A single unit of track light can provide illumination of around 500 lumens at 8 watts. Whereas a recessed light at 8 watts provides illumination of around 640 lumens and a BR30 bulb at 8 watts provides illumination of around 720 lumens.
Simply put, track lights with LEDs consuming similar power will provide slightly less illumination compared to LED recessed lights or a standard LED Br30 bulb.
The track lights are used only to add an aesthetic value to a particular room. Since different rooms have different requirements of lighting, the number of track lights required to provide sufficient brightness also differs.
let’s see in detail how many track lights are required to provide enough illumination at different places throughout home.
Are track lights bright enough for kitchen?
Yes, track lights are bright enough to illuminate a kitchen. According to lighting experts, the kitchen is a visually demanding area and it should have a minimum illumination of around 600- 700 lux (54 – 63 lumens per square feet).
Since a single unit of track lights provides illumination of 500 lumens, using a combination of 3 track lights can provide sufficient illumination of around 1500 lumens which is ideal for a normal sized kitchen.
To find how much brightness is required in kitchen, measure the length and breadth of kitchen in feet and multiply the values to get total square feet area of kitchen. Then multiply the square feet area by 54 to get the recommended brightness for kitchen.
The table below shows how many track lights are required to properly illuminate a kitchen of a particular size.
| Size of kitchen | Recommended brightness in lumens | Number of 8-watt track lights required for proper illumination of kitchen | number of 15-watt track lights required for proper illumination of kitchen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 feet × 12 feet | 3888 lumens | 8 | 3 |
| 8 feet × 12 feet | 5184 lumens | 10 | 4 |
| 10 feet × 10 feet | 5400 lumens | 11 | 5 |
| 10 feet × 12 feet | 6480 lumens | 13 | 6 |
| 11 feet × 11 feet | 6534 lumens | 13 | 6 |
| 8 feet × 13 feet | 5616 lumens | 11 | 5 |
| 12 feet × 13 feet | 8424 lumens | 17 | 7 |
| 10 feet × 15 feet | 8100 lumens | 16 | 7 |
A 8 watt track light is 500 lumens bright and a 15 watt track light is 1200 lumens bright.
From the table it is clear that to provide sufficient brightness to a large kitchen a very high number of track lights are required. A large sized kitchen requires around 8000 lumens. To provide that much brightness, 16 of 8 watt track lights are requires which will consume around 128 watts of power (8 × 16 = 128). A bigger track light of around 15 watt provides an illumination of 1200 lumens.
Therefore, to illuminate a large kitchen whose requirement of lighting is around 8000 lumens, 7 such track lights are required which will consume around 119 watts which if compared with other light sources like recessed LED lights is similar. (Recessed LED lights would consume around 95 – 100 watts to give 8000 lumens of brightness)
From all the above data we conclude that bigger track lights can provide sufficient brightness to any size kitchen in an energy-efficient way.
Are track lights bright enough for bathroom ?
From the publishings from Helwan University, bathroom a visually demanding area requires an illumination of around 480 – 500 lux (45 lumens per square feet).
The CALIFORNIA ELECTRICAL CODE SECTIONS 410.10 (D) states that the “light fixtures including track lights should not be installed in a zone that measures 900 mm (3 ft) horizontally and 2.5 m (8 ft.) vertically from the top of the bathtub rim or shower stall threshold.”
To follow this code with track lights is very easy since track lights are bright and are designed to focus light at a particular spot, they can easily be placed at a distance of 3 feet horizontally from the bathtub providing sufficient illumination throughout the bathroom.
To find how many track lights would be enough to illuminate a bathroom, multiply the length and breadth of the bathroom and multiply the values to get the total square feet area of bathroom. After that multiply this value by 45 to get the recommended brightness for bathroom.
Below is a table that shows the how many track lights are required to properly illuminate a bathroom of particular size
| Bathroom size | Recommended brightness | Number of 8-watt track lights required | number of 15-watt track lights required. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 feet × 5 feet | 900 lumens | 2 | 1 |
| 5 feet × 6 feet | 1350 lumens | 3 | 1 |
| 5 feet × 8 feet | 1800 lumens | 4 | 2 |
| 5 feet × 9 feet | 2025 lumens | 4 | 2 |
| 6 feet × 7 feet | 1890 lumens | 4 | 2 |
| 7 feet × 8 feet | 2520 lumens | 5 | 2 |
| 7 feet × 11 feet | 3465 lumens | 7 | 3 |
| 5 feet × 12 feet | 2700 lumens | 6 | 3 |
From the table, it is clear that just 3 (15 watt) track lights are required to illuminate a large sized bathroom. In the process of illumination, the energy required is 51 watts which if compared to recessed lights is 3 watts more as recessed lights to provide a similar illumination of 3600 lumens will consume 48 watts.
But to properly follow the electrical code, recessed lights are not ideal for bathroom hence, track lights are a great choice for bathrooms as they can provide similar brightness compared to other lighting fixtures and can be kept at a distance for the bathtub as well as shower following the electrical codes.
Are track lights bright enough for living room ?
The lighting requirement of foyers according to lighting experts is around 45 lumens per square feet.
