EXT wrote:

"Pete C." wrote in message
...
" wrote:

Since I'll need about 30 75W lights, I think I'll go with (3) 15A
circuits (750W per circuit) and have each one using one of the 1000W
dimmers.

Thanks again,
Kevin

With that much light you may want to rethink the incandescent can thing
as it will be pretty expensive if you have them on a lot. Recessed cans
are also a pretty poor way to light an area unless it has a fairly high
ceiling which basements typically don't.

With a low ceiling and a lot of recessed cans you get a bunch of spots
of light on the floor with dim spots between them and very little light
on the walls or ceiling, making the room seem dark even though you have
a couple kilowatts of light.

Bi-directional wall sconces (up/down) and / or soffit / cove lighting
combined with specific area lighting such as floor lamps in a reading
area or an overhead light over a pool table will give much better
results and overall room feel.

Pete C.

The use of floodlight bulbs helps spread the light as opposed to spotlight
bulbs that concentrate the light in a small area.

In theory yes, in practice, not really. Look at the beam angle specs for
the fixture and translate that to the spot size on the floor for the
given ceiling height.

You can of course adjust the lamp position in the fixture lower to get
more beam spread, but by the time you get a decent spread from a low
ceiling the lamp isn't very recessed any more and you still haven't
solved the dark walls and ceiling issue.

Light colored walls and ceiling with wall sconce light washing the walls
and ceiling combined with task lighting produce a much lighter overall
feel and use less energy as well.

I've seen plenty of basements done with recessed cans and all felt dark
and cramped despite the high wattage in use. I've seen other basements
done as I noted and they felt much lighter and more open despite using
significantly less wattage.

Pete C.