Types of Recessed Lighting: the Ultimate Guide

Recessed lights are a popular choice for modern interior lighting. But not all recessed lights are created equal. There are several types available, each with its own unique features, benefits, and applications. It offers a seamless and sophisticated way to illuminate any space.

Exploring their different types can help you make the best lighting decisions for your commercial area. However, navigating the wide array of recessed light options can be challenging. Here's a blog that delves into various types of recessed lights to help you make an informed choice for your next lighting project.

What is Recessed Lighting

Recessed light, also commonly referred to as a can light or pot light, is a type of lighting fixture that is installed into a hollow opening in the ceiling or wall.

The structure of a recessed light typically consists of three main components:

Recessed Housing: The housing is installed within the ceiling or wall cavity and holds the lamp and electrical components.
Recessed Trim: The trim is the visible part of the recessed light that sits at the surface level. It comes in a variety of styles, finishes, and shapes, such as round, square, or rectangular.
Bulb: It can be an incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, or LED bulb, which is the actual source of illumination.

Recessed lights are different from regular surface-mounted lights because they’re built into the ceiling or wall instead of sticking out. This makes them look smooth and simple. Since the fixture is hidden, the focus stays on the light itself, giving the space a clean and modern feel.

Recessed lights are highly adaptable, making them ideal for many different spaces, including both residential and commercial settings. At home, they are often found in living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, and bathrooms. In commercial areas such as offices, restaurants, and retail stores, they provide ambient lighting and fulfill specific functional requirements.

Pros and Cons of Recessed Lighting

Recessed lights are a popular option for homes and businesses because they look modern and can be used in many ways. Knowing the advantages and disadvantages can help you decide if they’re the right choice for your lighting needs.

Pros:

Aesthetically Pleasing: They create a clean, streamlined look that doesn't clutter the visual field.
Multiple Lighting Options: Recessed lights offer a wide range of lighting possibilities. By using different types of trims, bulbs, and accessories, you can achieve various lighting effects.
Space Saving: In areas where space is at a premium, such as small apartments, compact offices, or crowded retail stores, recessed lights are a great space-saving solution.

Cons:

High Initial Installation Cost: The installation of recessed lights can be more expensive compared to traditional lighting fixtures.
Difficult Maintenance: Since they are installed within the ceiling or wall, changing a bulb or fixing an electrical issue often requires removing the trim and reaching into the cavity.
Heat Dissipation Issues: Certain types of bulbs used in recessed lights, such as incandescent and halogen bulbs, generate a significant amount of heat.

Types of Recessed Lighting

When considering recessed lights for your commercial or public space project, understanding the different types available is crucial. Each type has its own unique features, allowing you to create the perfect lighting solutions tailored to your specific needs.

Housing Type

When delving into the world of recessed lights, understanding the different housing types is essential as they play a pivotal role in the safety and installation process of these lighting fixtures.

New Construction

New construction recessed lighting is made to be installed during the building stage or major renovations. These lights are attached directly to ceiling joists or wall studs, which makes them fit more smoothly into the structure. Since there are no finished walls or ceilings to work around, installation and wiring are much easier.

One big benefit of new construction recessed lights is that they work with many different types of bulbs and wattages, so you can choose the lighting that suits your space. They also usually have better insulation and sealing, which helps prevent air from leaking and makes your room more energy efficient. However, they can only be used in projects where the walls or ceilings are accessible, such as in new buildings or during big remodeling jobs.

Remodel Housing

Remodel recessed lighting is a great option for updating lighting in homes or commercial spaces without doing a full renovation. It’s a middle ground between new construction lights and traditional retrofit options. Unlike new construction lights, which need access to the building’s framework, remodel lights are designed for easier installation while still offering good performance.

These lights usually have a special mounting system that lets you install them directly into the existing ceiling or wall without needing to reach joists or studs. Some versions use adjustable brackets that grip the drywall from behind, holding the light securely in place and avoiding damage to the ceiling. This makes them a smart choice for remodeling projects where you want to upgrade the lighting without doing major construction.

Trim Type

When it comes to recessed lighting, the housing is just one part of the equation. The trim, the visible component that sits at the surface of the ceiling or wall, plays a crucial role in determining the final look, functionality, and lighting performance of the fixture.

Baffle Trim

Baffle trims are one of the most popular styles for recessed lighting. They have ridged or grooved surfaces inside the trim that help control how the light shines. These ridges reduce glare by guiding the light downward and away from your eyes, making the lighting softer and more comfortable.

