vary in different rooms in your home. Depending on size, functionality and personal preference, the spotlight layout for downlights in bedroom spaces, for instance, and your kitchen recessed spotlights may differ. Below, you’ll find a basic guide on implementing downlights into each of the main rooms.
Living Room
The living room is a place where you will gather with your friends and family to relax and enjoy one another’s company. Therefore, it should be a place conducive to such activities. Position downlights at an angle from the TV to avoid harsh glares. You should also angle them away from mirrors for the same reason.
Downlights can be used both as ambient light and task lighting in the living room. Take advantage of this by positioning downlights above a reading nook area, or anywhere else you like to relax and work on hobbies.
Bathroom
In the bathroom, there are special zones that you must be mindful of when planning your bathroom lighting layout.
- Zone 0. This zone refers to the area that is directly inside of the shower or bath. Lights here require an IP rating of IP67 to prevent water damage.
- Zone 1. Lights above the shower or bath up to 2.25 meters from the floor need a rating of IP65 or better.
- Zone 2. Areas outside of the first two zones need a minimum of IP44 ratings.
- Zone 3. Any area outside of the aforementioned zones do not necessarily require special IP ratings. Still, it is recommended that you choose an IP20 rated light or higher.
Once you understand the zones you have to work with, you can start planning downlight installation. Having a recessed light above the shower makes for good task lighting. The same can be said for the bathroom sink area, as well as the vanity.
Kitchen
The kitchen is a task heavy space that needs a lot of bright light. This is important, since you are preparing meals here using knives and other potentially sharp tools. Install downlights above the kitchen island, countertops and sink areas. These will provide you plenty of illumination to safely complete your tasks.
What’s Better: Halogen or LED Downlights? Â
When you begin shopping for your new kitchen, bedroom or living room downlights, the first thing to consider is the type of fixture you want to get. With LED and traditional bulb styles available, you may be stuck deciding which one is best.
Halogen lights used to be the main source of illumination used in households, alongside incandescent bulbs. In recent decades, LED lights have been on the rise in popularity, quickly dwarfing the use of traditional bulbs. This raises the question: are LED lights really better than halogen bulbs for recessed ceiling lights?
Generally speaking, LED lights are going to be better than halogens in all applications. There are a few reasons why this is so.
Energy Efficiency
LED bulbs are far more energy efficient than halogen bulbs. LEDs use 80 percent of their energy as light, whereas halogen bulbs first make heat to create light.
Long Lifespan
Whereas halogen bulbs only last for 1,000 or so hours, LED bulbs outlast tens of thousands of hours. A longer life means you won’t have to buy lights as often.
Cost Effective
Since LED bulbs provide you with such a long life and use such little energy, they save you a lot more money than using halogen bulbs would. This is true both in how they can lower your energy bill, as well as upfront cost in buying new bulbs less frequently.
Versatility
Halogen bulbs tend to provide only warmer light colour temperatures. LED bulbs, on the other hand, come in a wide range of colour temperatures to choose from. This will allow you to stay in greater control of the appearance of your lighting design.
What Are Lumens, and How Many Do You Need? Â
Lumens are a way to measure the amount of light that a bulb outputs. With halogen bulbs, you will usually see something similar expressed in wattage.
Watts simply measure the amount of energy a bulb consumes, which can also help you understand how bright the light is going to be. Lumens, on the other hand, measure the total light output without taking energy into account. Therefore, they are a more accurate representation of how much light you can expect from a bulb.
So, if you’re asking yourself, “how many downlights do I need?” what you really want to know is the lumen count. The number of lumens you’ll need will depend on the size of the room itself.
To determine the lumen counts, and therefore the best downlights to get the job done, you can perform a simple calculation.
- Measure the size of the room in square feet. To do this, simply multiply the length by the width of the room. This will give you your square footage amount.
- Determine the footcandle count. Footcandles will allow you to measure the overall brightness a room has or will need. These units are an important element of determining the lumen counts you’re going to need.
- Multiple the footcandle number by the square footage. This number will provide you with the lumen count the room will need to be well-lit.
In most applications, you’ll need the following lumen counts in each room:
- Bedrooms: 10 to 20 lumens per square foot
- Bathrooms: 70 to 80 lumens per square foot
- Living rooms: 10 to 20 lumens per square foot
- Kitchens: 30 to 40 lumens per square foot
What IP Rating is Needed for the Bathroom? Â
Bathrooms are perhaps the wettest room in the house. Whether that comes in the form of actual water splashes or just humidity, moisture is a big factor to consider when choosing your bathroom lights.
The main element to consider is the IP rating. IP ratings, or Ingress Protection rating, are how to tell the resistance of a light to moisture and debris. The first number in an IP rating indicates the resistance to debris and solids. The second number indicates the resistance to moisture.
First Digit – Solids
0 – Offers no protection against solid debris
1 – Offers protection against solid debris larger than 50 millimeters
2 – Offers protection against solid debris larger than 12.5 millimeters
3 – Offers protection against solid debris larger than 25 millimeters
4 – Offers protection against solid debris larger than one millimeter
5 – Dust resistant
6 – 100% dust tight
Second Digit – Moisture
0 – Offers no protection against moisture
1 – Offers protection against vertical drops of water
2 – Offers protection against drops of water falling at a 15 degree angle
3 – Offers protection against splashing water at a 60 degree angle
4 – Offers protection against splashing water from any angle
5 – Offers protection against water sprays from any angle
6 – Offers protection against powerful water spray
7 – Offers temporary protection against immersion
8 – Offers complete protection against immersion
In a wet room like the bathroom, an IP65 rated light is necessary. This will ensure that the lights are capable of withstanding exposure to the constant moisture without taking on damage.
ConclusionÂ
Downlights play a major role in the overall lighting of your room. Getting the downlights right can therefore make or break the look and feel of your space. In the article above, we’ve provided all you need to know on planning your downlighting layout.
LED Downlight Ideas
With the LDC723 6 Watt Dimmable Recessed Anti Glare LED Downlight, you can enjoy ample ambient lighting without any of the glare. This light provides 600 lumens of 3000K warm white light, shining from deep within the fixture at a 24 degree beam angle. Its position ensures that there is no glare, even if you look right at it. It features a durable alumnium construction that is finished in white with a sleek black internal reflector. Overall, it measures 96 millimeters b 46 millimeters in size.
Fill your room with beautiful ambient lighting using the CSL024 5 Watt Dimmable Square Recessed LED Downlight Fitting. This stylish fitting features a modern square shaped housing that is fashioned out of aluminium. It comes in your choice of rose gold, black, white or chrome to suit the design scheme of your living room. The bulb shines a total of 430 lumens of 3000K warm white light at a 23 degree beam angle. Overall, the fixture measures 85 millimeters by 85 millimeters in size.
Perfect for larger rooms, the LDC725 10 Watt Dimmable Recessed Anti Glare LED Downlight is a powerful downlight that casts illumination over a wider area of space. This fixture generates an ultra bright 1000 lumens of 3000K warm white light at a 24 degree beam angle. The bulbs are recessed far enough into the fixture to eliminate glare, even when looking directly at it. Fashioned out of durable alumnium, this modern downlight is durable and reliable. It comes in a white finish with a black internal reflector and measures 148 millimeters by 46 millimeters in size.
Evenly spread llight throughout the room with the LDC735 9 Watt Anti Glare Dimmable Recessed LED Downlight. These simple, circular downlights generate 800 lumens of illumination at a narrow 24 degree beam angle. Since the bulbs are recessed deeply into the light fixture itself, they don’t cause any sort of glare. They are built to last from premium aluminium and measure 85 millimeters in diameter.
