ANSWERS: 1
  • Recessed ceiling lights are generally easy to install without access to the ceiling from above because they do not require the placement of a junction box. Many recessed light fixtures come with attached junction boxes and are designed to be installed from below. There is some cutting of the ceiling involved, but normally patching and refinishing are not required because the cut is no wider than the light fixture itself.

    Light Switches

    You will want to control the light fixture through a wall switch, and that means running cable from the power supply to the switch and then to the fixture. The easiest way to do this is to place the light switch near an existing receptacle. If there is a junction box near where you want to place your light, run the cable from there to the light and then to the switch. Either way, you will be adding a circuit, and the result is the same. Consider dimmer switches for most fixtures. The technology that makes the lights dim is contained within the switch itself and does not change the way it is wired.

    Installing the Lights

    Make sure the location allows enough air circulation to keep the lamp cool. Also make sure that there is enough room between ceiling joists, as most recessed lights have a mounting frame that is a few inches wider than the canister. Installing ceiling lighting involves cutting a hole in the ceiling for the light mounting, and a hole in the wall for the light switch. After this is done, but before the lighting hardware is installed, run the cable to create the circuit. Use NM (non-metallic) cable that is rated to accept the amperage of your household circuits. In most cases this is 15 or 20 amps. Fish tape, which is available at any hardware store, is designed to make it easier to thread the wires behind walls and atop ceilings. It is a semi-rigid cable that is easier to thread than flimsy wires. Attach one end of the wire to the fish tape and thread the tape up through the switch. The tape will bend and can then be threaded over the ceiling to the light mounting hole and pulled through. After the cable is roughed in, install the mounting frame according to the manufacturer's instructions. Before attaching any wires to the power supply, make sure the electricity is turned off in the source circuit. Moving to the wall switch, connect the wires from the power source to the switch and then to the fixture wires. At the switch you will connect the black hot wire from the power supply to the switch. A second hot wire will run to the light fixture from the switch. The white wire from the power supply will be connected to the fixture. It is possible to put in additional fixtures on the same circuit; just make sure that the circuit breaker can handle the amperage. The wiring process is essentially the same except that the additional fixture must be added in.

    Source:

    "Big Book of Home How-To;" Better Homes and Gardens; 2003

    More Information:

    Installing Recessed Lighting

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