Because of this, baffle trims are great for general lighting in spaces like living rooms, bedrooms, and offices, where you want good light without harsh glare. They are available in different finishes, such as white, black, and metallic colors, so you can choose one that fits your space's style.

Reflector Trim

Reflector trims are made to increase brightness and make lighting more efficient. They have a smooth, curved interior that reflects light downward, creating a stronger and more focused beam. This design helps send more of the light from the bulb directly to the space below, which makes reflector trims a great choice for task lighting, like over kitchen counters or workspaces.

In commercial settings like retail stores or showrooms, reflector trims can be used to highlight products and displays, drawing customers' attention to specific items. They are available in both fixed and adjustable versions.

Gimbal Trim

Gimbal trims have a moveable design that lets you tilt the light up to 35 degrees in different directions. This makes them great for accent lighting because you can aim at the light exactly where you want it. They're perfect for highlighting artwork, decorations, or certain areas of a room. Especially in art galleries, gimbal trims are often used to light up paintings and sculptures from the best angles, helping to show off their details and colors.

Wall Washer Trim

Wall washer trims are made to spread light evenly across a wall, creating a soft, smooth glow. They usually have a wide beam angle, between 60 and 120 degrees, which helps light up a large section of the wall without causing harsh shadows or bright spots. These trims are often used in galleries, museums, and homes to highlight artwork, photos, or textured walls. In offices, wall washer trims can be placed in hallways or reception areas to add a stylish touch and make the space feel more inviting.

Open Trim

Open trims are the most basic type of recessed light trim. As the name suggests, they have a plain, open design without any baffles, lenses, or reflectors blocking the light. This simple setup lets the light shine as brightly as possible, making open trims a good choice for places that need strong and wide lighting, like warehouses, garages, or industrial areas.

Adjustable Trim

Adjustable trims are a flexible type of recessed lighting that lets you change the direction, spread, or brightness of the light. Gimbal trims are one example, designed to point the light where you need it. But there are also other types of adjustable trims with different features.

Some come with swappable lenses or diffusers, so you can adjust the beam angle and light quality based on what the space needs. This makes adjustable trims a great option for places where lighting needs may change, like event spaces or offices with flexible layouts.

Can type

Can recessed lighting and the canless one has their own unique advantages and limitations. Choosing the one which is the best fit for your needs.

Can Recessed Lighting: Can recessed lights feature a distinct housing can that serves as the enclosure for the bulb, socket, and electrical components. This housing not only provides a secure and protected space for the internal parts but also helps with heat dissipation and air circulation in some cases.
Canless Recessed Lighting: Canless recessed lights, as the name suggests, don’t need a separate housing can. Instead, all the parts, like the wiring, heat control, and light, are built into one slim unit. This makes them much thinner than traditional recessed lights, often only a few inches deep.

The installation of canless recessed lights is often more straightforward and less invasive, particularly for retrofit projects. On the contrary, installing can recessed lights can be more complex.

Light Bulbs

The choice of light bulb type is a crucial factor that significantly influences the overall lighting performance. Here's a detailed look at the common light bulb types used in recessed lighting fixtures. By comparing these bulbs, choosing the right bulb for your recessed lighting solutions.

Incandescent Bulbs

Incandescent bulbs are one of the oldest and most traditional types of light bulbs. These bulbs offer a warm, yellowish-white light that creates a cozy and inviting atmosphere. However, incandescent bulbs have several drawbacks. They do not use energy efficiently because most of the electricity they use turns into heat instead of light. Only a small amount is actually used to produce light. In recessed lighting, incandescent bulbs may also pose a fire risk if not properly installed.

Halogen Bulbs

Halogen bulbs are a variation of incandescent bulbs but with improved performance. Halogen bulbs give off a bright white light that looks similar to natural daylight. This makes them a good option for task lighting in places like kitchens, home offices, and workspaces where clear, focused light is important.

Fluorescent Bulbs

There are two main types of fluorescent bulbs used in recessed lighting, which are compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and linear fluorescent tubes. CFLs are a popular choice for residential and small-scale commercial applications due to their smaller size and ease of installation. They come in various shapes and sizes to fit different recessed light fixtures.

Linear fluorescent tubes are commonly used in larger commercial spaces like offices, schools, and warehouses, where they can provide broad, uniform illumination over large areas.

