Anyone thinking of building or renovating will undoubtedly start looking for recessed spotlights at some point. And rightly so! Recessed lights offer many possibilities. Go for a successful lighting effect by combining spotlights with a beautiful hanging lamp. Create a modern look in your interior by placing spotlights in couples. Or go for recessed spots in places where you have no other lighting options, such as in a dressing room or kitchen with ceiling-high cabinets.
Whether you choose spotlights in your living room, hallway or bathroom, recessed spotlights are the ideal basic lighting. But of course, you don't install recessed spotlights every day. The selection of recessed spotlights alone can be overwhelming. Does the anxiety sweat break out on reading the technical specifications? You are not alone. We answer the 7 most frequently asked questions about recessed spotlights for you.
1. Which recessed spotlights can I put in my bathroom?
Recessed spotlights are a very popular choice as bathroom lighting. When choosing your recessed spotlights for the bathroom, water resistance is decisive. You can tell this from the IP ratings.
Do you want to install a spotlight above your bath or shower and is the distance between the floor and the spotlight less than 2.25m? Then choose recessed spotlights with an IP65 value.
Important: for safety reasons, it is compulsory to work with low voltage. For all other places in your bathroom, recessed spotlights with an IP44 rating are a safe choice.
2. Should I choose warm or neutral light?
Recessed spotlights come in all colours and sizes. The light colour of each spotlight is also different. The light colour, or colour temperature, is expressed in Kelvin. The rule here is: the lower the value, the redder and therefore warmer the colour. The higher the values, the bluer and therefore colder the light colour.
In rooms where you mainly want to create atmosphere with your recessed spotlights, for example your living room or bedroom, choose extra warm light (2700K). In the kitchen, lighting often has a dual function. You want a well-lit kitchen worktop, but also a cosily lit table. In this case, warm light (3000K) is a good middle ground.
Another commonly used option is cool white. You can recognise these spots by the light colour 4000K, which is ideal for your office, for example. Of course, light colour is mainly a personal preference. Do you prefer cooler light but still want to use them as mood lighting? Then dimmable recessed spotlights are the solution.
3. What are the advantages of recessed LED spots?
Do you still have halogen spotlights and want to replace them? Good idea! The switch to LED was made a few years ago. But don't worry, LED lighting has many advantages. The most important advantage is the number of burning hours. Recessed LED spots easily last 15,000 hours. That is 7.5 times longer than the lifetime of a halogen spotlight. In addition, a recessed LED spotlight is extremely energy-efficient. LED lamps consume 90% less energy than halogen lamps.
4. What if my downlight breaks? Is it easy to replace my LED bulb?
Recessed LED spots have a very long lifetime. Does one of them break down anyway? Then of course you want to know whether you can easily replace it. There are two types of luminaires on the market. In some models, the light source is built into the fitting and you have to replace the entire spotlight. There are also brands that offer a repair service for spotlights with a built-in light source, for example Wever & Ducré, Modular Lighting or Delta Light.
There are also quite a few models for sale whose LED bulb you can replace yourself. Recessed spotlights with a replaceable light source can be recognised by the GU10 fitting.
5. How big do the holes in my ceiling have to be?
Recessed lights have two diameters. The largest diameter is the outer diameter, which refers to the size of your entire spotlight. To determine the size of your drill holes in your ceiling, consider the recessed diameter. This indicates how big the holes need to be to fit the recessed part of your spotlight.
When you place the recessed spotlight, it will be held in place by spring or leaf springs. So the hole in your ceiling can easily be slightly larger than the recessed diameter, but no more than 1 to 3 mm. At Peeq, we always give the maximum recessed diameter of the recessed spotlights. Make sure the difference between the outer diameter and the recessed diameter is large enough to cover the provided recessed diameter. If you follow the instructions for the maximum recessed diameter carefully, this will always be the case.
Would you like to go through this step by step? Then be sure to read our article on the drilling diameter and recessed depth of recessed spotlights, where all terms are nicely illustrated.
Stressed about the choice and not yet decided on a spotlight when you start drilling into your ceiling? Then opt for drillings with a diameter of 76mm or 80mm. These are the most common sizes. You are bound to find a recessed spotlight with these dimensions that you like.
6. Can I install recessed spotlights if my recessed depth is less than 10 cm?
A recessed spot loses heat, which it needs to dissipate easily. Moreover, your spotlight must never come into contact with your insulation. So you want to make sure there is sufficient distance between your ceiling and the back of your recessed spot.
A spotlight is installed in a false ceiling. There is a certain distance between this ceiling and the existing ceiling. Add this distance to the thickness of your false ceiling to know how much space you have.
Most spotlights have a recessed depth of 10 to 12 cm. Do you opt for directional recessed spots? Then you will need more space. In this case, follow the instructions on the technical specifications carefully.
Do you have less space? No worries. There are shallow recessed spotlights specially designed for this purpose.
7. Can I fit recessed spotlights in a concrete ceiling?
Most ceilings are made of plasterboard. If you are going for a cool, modern look, you may want to opt for a concrete ceiling. Usually, spotlights have springs. When the spotlight is placed in the ceiling, these fall open and clamp the spotlight into the ceiling. With a concrete ceiling, the recessed height is usually too limited for this type of springs. Therefore, opt for a recessed spotlight with leaf springs. These are attached to the side and clamp the spotlight horizontally. Need extra advice? Contact our experts.