ᐅ Recessed ceiling spotlight, dimmable, >450 lumens, adjustable color temperature

Hello everyone,

to those who have installed recessed ceiling spotlights (often also called spots) or generally have experience with this topic:
I am looking for a recessed ceiling spotlight that is dimmable, bright enough (>450 lumens), and adjustable in color temperature. I want to control it via an in-wall module (e.g., Shelly or Fibaro), which is connected to my smart home system (Raspberry) and can be operated through it.
My electrician recommends recessed ceiling spotlights with GU10 sockets because the bulbs are easy to replace in case of failure. However, according to my research, these are usually not bright enough. Therefore, I tend to prefer recessed ceiling spotlights with integrated LED light sources but am generally open to suggestions.

Thanks 🙂

Is color temperature referred to as DTW or TW?
You can check with Voltus or Brumberg.

I believe tunable white (TW) lighting is really difficult to integrate throughout an entire home. You’re likely not only using recessed downlights but also wall lights, ceiling fixtures, pendant lights, floor lamps, and so on. All of these will have different color temperatures.

We initially planned for TW as well, but I think it’s hard to incorporate tunable white in living spaces in a way that looks “nice” and creates a cozy atmosphere. For my taste, tunable white feels more like a “work light.”

Dual tunable white (DTW) might be somewhat easier to manage.

Or even simpler: choose fixtures and recessed downlights you like, install them where the planned lighting is needed, and then possibly make them dimmable.

I have an open-plan living and dining area with an open kitchen, so for visual consistency, the color temperature should be the same throughout when adjusting the lighting. This naturally requires an in-wall dimmer or control module in each lighting circuit to allow adjustments. I would like to manage the switching using scenes. For example, when cooking, I imagine a neutral white light (scene "cooking"). Afterwards, the scene "dinner" could be activated via Alexa or a smartphone, where the light switches to warm white and is slightly dimmed. Afterwards, the "TV" scene could start, further dimming the lights. I could imagine that, depending on the fixture, the neutral white mode might be too bright. In that case, I could dim the neutral white light slightly in tunable white (TW) mode without the color temperature switching directly to warm white as it would with dual tunable white (DTW). What do you think?

And that’s exactly what I mean. It sounds really great and desirable. But if you don’t use exclusively the same fixtures/bulbs, how are you going to get all the different lights to match the same light color within a scene? I’m afraid that, in the end, you won’t be able to control the different lights to the same color temperature—at least not the way you might imagine.

Unless, as I said, you exclusively use the same fixtures throughout.

But I’m far from a professional, and a lighting designer (who, of course, charges quite a bit) can probably handle that very well.

Okay, now I understand what you mean. Which products are you using?