Recessed Lighting in Your Home

Recessed lights are usually used by architects and interior designers in rooms where the residents aim for a relaxed and soothing lighting effect. Recessed lighting is considered preferable to the use of multiple standing and side table lamps based on the mood they can induce in the occupant of the room. You will discover why interior designers are using recessed lighting when you enter a room that has recessed lights in them – to see is to believe, as they say.

The experts may recommend that you have recessed lights installed in your hallways and/or kitchen, to get the best use out of this form of lighting. Recessed lights are installed in the form of canister lights that will fit the holes in the ceiling they were fitted for. You will probably need an experienced electrician to guide the installation team in the installation of your recessed lighting, so that the finished work results with the recessed lights set flush with the ceiling structure without compromising safety.

In the US, recessed lights may be known by other names, namely "can lights" or perhaps as "high hats", while in Canada recessed lights are dubbed "pot lights" instead.

Replacing old light fixtures with new can lights requires thorough computation of the total energy that will be used by the can lights everyday compared to the energy consumption of the old light fixtures. One problem with many structures is over-illumination that results in soaring electricity bills (with the problem made worse when can lights are installed in areas that not many people see anyway, and so cannot be appreciated.) Thus it is important the cost to install can lights and to maintain them, to be able to justify their usage.

If you are faced with a complicated can lighting installation procedure, you may need the assistance of a professional lighting engineer who will guide the installation team in how to install can lighting. The lighting engineer should not only know how to install can lighting, he should be able to assess where the can lighting is really needed, and how many can lights should be placed in different parts of the structure. If occupants later develop health problems like headaches, or high blood pressure perhaps, that may be caused by over-illumination of the interiors of the building, you should wonder whether the lighting engineer knew how to install can lighting properly in the first place, rather than ask why interior designers are using recessed lighting nowadays.

If you are in doubt as to the specifications to be used for your recessed lighting or can lights, you may consult The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (also called IESNA) which sets the photometric standards for lighting equipment for manufacturers. This photometric data will show you how much light is distributed exactly by a certain form of lighting. This data should guide your lighting engineer as to the right type of recessed lighting and their specifications when mapping out the can lighting installation procedure for you and the contractor.