How to Select the Housing for a Recessed Lighting Project

2007-08-22T16:27:00-05:00

First and foremost make sure that your recessed housing carries a UL Listing, this shows that the electrical fixture has been evaluated for compliance with the National Electric Code (NEC). Recessed lighting is actually built into the structure of the home so these fixtures are subject to very strict standards.

I recommend using the Lithonia Lighting Recessed Fixtures for any recessed application. All Lithonia incandescent recessed downlights include a thermal protector that stops power to the fixture when the fixture becomes to hot. This happens when the fixture is installed with a lamp that exceeds the rated maximum wattage.

When choosing a recessed housing you must know a few things about your ceiling conditions.

Different Ceiling Plenum Heights Use Different Recessed Housings

Plenum is the space above the ceiling

Recessed lighting housings come in many different depth measurements; there should be enough plenum above the ceiling for the fixture to fit. If you have attic space measuring will not be necessary. If you do not have attic space you will need to know the beam or ceiling joist depth. These ceiling joists are most commonly made of wood and are normally 2x8, 2x10 or 2x12. The actual depth of the ceiling joist will be 3/8” less than the 2x8, 2x10 or 2x12 name. That means the 2x8 is actually 7-5/8” deep. Take that measurement and add the thickness of the ceiling which is normally ½” to 5/8”.

Most recessed lighting fixtures are 7-1/2” deep which will fit in the standard 2x8 roof construction. If your ceiling is lower Lithonia Lighting manufactures a standard Low profile recessed housing that is 5-1/2” deep for lower ceiling plenum heights. NOTE: The deeper the recessed housing the less visible glare will be seen from the light bulb because the light bulb is higher in the recessed housing.

Standard recessed fixtures are the low cost option

Premium recessed fixtures offer the ability to use higher wattage lamps, more trim options, better shielding and light reflection

What Recessed Housing to Use for an Insulated Ceiling?

Recessed lighting installed in insulated ceilings must be able to handle heat build up and be UL Listed for this type of application. Insulated ceilings must use IC-Rated recessed housings. IC rated housings place the light bulb a little closer than NON-IC Rated housings to limit heat. This increases glare and IC-Rated housings use lower wattage light bulbs to reduce thermal stress.

What Recessed Housings to use for Existing Ceilings?

When your ceiling is existing and you are installing recessed fixtures as a remodel project use a remodel recessed housing a.k.a. remodeler. A remodeler is a frameless recessed downlight that can be installed in an existing ceiling with out damaging the ceiling. After measuring and positioning the location of where the recessed fixture will be installed, cut out a whole based on the factory instructions for the fixture and slide the remodel housing through the ceiling cut out. (Installing recessed fixtures will be covered more in my post on recessed fixture installation)

If your ceiling is open you will want to use New Construction recessed housings. A new construction recessed housing comes complete with hanger bars that attach to the ceiling joists between the ceiling joists. (Installation will be covered in a future post)

My next post will cover selecting the proper recessed lighting trim for the desired lighting function.

Lithonia Introduces New Marketing Concepts

2007-04-24T08:37:00-05:00

Lithonia Lighting an AcuityBrands Company has introduced a new marketing concept for their new residential lighting line, Light Concepts. Lithonia Lighting is the world's largest lighting manufacture and over the past 60 years most of their energies have been in the commercial industry. This industry focused on builders, electrical suppliers and large commercial projects. Lithonia Lighting has been successful in their ventures up to today and now has introduced the Light Concepts lighting line with some fun and innovative marketing strategies.

Marketing Lighting through Education & Brand Awareness

After recently attending the Lithonia training seminar in Orlando, Florida I was educated on a lot more about lighting than just the Light Concepts Line. These young knowledgeable leaders Mike Virag and Katelin Thompson began with the Lithonia Lighting story, facts on the new types of fluorescent light sources, then progressed into the value in energy efficient products and finished on how these products are a piece of the puzzle to our Earth's ecological survival.

Lithonia's team also educated us on their website www.lightahome.com which displays all of their Light Concepts product and the recommended usage. The LightAHome website has educational Energy Star info, press release info and spec sheets on all of their Light Concepts products. It also has great recommendations on using specific products in certain spaces for maximum energy savings.

The Light Concepts catalog takes on a fun green look. Lithonia's young, new and fun ideas are all applied to this new product line showing their dedication to the future of energy savings. Lithonia Lighting is leading the lighting industry in the energy conscious green movement.

You can download the Light concepts catalog here in Adobe format.

The Majority of the Light Concepts Lighting Line is Energy Star Rated

Lithonia's new Light Concepts product line has a variety of energy efficient lighting for almost every residential application. Light Concepts has achieved Energy Star Partner of the year award for 2006 and their Energy Star Rated Ferros complete residential lighting family earned the Lighting for Tomorrow award in 2005. This new contemporary lighting concept will open doors for the Lithonia Lighting Company while at the same time conserve our world's precious energy consumption.

Light Concepts by Lithonia Training Schedule

April 30^th- May 4^th: Vancouver, BC, Canada (confirmed)
May 6^th-8^th: Conyers (confirmed)
May 29^th- June 1^st: Salt Lake City, UT (NOT confirmed)
June 11^th-15^th: Denver, CO (NOT confirmed)
June 25^th-29^th: Alberta, Canada (NOT confirmed)
July 16^th-20^th: Chicago, IL (NOT confirmed)
August 6^th-10^th: San Diego/LA, CA (NOT confirmed)
August 20^th-24^th: Dallas, TX (NOT confirmed)
October 8^th-12^th: Seattle, WA (NOT confirmed)

I believe education to be one of the best forms of marketing so we hope to see you at one of the next Lithonia training seminars. Leave a comment if you are interested in attending any of the above seminars.

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