How to Choose Recessed Lighting

Maybe you’ve been relying on a few strategically placed floor lamps to illuminate your living room and want a more efficient way to light the space. Or maybe you’re considering finishing your basement and want to add plenty of light to illuminate this window-less room. Whatever the case, rely on your trusted O’Fallon MO electrician to install all manner of recessed lighting for your home or office.

Recessed lights are also known as cans, high hats and spotlights. But whatever name you call them, recessed lights are one of the more versatile lighting options available today including LED recessed lighting. Whether you decide to use them for wall lighting, downlighting or uplighting (this is when they’re installed in the floor!), you can achieve lots of ambient light. Plus, they offer excellent accent lighting as a way to highlight artwork, photos, antiques and furniture.

Here we will go over the many types of recessed lighting and what to look out for.

Types of Recessed Lighting

• Ceilings: This the most common, and are placed, you guessed it, in the ceiling.
• Walls: You can add recessed lighting into a wall with an angled flange that directs light downward to illuminate stairs or a pathway, for instance.
• In-Ground: These are used outdoors to light up a pathway at night or to uplight your landscaping.

Recessed Lighting Components

A recessed light generally is comprised of two main components: housing and trim.

• The housing: This is what’s actually recessed into the ceiling, wall or ground, holding the light source, mounting and electrical parts.
• The trim: This is what you see, the part that gives the light its aesthetic appeal and is a way to direct the beam to spotlight artwork, for example.

Where to Use Recessed Lighting

In some places in your home, you may want ambient or general lighting, while in others you may want task lighting or to create a “wall washing” effect. Here’s a look at the various types of lighting you may want to achieve.

• Ambient/General Lighting: This type of lighting brightens up a high-traffic room, such as living room or kitchen.
• Accent/Spot Lighting: Use this type of lighting to highlight a piece of art or a beautiful fireplace mantle.
• Wall Washing: When you put recessed downlighting near one of your walls, you bathe it in a gentle all-over light as compared with the harsher effect of direct downlighting.

If you can, it’s wise to add a dimmer switch to your recessed lighting so you have more control over your lighting scheme. You may want mood lighting in a dining room when you’re on a date, you may want full lighting on game night with friends, or you may want full darkness while watching a movie. A dimmer allows you to choose from several settings depending on usage, mood, time of day, etc.

Recessed Lighting Installer, St Chalres & O'fallon, MO

Wondering how to go about getting recessed lighting for your home or office? Our St. Louis MO electricians would be happy to schedule a consultation for you when you contact us at 636-294-8562. We specialize in installing ceiling-mounted fixtures such as chandeliers, track lights, recessed can lights, and pendant lights, as well as wall-mounted fixtures like sconces, cove lights and security lights.