Modern homes today use recessed lighting that will be installed in hollows in walls or ceilings. What’s impressive about recessed lighting is that is has a vast number of applications. It’s ideal to brighten your house, showcasing your unique designs, or just to produce uniform lights at home. But there are 4-inch and 6-inch recessed lights available. Let’s look at the critical difference between both types.
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Difference between 4-inch and 6-inch recessed lighting
When constructing or renovating your home, you’ll need to ensure it’s perfectly lighted. However, finding a perfect light isn’t that easy as you need to consult your architecture to design the best lighting system that will cover most parts of your house. Hanging lights from a cable or mounting them on a lampshade/stand is the standard method though time and technology are changing.
Today recessed lighting has become very popular as it’s usable for many applications for day to day use. In general there 4-inch and 6-inch recessed lights available on the market.
To determine the size of your recessed lighting, you need to focus on the size of the can rather than the outward size. To get accurate measurements, you can measure the housing when the trim is removed. So, when we talk about 4-inch and 6-inch recessed lights, it’s all about the size of the can. The only way to keep your home fully lighted is to incorporate various light sizes as each has its pros and cons.
What are the types of recessed lighting?
Before analyzing the difference between 4-inch and 6-inch of recessed lighting, let’s have a look and the various installation variants. The first type is ceiling recessed lighting, which ensures downlighting form the ceiling. This is the most common type of recessed lighting.
Secondly, there is recessed wall lighting, which is mounted on the wall, which allows the use of angles flanges for coverage of hard to reach areas like the staircases or down the pathways. Lastly, in-ground are the last type of recessed lighting, which are popularly applied to outdoor lighting.
4-inch recessed lighting
There are various benefits associated with 4-inch recessed lighting. That’s why it’s the most popular option for many people. Here are some of the benefits of using the 4-inch recessed lights.
Best for use on rooms edges
When you look at most homes, you’ll notice that most of them don’t have a balanced lighting. For instance, the edge of the room may be too dim or too bright, while the middle has excess or less power. Generally, the middle requires extra lighting as it’s the place where most activities do take place as opposed to the room edges.
As a result, installing 4-inch recessed lighting on the room edges can help you keep the house well light while minimizing power consumption. The larger options can be installed in the middle of the room to provide a focused light.
Ideal for smaller areas
There is no need to install larger recessed light when you can use the 4-inch option and still get the light you need. 4-inch recessed lighting is ideal for installation above the kitchen sink, next to areas, or on top of your plant. Besides producing a focus light, it also brightly illuminates the space you’ve installed it on. So, if you have to clean your kitchenware, you’ll be able to clean, see them clearly, and ensure they shine.
Another reason why installing 4-inch recessed light could be a good deal is that it allows you to show your artwork, décor accessories or beautiful surfaces. If you have a crafting or reading area in your house, then you can install 4-inch recessed lighting as it enables you to concentrate even on the tiniest areas.
Illuminates dark areas
Do you have a dark space in your house? Well, when you have a wall-mounted 4-inch recessed lighting, your home can be bright again. Don’t struggle in an area that is dark like the dark tiled bathroom, stained wood cabinetry or pantries.
Unlike other light options that are too bright, 4-inch recessed lighting will enable you to see clearly in the dark areas, and you won’t feel like you are blinded. The advantage of using this size of recessed lighting is that it’s also cost effective and energy efficient.
Cost-effective
4-inch recessed lighting is smaller in size and very cost-friendly. Moreover, they are usually installed in areas that don’t require much lighting. Therefore, you’ll not be spending a lot of money on the electric bill. From the fact you can buy them in a small quantity, you’ll be able to save a lot of money. Maybe one or two can be effective for lighting a small area.
Energy saving
Whenever you are buying any recessed lighting, the power rating should be one of your concerns. By doing so, you can save a lot on the money you spend on electrical bills. When you use a lot of them, you can power your entire house without having to use too much power. To even maximize your savings, you should use recessed lights with LED technology.
Wall washing will make your room appear large
Using 4-inch recessed lighting can make your room appear bigger through wall washing. The process involves using perfect trims like eyeball trim in which the trim concentrates the light on your wall. So you can see it as if it’s further away. It can therefore be the perfect solution for smaller rooms as it will remove the feeling of claustrophobia and instead make you feel the freedom as you were in a bigger place.
Save on space
When using 6-inch or regular lighting, you’ll discover that they take much installation space. But if you are in houses with only little space in the ceiling, then 4-inch recessed lighting can be ideal. Moreover, there are most cables left hanging on the ceiling or wall as we see on the regular lighting, thus making it look better.
Increase home value
One reason why you should install recessed lighting is that they can improve your home value. Investing in high-quality options and those that match with your interior decoration can be ideal, assuming you are investing to increase your home value. By so doing, lenders or buyers will always calculate the worth of your home so you can rank high and get a better loan.
6-inch recessed lighting
Ideal for heavy-duty purposes
6-inch recessed lighting is designed with a larger diameter that can be ideal if you want to lighten your large rooms. It illuminates a large surface, thus ensures your house gets all the required light. It’s perfect for use in dining rooms, living rooms, bedrooms or any areas requiring very much light. Also if your room has a high ceiling or large roof, then 6-inch recessed lighting has proved to be useful.
Light control
Can you switch off the light or control it from your bedroom? These are some of the functionality that you can get only from recessed lighting with larger diameters as these cans have enough space for additional features. Moreover, you have chosen to regulate the brightness or direct the light to a specific location.
Effective lighting
The lighting is large; it’s mostly installed overhead, which allows it to cast light evenly on your whole room. From the fact that you can control the light to suit your conditions, it could be very effective when you need dark or brighter light. With overhead lighting, your room will also look more cheerful, another way of decorating your house.
Cost-effective
The primary reason we say these lights are also cost-effective is their ability to cast light on a broader space. Practically, you may not need two in a smaller room; one will be enough. Therefore, you don’t need to buy much, so you’ll be saving money.
4-inch vs 6-inch: Which recessing lighting is the best?
When finding yourself in a situation where you have to choose between 4-inch and 6-inches recessed lighting, then there are certain factors you have to concede. These factors will help you to decide whether you need a 4-inch or 6-inch option. Let’s look at the essential factors to consider when buying recessed lighting.
The significant reasons for buying these lighting options can dictate the type and size to buy. For instance, if you need to decorate your home, then you can choose either of them if the space is available. However, if you are to lighten a larger room, then select the lager option.
Every home has a unique decor, which raises the question, do you need to buy 4-inch or 6-inch recessed lighting? Well, if you want to illuminate the piece of art on your wall or want to concentrate light on a section of your wall, then you can choose a 4-inch recessed lighting.
The place you are going to mount the lights contribute a lot when it comes to choosing recessed lighting sizes. Larger rooms may work best with recessed lighting having a larger diameter. But if you only have small space, there is no way to install 6-inch recessed lights as they won’t fit.
Conclusion
Comparing 4-inch vs 6-inch recessed lighting can be ideal if you need to optimize the look of your home. Based on the factors we have listed above, it should be easy for you to choose between the two options. In general 4-inch recessed lights are very similar to their 6-inch variant. The main differences are the can size and the diameter of the lighted area below the light source. You can even use both variants in a single room.
