Basement question - Recessed lighting

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Hello,

We are finishing off my basement and in trade I get to use more of the garage for my shop

The area we are finishing is just a big rectangle, 14 feet wide by 41 feet long.

My wife really wants recessed lighting but we are on a budget so trying to find the best way to light a big space, on a budget..

How many lights would you suggest for this space, we are looking at these lights:
http://www.homedepot.com/Lighting-Fa...atalogId=10053

[Prashun Patel]

My advice: lights are per-unit cheap and are hard to upgrade later. If yr on a budget, save by picking cheaper flooring. But don't skimp on the lights, else the basement will feel like a, er...basement.

[Todd Crawford]

I have those same lights throughout my house. The most comparable space I have is a room that is 36 X 15. I have a total of 5 in there. There are 3 wire on one switch and 2 on another. About 80% of the time we only use on circuit (either 2 or 3 lights) When we are doing some reading, we use all 5, but that seems to be fairly rare. 5 light it really well. Hope this helps.

[David Wong]

I personally dislike recessed lighting as the sole light source in a room. Recess lights provide down lighting, which creates very unflattering shadows on people's faces. You can go to a lighting store and stand under a recessed light to see for yourself.

You can probably light your space with fewer recessed fixtures if you use either ceiling or floor lamps to provide ambient lighting. Something that will bounce off the ceiling would be ideal. Using a light colored ceiling helps make the room feel larger. You can use the recessed lighting in areas where you need task lighting (i.e. for reading), or as lighting to highlight something for effect.

The number of recessed lights you require will depend on your ceiling height and what bulb you use. In general, a higher ceiling will require more lights. The light your link goes to can be used in contact with insulation. If you do not have insulation touching your light fixture in the ceiling, then you can use a non-IC can.

[Wes Billups]

This is going to sound like overkill but I just finished my basement using the exact recessed cans you linked. I can't complain as the installation was pretty simple and they all worked. Our basement was approximately 700 sq ft and I put in 26 total recessed cans. We used the 23 watt compact fluorescent bulbs and I have to say it was the most well lit room in our house. Initially I thought we may be over doing it. My ceilings were only 7-1/2 feet so I was really worried about the light spreading out. Most of the cans were no more than 4' from one another. I was also concerned with too much light so I split them between four switches so we could control the amount of light but not have to use a dimmer. (Remember CFL's don't work with dimmers)

I don't think you can over do the recessed lights but give yourself some flexibility by using multiple switches. I'd also consider a few surface mounted fixtures to help spread the light. We opted for just recessed due to our low ceiling and my height.

Wes

[Dan Hintz]

Figure on roughly 1 can per 30-35 square feet for decent lighting. I purchased those same cans (or similar) from HD a month ago to start the remodel process on one side of the basement... the section is probably 15'x15', give or take, and I've planned on 6 of the large cans and two small, adjustable cans near the wall the TV will be on (I'll point them towards the shelving on either side that will hold movies and such).