LED Bulbs

LED bulbs have become the top pick for recessed lighting in recent years. It is flexible and eco-friendly for both residential and commercial projects. They are extremely energy-efficient, using up to 80% less energy than incandescent bulbs while producing the same amount of light for many modern recessed lighting projects. LED bulbs work well for many purposes, including general lighting, accent lighting, and task lighting.

Although LED bulbs have emerged as the prime selection with superior energy performance, other bulb types may still be suitable options depending on the specific needs of your space.

Color Temperature

Color temperature plays an important role in recessed lighting and can completely change the feel of a space. Whether it's a warm living room, a busy office, or a friendly retail store, the right lighting color can set the perfect mood.

Warm White (2700K-3000K): Warm white recessed lighting, with its soft, yellow-tinged glow, closely resembles the light emitted by traditional incandescent bulbs.
Soft White (3000K-3500K): Soft white recessed lighting strikes a balance between warmth and brightness. It offers slightly cleaner and crisper light compared to warm white.
Cool White (3500K-5000K): Cool white recessed lighting emits a bright, white light that is similar to daylight. This color temperature is known for enhancing clarity and focus.
Daylight (5000K-6500K): Daylight recessed lighting mimics natural sunlight, offering the highest level of brightness and clarity among the color temperature options.

Size

When choosing a recessed lighting system, one important factor to consider is the size of the fixtures. The size affects the light output, the coverage area, the installation process, and the overall look of the space. Selecting the right size helps ensure the lighting is both effective and visually balanced.

4-Inch Recessed Lights: It is among the smallest commonly available sizes. These lights produce a relatively focused beam of light, making them suitable for accent lighting tasks.
6-Inch Recessed Lights: It is one of the most versatile and widely used sizes. Their wider beam angle allows them to light up larger areas evenly, helping to prevent dark or uneven spots in the room.
8-Inch Recessed Lights: It is the largest of the common sizes and usually applies in very large spaces that need strong, widespread lighting.

The size type of recessed lighting you choose should be based on a careful assessment of your space's dimensions.

What You Need to Consider When Choosing the Recessed Lighting

Selecting recessed lighting solutions is not a decision to be taken lightly. Here’s a comprehensive guide on what you should keep in mind when choosing recessed lighting to ensure it meets your needs and enhances your space.

Function of Space: The primary use of space is a fundamental factor. For instance, you’ll need bright and focused lighting in task-oriented areas.
Layered Lighting: Consider creating a layered lighting scheme. Recessed lights can be used in combination with other lighting fixtures to achieve the desired overall lighting effect.
Ceiling or Wall Depth: 4-inch or mini recessed lights are suitable for limited space, while 6- or 8-inch models are perfect for high entryways or larger commercial settings.
Room size: The size of the room also impacts the choice of recessed light size. For example, in small rooms, large 8-inch recessed lights might be overpowering and visually obtrusive.
Ease of Maintenance: Think about how easy it will be to maintain your recessed lighting system. Replacing bulbs can be a challenge, especially if the lights are installed in spots that are difficult to access.
Coordination with Décor: Recessed lighting should blend seamlessly with the existing decor and architectural features of the space.

By carefully considering these factors when choosing recessed lighting, you can make an informed decision.

Any Types of Recessed Lighting You Want is Here

At LEDVANCE, we specialize in high-quality recessed lighting designed specifically for commercial applications. Our recessed lighting solutions offer significant advantages for your projects. The energy-efficient LED technology cuts power consumption by up to 50% compared to traditional lighting.

We offer versatile options suitable for offices, hotels, retail spaces, healthcare facilities, and more. Whether you need fixed, adjustable, or wall-wash lighting, we can provide the right solution. Contact us to discuss how our recessed lighting solutions can work for you.

FAQs

1. What type of wire for recessed lighting?

The most common type of wire used for recessed lighting is non-metallic sheathed cable, such as NM-B typically in 14/2 or 12/2 gauge, depending on the circuit's amperage. Always ensure the wire size matches the breaker and local electrical codes for safe installation.

2. What's the difference between recessed lighting and canned lighting?

Recessed lighting refers to any light fixture installed into a hollow opening in a ceiling, creating a seamless look. Canned lighting is a type of recessed lighting that specifically uses a metal housing to hold the light fixture in place.

3. What type of bulb fits 4 inches recessed light?

A 4-inch recessed light typically fits MR16, GU10, or PAR16 bulbs, depending on the fixture's socket type. LED retrofit modules designed for 4-inch housing are also a popular, energy-efficient option.

Types of Recessed Lighting: the Ultimate Guide