Question about recessed lighting

[Jessech]

I am currently planning out a basement remodel.
I have the studs up walls up, outlets and ceiling wiring done. I am planning on doing drywall in the next week.
Prior to doing the drywall ceiling, I wanted to have recessed lights installed. My question is this:

The room is 15' x 16'.
I am planning on using 6" can lights. (i've never dealt with this type)
How many will I need for my size room?

Some site I have checked show only 4 lights needed. Others sites show 9 lights.

Thanks in advance.

[HayZee518]

lights

the electrical code states 3 watts per square foot.
so figure out how many square feet you have, divide this by 3, then divide this figure by a typical lamp wattage 60, 75 and you'll have the number of fixtures to buy.
cans are installed using two bars which screw or are nailed into the joists or furring strips.
the lip is normally a half inch wide typical of a half inch sheetrock ceiling thickness.

[HayZee518]

lights

I done some calculations and came up with four - should do the job.

[kactuskid]

I am currently planning out a basement remodel.
I have the studs up walls up, outlets and ceiling wiring done. I am planning on doing drywall in the next week.
Prior to doing the drywall ceiling, I wanted to have recessed lights installed. My question is this:

The room is 15' x 16'.
I am planning on using 6" can lights. (i've never dealt with this type)
How many will I need for my size room?

Some site I have checked show only 4 lights needed. Others sites show 9 lights.

Thanks in advance.

The first thing I'd suggest doing is to determine where your furniture, tv, cabinets, etc will be. This will allow you to design your lighting needs to suit your purposes. This will also allow you to determine what special needs you may require as far as phone, cable and speaker wire locations. You need a lot of lighting in a basement and a combination of General down lighting,(using 65 watt bulbs which are spaced about 4-5 feet apart), Task lighting (track lighting for over a bar area) and Accent lighting (wall washers to highlight a wall area and fireplace mantel and sconces on the walls) provides a space that's more user friendly and balanced. The 4 ft spacing for the general lighting allows for overlap to prevent shadows and you can basically "zone" the lighting by installing 2-4 lights per dimmer switch instead of having to have them all on at once if really not needed. Starting your can spacing at 24-30" off the wall is suggested as this recessed can spacing article will detail.

I'm a Halo Brand can fan and they are sold at Home Depot. As for the light, and since the 65 watt incandescent is going by the wayside, I really like the new EcoSmart LED found at home depot. They are made by Cree which is one of the leading and best LED manufactures I know of. These lights are also dimmable and the equivalent of the Cree CR6 only cheaper. They will fit the Halo cans and snap in very easly. They run about $40 each at Home Depot and have a kelvin rating of 2700. Meaning they simulate the regular incandenscent lamp cause they're a bit more yellow in color. If you go with the LED lights then be sure to get the correct dimmer. The Lutron C*L Dimmer works excellent with these lights.