Recessed Lighting Layout
How many can lights, how far apart, and how far off the wall.
Sets how bright the space should be
On the box — 800 lm ≈ a 60W bulb
How many can lights, how far apart, and how far off the wall.
Sets how bright the space should be
On the box — 800 lm ≈ a 60W bulb
How many can lights a room needs, how far apart to space them, and how far to keep them off the walls — so you get even light instead of a runway or a cave.
The standard starting point is to space lights at roughly half the ceiling height: an 8-foot ceiling wants lights about 4 feet apart. The outer lights go about half that spacing from the wall — around 2 feet — which puts light on the walls rather than leaving dark edges. The room's dimensions then determine how many rows and columns that spacing produces.
Example
A 12 × 14 foot room with an 8-foot ceiling: lights about 4 feet apart, roughly 2 feet off the walls — which works out to a 3 × 4 grid, so 12 lights.
About half your ceiling height — so roughly 4 feet apart on a standard 8-foot ceiling.
About 12, in a 3 × 4 grid, on an 8-foot ceiling. Fewer if the room has other lighting; more if it is the only light source.
2 to 3 feet. Closer and you scallop the wall with bright arcs; further and the edges of the room go dark.