Kitchen Lighting

[dknarnd]

Remodeling my kitchen and want to put 6" canister lights in. What is the standard location for lights? Someone told me you want them set back a few inches off of the front edge of the counter top. The way I see it there is only about 12" between the counter top edge and the leading edge of the upper cabinets. Would mounting them in that location be to close to the upper cabinets and cast a dark shadown on the counter top under the cabinet?

 

[hilld]

I would suggest more cans rather than fewer. Cans are pretty cheap and what I would suggest is several different circuits and put them on dimmers. That way you can turn down the light. As far as under the cabinets goes, I would suggest under cabinet lighting as it will be pretty dark under the cabs even with the cans out from the cabinets. It gets even worse from you own shadows.

Hope that helps.

Derek

 

[crankin]

i think the logic is if you move the high hats to far from the leading edge then your body will casting a shadow whenever you are working at the counter. you will get some under cabinet shadow towards the backsplash , guess thats why they got undercounter lights to sell u next

 

[MadReferee]

Remodeling my kitchen and want to put 6" canister lights in. What is the standard location for lights? Someone told me you want them set back a few inches off of the front edge of the counter top. The way I see it there is only about 12" between the counter top edge and the leading edge of the upper cabinets. Would mounting them in that location be to close to the upper cabinets and cast a dark shadown on the counter top under the cabinet?

I just redid my kitchen and went with HALO brand 6" recessed lights. Here is a link to the Cooper Lighting page (they own HALO) that has the information on how to layout the cans.

Layout Guide

 

[PineRidge]

The more the better. We have a cluster of 6 cans in the kitchen and it really lights up the kitchen well. We still use under counter puck lights for the cabinets to eliminate all shadows.

 

[goaliedad]

can't help with location of can lights, but here's an idea- in our kitchen we had some switched outlets put in above the cabinets and have strings of mini christmas lights plugged in- they are very cheap and work very well for some minimal light at night- enough to grap what you need without lighting the place up like an airport. Keep the plugs very close to the top of the cabinets so they are not visible.

Originally we were going to use "rope" lights, but they are pricey. Also, My wife loves to decorate for holidays and we can easily change to colored lights for added effect.

 

[schmism]

I used to work in the lighting industry.

Can (or recessed) lights output light in a cone. Depending on the trim kit you put on the cans youll get diffrent cone shapes (angles which should be specified on the trim kit)

As a general rule of thumb, a can light will put out a circle of light equal in diameter to the height of the can. If its a 8' celing it will be a 8' diameter pool of light on the floor.

BUT, you need to remember what your trying to light. In a kitchen its the counter tops that are 3' off the floor. If you place the cone patters on top of each other, they should at least cover each other at the surface your trying to light.

a pic is worth a million words

as for the shadows under the counters, thats what under cabinet lighting is for.

There is a reason lighting designers make a living designing the lighting in work spaces. Because its not just as simple as tossing some fixtures in the celing and hopeing you have enough light in the right spots.

 

[dknarnd]

schmism...that is what I was looking for about the pattern that they put out. I remember laying it out on graph paper when I did my family room in order to place them correctly. MY one concern though is to get light directed down onto the countertop without your shadow the can would need to be directly over the countertop. My upper cabinets will go up to the ceiling so that means my cansisters will be within inches of the top of the cabinets. So my cabinets will be receiving allot of light therefore wasteing light and maybe even fadeing the cabinets.

My thoughts are that I should place the canisters maybe about 18" out from the top cabinets. Then maybe put eyeball trim in so I can direct it towards the countertop. But then my shadow comes in...guess I have to put the small undercabinet lights in also. Only I hate to see a cord from a light hanging down from under the cabinet.

 

[Inspector507]

Only I hate to see a cord from a light hanging down from under the cabinet.

Cans overhead will cast your shadow onto the countertop. Use direct wire undercabinet lights instead of cord and plug connected ones.

 

[PineRidge]

These are the under counter lights that I suggested. I cut the pieces of wood that they are mounted on, routed out the back to hide the wiring, and stained the wood to match the cabinets. The lights come on with a soft delay rather that immediate full intensity. Very nice touch!

 

[schmism]

as mentioned by others cans arnt real good for lighting counters with uppers.

they work great for an island but your best bet for direct shadow free light on the counter is to use some sort of under cabinet light.

I have a series of cheepy puck lights ive wired to a standard switch with a dimmer.

 

[sparkkky]

The joists and stiff backs will have the last word!!!

 

[randot]

I used the 6 inch cans from HALO as well and put them in last week. I spaced them as previously mentioned and have no shadows. I also used florescent lights with a glass covering on them. They start off dim, but warm up and the wife said a doctor could do surgery in there now.
Randy

 

[PineRidge]

I used the 6 inch cans from HALO as well and put them in last week. I spaced them as previously mentioned and have no shadows. I also used florescent lights with a glass covering on them. They start off dim, but warm up and the wife said a doctor could do surgery in there now.
Randy

We basically did the same thing Randy, except we used 6 ceiling cans and hocky puck lights under the counter-tops. It's so bright here at night that we have trouble with the jets flying overhead thinking this is a landing strip.