Same-Day Shipping: In-Stock Orders Placed Before 4pm CST.

Toggle Nav
Cart

Getting Started with Recessed LED Lights

LED Recessed Lights

Installing aspectLED Recessed LED Lights is easy!

To get started, there are just a few basic steps that you need to follow:

1) Decide on the layout of your lights and mark the location of each light on your ceiling
2) Run wires to the location of each light
3) Cut a hole in your ceiling that matches the recommended size on the product page
4) Make your wire connections and snap the light up into place


Deciding on a layout for your lights

Most people space their lights equally apart from each other forming a grid pattern on the ceiling. The distance between each light generally depends on the LED wattage of your light. Here are a few rough rules of thumb for spacing when using the lights as primary lighting (if you are using the lights as accent lighting or you have other lights in your room, you can space them further apart):


  • 3W LED Fixtures (equivalent to a 25-30W standard bulb): 3W fixtures are generally used for accent/cabinet lighting and are not usually used as general room lighting. If you do use them as general lighting, you'll want to space them roughly 2-3 feet apart.

  • 6W LED Fixtures (equivalent to a 50W standard bulb): 6W fixtures are generally laid out in a grid such that they are 2'-3' off each wall and 4-5' apart from each other.

  • 9W LED Fixtures (equivalent to a 65W standard bulb): 9W fixtures are generally laid out in a grid such that they are 3' off each wall and 5-6' apart from each other.

  • 12W LED fixtures (equivalent to a 75-80W standard bulb): 12W fixtures are generally laid out in a grid such that they are about 4-5' off each wall and about 6-7' apart from each other.

  • 18W LED fixtures (equivalent to a 125W standard bulb): 18W fixtures are generally laid out in a grid such that they are 5-6' off each wall and about 8-10' apart from each other.

Making your cut-out hole

In order to install the light into your ceiling, you'll need to make a cut-out hole. Make sure not to make the hole too big or too small. You can find the right cutout hole size in the product overview for each light on our website.


Basic wiring

Wiring your lights is as easy as making a few simple connections with wire nuts. If you are using line voltage lights, you'll need to make your splice inside of an approved junction box. If you're using low voltage lights, you can just make your connections and tuck the connections up into your ceiling. Be sure to carefully read the installation instructions for each light.


Snapping the light into place

Once you've finished wiring your light, the last step is to install it into the ceiling. Your LED recessed light will have two spring-loaded retention clips. These are very strong springs. Be careful not to get your fingers snapped in the spring! Carefully lift up on the springs and push the light fixture into your cut-out hole, springs first. Once the fixture is seated in the hole, the retention clips will snap down, holding the fixture firmly in place.


Do your recessed lights include a power supply?

If you choose the 120VAC (line voltage) version of a light, you don't need to order a separate power supply. If you choose the low voltage (12-24vdc) version of a light, you'll need a separate power supply (transformer) to power the lights.


For low voltage lights, how do I calculate the size of power supply that I need?

For optimum performance it is recommended that you do not exceed 80% of the labeled rating of your power supply. You can calculate the correct power supply size by multiplying the watts per light, by the total number of lights that you plan to use. This will give you the actual consumption. Then, multiply this number by 1.2 (to add 20%, so that we don’t exceed 80% loading on the power supply).

As an example, if you have 4 9W lights, this would give us 36 watts of consumption. To add 20%, we then multiple 36 times 1.2, which gives us 43.2 watts. We then round up to the nearest size power supply, which in this case is a 60W led power supply.

We have a convenient power supply size calculator near the middle of the page on each recessed light product page. You can simply enter the total number of recessed lights that you plan to use and the calculator will do the math for you!


Have questions?

We offer free technical support for all of our products. Please feel free to live chat with us or to contact us via phone at (888) 503-1317.