It is difficult to settle on the right size while selecting recessed lights. This article focuses on 4-inch versus 6-inch recessed lights and aims to guide you in your selection.
What is Recessed Lighting?
But first, what do we mean by 4-inch and 6-inch recessed lighting? These types of lighting are installed right into the ceiling walls—commonly known as can lights or pot lights. Instead of hanging from the ceiling like the traditional lighting fixtures, the recessed ones are installed flush with the surface resulting in a sleek, clean look for your room.
Choosing the Right Size for Your Room
Picking up good sizes for your recessed lights is an important part when designing your well-lit space. You need to know what type of layers of light that particular space requires before picking out the size of cans.
Ambient lighting:
The other name for the general illumination layer is an ambient layer most commonly referred to as the “general lighting” layer. General illumination forms the basis for a well-lit room and gives overall illumination to space.
This creates uniformity by evenly spacing out can lights all over the room creating brightening illuminations throughout the entire space. General lighting lights up rooms where cleaning is done, reading takes place besides entertaining people.
Task Lighting:
Another layer in any layered approach to home interior design involving commercial properties involves task layering practices. Task-based illumination highlights specific parts like cooking areas reading nooks grooming spots etcetera around any given area.
Task Can lamps in a Kitchen would help light up any task areas. The size of the lights that will be used in this case will depend on the area of the task and how much illumination is required.
Accent Lighting:
The third layer involves accent lighting. This type of light is useful in painting or showcasing a particular feature of the space such as artwork, architectural details, or plants. Narrow-beamed can lights in proximity to the item being highlighted are commonly used for this. This will depend on what you want to illuminate among your features within the room.
Overall, choosing proper sizes in terms of recessed lighting is one way through which we can create well-lit functional spaces. By considering the lighting layers needed, and the size and depth of our cans, we could achieve a balanced and efficient lighting scheme within any space.
4 Inch vs 6 Inch Recessed Lights
When choosing recess lighting for your house or office, one aspect to consider among others is how such an appliance will make the space look. Among these recess lightings, two sizes have been widely used which include 4-inches and 6-inches. Every size has its merits and demerits thus depending on your special lighting needs as well as the dimensions of the chamber, you would be required to select an appropriate size. So which one should you choose? This piece will highlight their differences and guide you on which one is most suitable for your requirements.
What’s the Difference Between 4-Inch and 6-Inch Recessed Lights?
Besides physical size, style function is what sets apart 4-inch from 6-inch recessed lights. Due to their smallness in size compared to other types of lights, 4-inch lights are regarded as more contemporary while mid-size and larger rooms are well-matched with six-inch bulbs.
In terms of function, 6-inch lights have higher lumen output with a wide beam angle that makes them good for general lighting purposes whereas 4-inch bulbs give a wider array of options that can be used such as gimbal type or specialty trims ideal for task & accent lighting applications.
4 Inch Recessed Lighting
The 4-inch recessed lighting fixtures are smaller, perfect for smaller rooms or subtle lighting in spaces. Conversely, they also tend to be ideal for displaying a focal point that could be an artwork or any other decorative feature in the room.
If you have sloped ceilings, consider using 4-inch lights with gimbal trims to direct the light down toward the floor and reduce glare. Remember to mix light sizes for uniformity of light in your room.
Pros:
One great advantage of 4-inch recessed lighting is its versatility because it can fit into almost every room in your house like kitchen and bathroom where task lighting is needed along with ambient and accent lights. Besides, they consume less energy as opposed to larger counterparts thus helping one save on energy bills.
Cons:
There are some cons as well such as being too dull in big areas due to their small size. Similarly, it might require several fixtures before obtaining the desired effect of illumination resulting in higher installation costs.
6 Inch Recessed Lighting
The 6-inch recessed lightings tend to give more illumination than those of 4 inches since they are bigger. Therefore, they can be used in large spaces or rooms having a substantial amount of light needed like living rooms and bedrooms. This implies that they can also be applied to places where concentrated down-lighting is required just above a kitchen island or dining area.
Pros:
One major benefit of six-inch recessed lights is that they provide more light; therefore illuminating large spaces brightly enough. They also tend to save on cost by requiring less number of fixtures as compared to others that may not achieve similar lighting effects.
Cons:
The 6-inch fixture could overpower small spaces when installed such that it fills up all available space leading to a feeling of unappealingly crowded rooms.
Which One is Right for Me?
Ultimately, the choice between 4-inch and 6-inch recessed lighting will depend on your specific lighting needs and the size of the room. If you have a small room or space, or if you want to highlight a specific feature in the room, 4-inch recessed lighting may be the best choice for you.
On the other hand, if you have a larger room or space that requires more substantial lighting, 6-inch recessed lighting may be the better option. Before making a decision, it’s important to consider the overall design of the room and how the lighting will fit into that design. You may also want to consult with a lighting specialist or interior designer to help you make the right choice for your specific needs.
Choosing between 4-inch and 6-inch recessed lighting fixtures is governed by your lighting requirements and the size of the room.
- If you want to light up a small space or highlight a particular feature in it, such as an art piece or any other item, it would be better to go for 4” recessed lighting.
- On the other hand, in case you have a large room with high illumination needs, 6-inch recessed bulbs are more appropriate.
Therefore, before making any decision consider how well supported your choice is by the design of that room area.
Conclusion
Both 4-inch and 6-inch recessed lights can be utilized in your house depending on what you want about light. You can choose the right kind and size of recessed lights for your home by taking the time to examine all available options and seek assistance from designers.
