Different shower areas requires different number of recessed lights and hence the placement of recessed light will also be specific to a shower area of a particular dimension.
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- 32″×32″ shower area recessed lights layout
- 34″×34″ shower area recessed lights layout
- 36″×36″ shower area recessed lights layout
- 42″×36″ shower area recessed lights layout
- 48″×36″ shower area recessed lights layout
- 48″×48″ shower area recessed lights layout
- 60″×36″ shower area recessed lights layout
How to layout recessed lights for any size shower area
Step 1 – Determine the number of recessed lights required to illuminate the floor of the shower area.
To calculate the lumen requirement on floor of shower area, multiply the total sqm area of shower area with 200. for example if a shower area is 30 inches long and 30 inches wide its lumen requirement would be 116 lumens.
(30 inches = 0.76 m)
0.76 x 0.76 = 0.57
0.57 x 200 = 116 lumens.
Step 2 – determining how much brightness is required from the ceiling
We know that light intensity decreases as the distance is increased between light and the object upon which light falls.
Therefore, before placement of recessed lights, simply divide the result of step 1 with the square of ceiling height in meters.
For example if a shower area has a ceiling height of 8 ft and suppose lumen requirement at floor is 116, then he light source at the ceiling would be around 140 × (2.4)2 = 806 lumens bright.
Step 3 – In this step, suitable size recessed lights are placed on the ceiling above the shower area.
Recessed light placement for different size shower areas.
1. For 32″ x 32″ shower area
In a 32”×32″ shower area, the total lighting requirement is only 130 lumens (considering the recommended lumens for illuminating bathroom to be 200 lm/sqm).
A single 4 inch 8 watt recessd light is enough to get sufficient lumens. The placement of recessed light therefore will be done after considering the type of shower faucet. if the shower faucet is ceiling mounted the recessed light is placed at a distance of 5 -6 inches away from the shower head.
however, if the shower head is wall mounted then the recessed lights should be placed at the center of the ceiling i.e 16″ or 1.3 ft or 0.4m from the wall from all sides.
2. For 34″ x 34″ shower area
In a 34”×34″ shower area, the total sqm area 0.72 sqm. This means the total lighting requirement is around 144 lumens ( 200 x 0.72 =144).
Therefore, A single 4-inch 8-watt recessed light is enough to get sufficient lumens.
When the shower head is wall mounted place the recessed light at a distance of 1.4 ft from the wall.
3. For 36″ x 36″ shower area
In a 36”×36″ shower area, the total sqm area is 0.82 sqm and the total lighting requirement for the shower areas is 164 lumens ( 200 x 0.82 =164).
This means the light source at the ceiling should have a brightness of 1000 lumens. Confused how? read this part above.
Now the best way to get 1000 lumens in an energy-efficient way is to use a bigger 6-inch recessed light.
A single 6-inch 10-watt recessed light can easily provide an illumination of 1100 lumens. Although the recessed light provides 100 lumens extra, it can easily be adjusted by installing a dimmer.
When shower head is mounted on the ceiling, place the recessed light at a distance of 6 -7 inches from the shower head.
and if the shower head is mounted on wall, the recessed light should be placed at a distance of 1.5 ft on either side from the short wall
4. For 42′’ x 36″ shower area
In 42”×36″ shower area, the total sqm area is around 1sqm (0.96 sqm to be precise) and the total lighting requirement for the shower areas is also around 192 lumens (200 x 0.96 = 200).
This means the light source at the ceiling should have a brightness of around 1200 lumens.
A single 6-inch 12-watt recessed light can provide an illumination of around 1250 lumens. So only one recessed light can fulfill all the light requirements of 42″x36″ shower area or alternatively 2 four inch 8 watt recessed light can also be used to fulfill the lighting requirement.
let’s see how the recessed lights would be placed in both of these configurations.
- if the shower head is wall mounted
(if a single 6 inch recessed light is used)
In this configuration, when the shower head is wall mounted the recessed light should be placed at a distance of 17″ from the shorter wall and 21″ from the comparatively longer wall and when the shower head is ceiling mounted the recessed light should be kept at a distance of 6″ from the shower head.
(If two 2 four inch recessed lights are used)
In this configuration, the shower head is wall-mounted. Hence, both the recessed lights can be placed at the very center of the ceiling above the shower i.e around 17″ away from the shorter wall and 14″ from the longer wall.
If the shower head is ceiling mounted, the recessed lights should be placed at either side of the shower head close to the walls i.e at a minimum distance of 4 – 5 inches from the shower head.
5. For 48″ x 36″ shower area
In a 48’×36″ shower area, the total sqm area is around 1.1 sqm which means the total lighting requirement for the shower area is around lumens ( 200 x 1.1 = 220).
In order to get 220 lumens on the floor of shower area, the lights at the ceiling of 48″x 36″ shower area should have a minimum brightness of 1300 lumens.
In this shower, a single 6-inch 12-watt recessed light would provide sufficient lumens. But two small 4-inch (9-watt)recessed lights can also be used to illuminate the shower area.
placement of recessed lights in both configurations
When one 6-inch recessed light is used :
When the shower head is wall mounted, the recessed light should be 21″ from the short wall and 15″ from the longer wall. and for ceiling mounted shower head, the recessed light should be 5 – 6 inches away from it.
6. For 48″ x 48″ shower area
In the 48’×48″ shower area, the total sqm area is around 1.46 sqm hence, the total lighting requirement for the shower area is 292 lumens ( 200 x 1.46 = 292).
To get 292 (~300) lumens on the floor of the shower area, the lighting at the ceiling should have a minimum brightness of 1700 lumens.
Below are the layouts.
Recommended size of recessed light = 8 inches
7. For 60″ x 36″ shower area
In the 60’×36″ shower area, the total sqm area is around 1.38 sqm. The total lighting requirement for the shower areas is, therefore, 276 lumens ( 200 x 1.38 = 276). For the shower area to get 276 lumens on the floor the light source at the ceiling should be 1600 lumens.