Since foyer is for comfort and is not a visually demanding area, the lighting requirement in a foyer is less compared to bathroom and kitchen. To determine whether track lights will provide enough brightness or not we need to find the total lighting requirement of foyer depending upon its size.
Simply measure the length and breadth of foyer in feet and multiply them to get total area in square feet. Then multiply the square feet area by 40 to get the total recommended illumination requirement.
The table below shows the brightness requirement of foyer with different sizes and how much track lights are required to meet the brightness requirement.
| FOYER SIZE | LIGHT REQUIREMENT | number of 8 watt track lights required | number of 15 watt track lights required |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 feet × 6 feet | 1620 lumens | 3 | 2 |
| 8 feet × 4 feet | 2160 lumens | 4 | 2 |
| 8 feet × 8 feet | 2880 lumens | 6 | 3 |
| 8 feet × 10 feet | 3600 lumens | 7 | 3 |
| 8 feet × 15 feet | 5400 lumens | 11 | 5 |
From the table above, it is clear that bigger 15-watt track lights can illuminate a foyer of any size while still being lesser in number. If their brightness is compared to recessed lights then a single 15 watt recessed light provides similar illumination (1100 lumens) compared to a single unit of 15-watt track light which provides 1200 lumens.
Using only track lights in the foyer can definitely provide enough illumination. Normally foyer is the place where paintings or pictures are placed. Therefore, having track lights in foyer can not only make the foyer bright but can also highlight a particular piece of art.
Are track lights ideal for illuminating bedroom ?
According to lighting experts, the bedroom is the place where 40- 45 lumens are required per square feet. Just like foyer, bedroom is also a place for relaxing. Talking about visually demanding activities mainly reading is done in bedrooms sometimes office work as well. For that table lamps are ideal instead of track lights.
If there are no table lamps or other light source in the bedroom then track lights are not good option of lighting a bedroom. The simple reason is the uneven distribution of light. Because of the design of track lights some spots withing the room will get more brightness compared to others.
For highlighting something in the bedroom for example a picture or artwork then track lights can be used there. For that purpose 8 watt track light unit proving around 500 lumens will be sufficiently bright.
How to place track lights to get maximum brightness
If track lights are the only source of light in a particular room then track lights should be placed at the center of the room with the bulbs facing downwards. However, if there are other light sources om the room other than track lights then track lights can be placed at the corners of the room.
What if track lights are placed at the corner of room ?
Light intensity decreases as the distance from the light source is increased. If track lights are paced at the corner of the room and if there is no other light source in the room then track lights can make the space look dark. A single 8-watt track light unit emits only 500 lumens which is very less compare to other light source. Also, track lights are designed so that they fall at a particular spot.
Hence, some spots can look more bright compared to other sources where light from the track lights does not fall directly.
WHICH TRACK LIGHTS ARE THE MOST BRIGHTEST ?
Track lights designed to work at higher wattage like Track lights come in various wattages and sizes. The more wattage a single track light is designed to consume, the more brightness it will emit. A single unit of 6-inch track light an provide an illumination of around 300 lumens
| WATTAGE CONSUMED BY TRACK LIGHTS | BRIGHTNESS EMITTED BY TRACK LIGHTS |
|---|---|
| 4 watt | 400 lumen |
| 5 watt | 510 lumens |
| 8 watt | 650 lumens |
| 12 watt | 900 lumens |
| 15 watt | 1200 -1300 lumens |
| 18 watt | 1400 lumens |
| 25 watt | 1920 lumens |
How many lumens track light head is providing also depends over the manufacturer. For example by using only 15 watts UPO LED’s track light provides 1500 lumens whereas MORRIS LED’s track light head at 17 watts provides only 1200 lumens.
Are track lights energy efficient
Track lights with Halogen bulbs are not energy efficient whereas track lights that gave LED bulbs are highly energy efficient.
How efficient a light source is, depends upon how much wattage it consumes to provide a particular amount of brightness
LED track lights compared to other LED light sources also consume less power. For example, to provide 650 lumens, track lights consumes 8 watts whereas a recessed LED light at 8 watts can provide a brightness of around 700 lumens
How to check if track lights are providing enough illumination
To check whether track lights are providing enough illumination there are two easy ways.
The first method is to use a device called lumen meter. Lumen meter or lux meter have a sensor which can measure illumination of 0 – 200,000lux.
Lux simply means how many lumens are there in one square meter. To convert lux into lumens simply multiply lux by 0.09 (lux × 0.09 = lumens per square foot) or use this calculator.
Whatever value the device measures will help to find out whether track lights are illuminating the space properly or not.
But it is also possible to know how much bright track lights are if the manufacturer already labels the amount of illumination track light produces in the product description.
But sometimes, it is not given therefore, to get a precise value of lumens the device is used.
SIMPLE CONCLUSION
- Track lights are an excellent source to illuminate a particular space because they provide almost similar brightness compared to other LED light sources at similar wattage.
- Track lights are designed such that, all their light falls at a particular spot. Hence, the place or room where light should distribute evenly, track light should be avoided or should be only in combination with other light sources like recessed lights.
