"cj" wrote in message
...
greetings, i will be building a soffit? over a kitchen island and i have
a few questions. first of all i bought a six pack of lighting cans from
home depot (halo brand) and i got the type that can be touching
insulation. their will be no insulation in the soffit so is it okay to
still use there lights or should i get the no insulation type? also,
what would be the recommended distance between the top of the can and
the ceiling above? the soffit will be constructed on the floor and then
attached to the ceiling that has drywall. should i be concerned about
heat build-up? i am planning on using three lights spaced evenly in a 7
foot long rectangular soffit. i also would like to have the lights
hooked up to a dimmer switch.
thanks for any tips, input and advice
cj

Personally I will not install the non insulation rated fixtures. Since you
bought fixtures the can to be in contact with insulation you have no worries
about clearances to the drywall.
The IC rated fixtures have a thermal switch in them. When they get to hot
they shut off, which freaks out people when the lights are "twinkling" cause
they decided to install larger bulbs than recommended by the manufacture.