Hello everyone,
we are currently building a single-family house and have installed recessed downlight housings with a diameter of 180 mm (7 inches) for the general lighting (layout according to the attached plan).
Now we are looking for suitable recessed spotlights to fit these housings.
What luminous intensity would you recommend per spotlight to ensure good visibility without being too harsh?
What beam angles would you suggest to avoid uneven light spots on the floor?
We would greatly appreciate your experiences and recommendations.
we are currently building a single-family house and have installed recessed downlight housings with a diameter of 180 mm (7 inches) for the general lighting (layout according to the attached plan).
Now we are looking for suitable recessed spotlights to fit these housings.
What luminous intensity would you recommend per spotlight to ensure good visibility without being too harsh?
What beam angles would you suggest to avoid uneven light spots on the floor?
We would greatly appreciate your experiences and recommendations.
F
Fleckvieh25 Jun 2025 07:47@Molydeam & @dietmar, thank you for your feedback.
In the bedroom, there will of course be bedside lamps, a pendant light in the dining room, and appropriate mirror lights in the bathroom.
The spotlights in the dining room will remain as general passage lighting or for even illumination when cleaning is needed.
Regarding the light intensity again:
The Philips spotlights have a luminous flux of 575 lm, which gives me about 230 lm/m² in most rooms.
The Occhio lights have 1010 or 1290 lm, which means about 500 lm/m². Online, I found recommendations of 100 to 150 lm/m² for living and sleeping areas. Wouldn’t that be too bright? Or would you always dim them down to about 20%?
In the bedroom, there will of course be bedside lamps, a pendant light in the dining room, and appropriate mirror lights in the bathroom.
The spotlights in the dining room will remain as general passage lighting or for even illumination when cleaning is needed.
Regarding the light intensity again:
The Philips spotlights have a luminous flux of 575 lm, which gives me about 230 lm/m² in most rooms.
The Occhio lights have 1010 or 1290 lm, which means about 500 lm/m². Online, I found recommendations of 100 to 150 lm/m² for living and sleeping areas. Wouldn’t that be too bright? Or would you always dim them down to about 20%?
D
derdietmar25 Jun 2025 08:24Hello,
The maximum luminous flux can never be too high when the lights are dimmable. This way, the desired amount of light can be adjusted at any time.
Best regards
The maximum luminous flux can never be too high when the lights are dimmable. This way, the desired amount of light can be adjusted at any time.
Best regards
F
Fleckvieh25 Jun 2025 08:40derdietmar schrieb:
Hello,
The maximum luminous flux can never be too high when the fixtures are dimmable. This way, the desired light level can be set at any time.
Best regards Okay. Is the set brightness "saved," or does it need to be adjusted each time the light is switched on?
Regards, Andreas
D
derdietmar25 Jun 2025 09:03Hello,
that depends on the dimmer; the lights themselves do not store any settings.
Best regards
that depends on the dimmer; the lights themselves do not store any settings.
Best regards
W
wiltshire25 Jun 2025 12:12Fleckvieh schrieb:
What luminous intensity would you recommend per spotlight to ensure good visibility without it being too harsh?
What beam angles would you suggest to avoid uneven lighting patterns on the floor? Follow the recommendations for each living area and experience those values firsthand in a quality lighting showroom.
You can determine the beam angles based on the distance to the illuminated object (usually the floor).
However, beam angle alone won’t prevent uneven light distribution, as many fixtures inherently produce a "spotty" light pattern. For inexpensive lamps, diffuser lenses can sometimes help mask design flaws.
derdietmar schrieb:
The maximum luminous flux can never be too high when the fixtures are dimmable. That way, you can always adjust the light output as needed. This is a common misconception. More is definitely not always better here. The more you dim, the more you enter a visible PWM (pulse-width modulation) range, causing flickering. It might only be noticeable when swinging a pendulum, but it negatively affects comfort in the room. You can mitigate the PWM risk with a significant investment if you want a very wide dimming range. If you don’t actually need that wide range, you save a lot of money and improve comfort by limiting the dimming to a narrower range from the start.
D
derdietmar25 Jun 2025 13:53Hello,
That may be true in theory, but in practice, I have never had an issue with this. I frequently use low dimming levels below 20%.
Depending on the light source, there is no flickering at all, as the appropriate compensation electronics are integrated. I use MDT dimmers with the light sources mentioned above.
Best regards
wiltshire schrieb:
This is a common misconception. More is definitely not better here. The more you dim, the more you enter a visible PWM range. The lights flicker. It may only be noticeable if you swing a pendulum – but it disrupts the comfort in the room. You can address the PWM risk with a lot of money if you want a very wide dimming range. If you don’t need that wide range anyway, it saves a lot of money and improves comfort to avoid it altogether and use a narrower dimming range.
That may be true in theory, but in practice, I have never had an issue with this. I frequently use low dimming levels below 20%.
Depending on the light source, there is no flickering at all, as the appropriate compensation electronics are integrated. I use MDT dimmers with the light sources mentioned above.
Best regards
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