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I am new to the site, so please be gentle with me. We are redoing our kitchen - all Ikea, of course - and plan to use the Blixt 3" spotlights as the main source of light. My question - what should the spacing be between the spotlights? There isn't really an indication in the accompanying literature. It talks about minimum distances for safety reasons, but doesn't address the spacing for lighting purposes.
Help! We are in the dark - literally and figuratively!
Laurie
There are some great resources online for lighting planning. Of course, I can't remember any of them now! But, in general, the lights should be half as far away from the wall as they are above the thing you're trying to illuminate. So, for example, in my kitchen with 91" ceilings and (estimated) 36" countertops, my lights were 27 inches from the wall. As far as separation goes, that depends on the lights. We found that about 2-2.5' between the Blixt lights was just about perfect for our countertops.
HOWEVER, please note that we had to abandon our planned use of the Driv/Blixt lights. They require significant clearance between the light and any building member (e.g., joist, plumbing, etc.) - so much so that we couldn't install them anywhere in our kitchen or dining room. Our joists were 24" apart, so the lights would have to have been centered between them, and there are a lot of pipes and such in the ceiling that prevented the lights from being located even close to where we'd want them. I called Ikea to inquire about the separation from the pipes, thinking that perhaps it was just a problem of the lights causing a fire when too close to wood, but the Ikean with whom I spoke said that the lights needed to be a minimum of 19" from any pipes. As a result, we went with 3" lights from Home Depot - they were a lot more expensive ($10-12 each, IIRC, versus $16 for 3 from Ikea), but only required 1.5" of clearance around the lights.
Two more suggestions, if I may be so bold:
1) plan on tearing down your whole ceiling, or at least the main sections where the lights will be. You can then run the wires in the most efficient routes possible and identify any potential problems before they become significant problems. You'll also be able to cut the holes in the replacement drywall while it's on the ground, which is much easier for your neck and back. Hanging the ceiling isn't exactly a piece of cake, but it really isn't TOO hard, and I'm glad I wound up taking that route.
2) if you're going to have the lights controlled by multiple 3-way switches (e.g., to concerve energy when you don't NEED the entire kitchen illuminated by multiple spotlights), plan on using at least one junction box in your ceiling for each of the "sets" of switches. It makes things MUCH easier than trying to cram all the associated wiring into the switch boxes on the wall!
Thanks for the info, Jim. Yikes! The clearance issue sounds like a real problem. I will definitely have to look into that. I will get my husband to read through the rest of the info you sent. Sounds very useful!
I am new here and found this thread from a search because I am also considering installing the Blixt lights in my bathroom. They were recommended by a coworker who happens to be a architect and he loves these lights. Never mentioned anything about clearance issues though and the only thing mentioned on the website is to have "safe" distance from flamable materials. I assumed this meant the standard 3" all around like for other recessed fixtures. I have no pipes in the ceiling where I want to install the lights, but my joists are only 16" on center. I haven't purchased the lights yet (was planning on doing it tonight) Anyone who has the instructions in front of them, whould you be able to tell me what the exact clearances are from wood and insulation? And can they be installed directly over the shower?
I don't have the instructions in front of me, but remember that they are approved for humid/damp environments (like bathrooms and kitchens), but require 11.5" of clearance around the lights (side-to-side).
Thanks, but that seems to make no sense (I'm not doubting you, but the instructions). It means that your joists would have to be on 27" centers (4" light + 11.5" on right + 11.5" on left) and houses, at least in the US, are not built that way. And what about the drywall that the light is sitting on. Isn't that flammable too? And what about the subfloor above the light? You generally don't use joists bigger than 12" so you don't have the 11.5" clear from the top of the light either. Maybe this is the reason they're so cheap :-)
IIRC, it was 11.5" on center, but I may be wrong. Clearance above was only 3", from what I remember. They published the measurement in CM as well - I never bothered to do the conversion. We returned most of ours, but I may still have either the Blixt or Driv light instructions as home. If I remember, I'll double-check everything tonight unless others are able to provide the info in a more timely manner.
I absolutely agree that the 11.5 inches of clearance makes no sense given normal building standards. I asked the Ikea staff about this - in both the kitchen and lighting departments - and they were not able to shed any light (pun intended!) on the situation.
They just referred to the instructions with the 11.5 inch requirement. When I pointed out that that eliminated any possibility of installing these lights in normal ceilings they simply shrugged! Surely some Ikea person must be able to answer this question!!!
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