wiring recessed lighting in basement

[mustangmike_1981]

Hi, I am finishing a room in my basement and i want to wire 6 recessed lights directly from my box. my question is -- I have a roll of 12-2 wire. can i use this 12-2 wire on a 15 amp braker or do i need a 20 amp braker to run all 6 of these lights the light cans are 75W max each. also what kind of light switch will i need. anything special? or just the basic $.99 light switch which i think is rated at 15 amps. any help would be greatly appreciated.

[mustangmike_1981]

how bout a dimmer

instead of a regular light switch, could i use a dimmer switch instead? would these be easy to wire. any help would be great.

thanks everyone

[HayZee518]

12 wire on a 15 amp breaker is no problem. a dimmer can be used on your circuit as the lamps only draw 475 watts. the dimmers are rated at 600 watts. wire 'em just like you would a regular light switch.

[mustangmike_1981]

thanks

is there a website with a diagram on how to wire the dimmer switch? and the lights? do i just wire from one light to the next in parrallel? wire nut them together? any suggestion would be great.

[HayZee518]

Basement Lighting & Dimmer

Attached is the diagram you wanted. A 12/2 comes from the panelbox to your switchbox. A two wire goes from this switchbox to the first fixture. another wire goes from the first fixture to the next and so on. three white together in each fixture, three blacks together and three grounds together. a pigtail from under the wirenut to the metal case of the fixture for an equipment ground.

[autocad_junkie]

Awesome Hayzee. I drew a similar diagram in AutoCAD, but I can't get the file shrunk down enough even in a bitmap to post it. One of these days I'll learn how.

[autocad_junkie]

This is the best I could do:

http://members.cox.net/aaron.thacker/asfasdf.bmp

[HayZee518]

autocad - easiest way to draw something is to go to microsoft "paint" under the accessories tab. That's what lazypup and I use. on the tools toolbar up top right side you can use this to remove and move pieces of a symbol to use in your diagram.

[HayZee518]

when you save the image use the JPG function instead of BMP the file is smaller and will not exceed the limit in homerepair

[mustangmike_1981]

thanks

thanks for all the help guys. its been great.