Jun. 23, 2025
As the go-to lighting application in both commercial and residential settings, recessed lighting provides an abundance of illumination right where you need it most. If you're in search of the best recessed lighting possible for a new construction project or a remodel, there are plenty of options available, but you may be unsure where to begin. This article can help you get started.
We'll define recessed lighting, talk about the different types of recessed LED lighting and discuss which one will work best for your space. Whether you're a contractor who wants to install the best LED recessed lights in a new construction project or a homeowner looking for recessed lighting kits for a residential remodel, we can help.
Once you've determined the best solution for your needs, the professional lighting consultants at Warehouse-Lighting.com will be on hand to help with your recessed ceiling lights – and all your lighting needs.
Also known as "can lighting" or "downlighting," LED recessed lights are designed to sit evenly with the surface of your ceiling. The best LED recessed lights can be found in either residential or commercial settings and are the most common type of architectural lighting.
By installing flush-mount recessed LED lighting, you'll create a space that enjoys a clean, attractive and modern look. In addition, recessed ceiling light fixtures can be used to illuminate building features, artwork and decorative objects. Finally, the best dimmable LED recessed lights can reduce energy costs and produce laid-back mood lighting.
One of the easiest ways to upgrade outdated lighting fixtures is with retrofit LED recessed lighting kits. Consequently, recessed lighting has become increasingly popular in remodeling projects as well as in new construction.
Recessed lighting is defined by three components: lamp type, housing and trim style:
Let's walk through the best recessed lights for various lighting applications.
These super-thin wafer-style LED downlights are a terrific solution if you have a ceiling with limited space or are installing lighting on eaves or overhangs. LED wafer lighting fixtures give off very little heat and are suitable for both renovation projects and new construction. Once you've cut the hole, installation is a snap. Wafer lighting is ideal for living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms.
The best recessed lighting uses LED technology, so while you'll pay extra upfront, the long-term benefits will more than make up for the initial expense. Check out the detailed product page and manufacturer's specification sheet for all the details you need about this type of recessed LED lighting.
Shop Recessed Wafer LightingIf you're remodeling your home or business, you may need to replace outdated light fixtures with new LED versions. If this is the case, a recessed lighting kit is the best way to update old lighting fixtures. These kits contain the components you need to make the switch from inefficient lighting fixtures to modern, energy-efficient LED technology.
You can hardwire your recessed LED downlight fixture to an existing fixture or use a standard residential adapter (screw-in E26) if there's a socket in place.
Shop Retrofit Recessed Lighting KitsThe best LED recessed lighting for commercial applications must perform many different functions based on its location. By choosing a commercial fixture, you will have more flexibility when it comes to wattage selection, CCT (correlated color temperature) and dimmable settings.
Commercial downlight fixtures are typically used indoors to light a hallway or rooms in offices, hospitals, hotels, airports, restaurants and shopping centers.
Shop Commercial Downlight FixtureIf you want to direct your recessed LED lights in a full 360-degree spectrum, look for adjustable recessed lighting. With a high CRI (color rendering index) of over 90, this recessed lighting fixture gives you all the quality light you desire where you want it. The light turns on in an instant and can handle frequent on and off switching.
Once the trim is installed, it's easy to adjust the light from inside the can. Choose from five different color temperatures in this one all-purpose LED lighting fixture.
Shop Adjustable Recessed LED DownlightAt Warehouse-Lighting.com, our professional lighting experts will work with you to provide the best recessed LED lighting solutions for your next project. We have the most sought-after recessed lighting brands, including WareLight™, our proprietary brand of high-quality lighting products. Whether you're a major contractor or a first-time homeowner, we can help you plan the placement of your lighting to illuminate your layout beautifully and efficiently. Begin browsing, and let us know if you have any questions!
Pick up a few tips that help make the process of choosing recessed LED lighting more manageable.
The Basics of Recessed LightingExplore some of the things you should know before buying recessed lights for the first time.
Recessed Lighting Can SizesExplore the various sizes of LED recessed lights to determine what will work best for your space.
Whether shopping online or at your local home improvement store, there are a lot of options for LED recessed lights. In this guide, I’ll introduce you to 3 of the best LED recessed lights used by professional electricians in . I’ve installed the recessed lights on this list in thousands of homes in recent years which is why I can personally recommend them.
As an electrician and business owner for many years, I know firsthand the importance of installing quality products. Using inexpensive or generic products could very well end up costing more in the long run if they have to be replaced. Using high quality lights should always be factored in to the overall cost of installation.
The recessed lights on this list have been chosen based on the qualities that I consider to be the most important. They include safety ratings, performance, reliability, appearance, features, and more.
As I’ve mentioned before, it’s always recommended to use an adjustable recessed light fixture with sloped ceilings so that the light can point downward towards the floor. This prevents glare and keeps you from feeling like you’re staring at headlights coming towards you.
The 4-inch Halo gimbal lights are my top choice for vaulted ceilings for a few reasons. As far as appearance goes, what really sets them apart from other gimbal lights is their sealed design around the gimbal. Most other gimbals have a gap that is visible when you look up at them. These lights have a modern appearance that is nothing like the old “eyeball” recessed lights of the past.
I also like the brightness of 768 lumens, which is equivalent to most 6-inch gimbal lights. This is nice because you don’t need to use such a large recessed fixture on a sloped ceiling where they are more pronounced than flat ceilings.
Dimming is smooth and flicker-free, and I’ve had no issues with buzzing when paired with Lutron or Leviton LED dimmers.
Optilux supply professional and honest service.
The final feature that makes these my top choice for sloped ceilings is their life expectancy of 70,000 hours. That translates to over 30 years of life when used an average of 6 hours per day. Since most sloped ceilings require a tall ladder to reach, the last thing you want is to have to get up there and replace a dead light every few years.
As a lighting contractor, if I was asked to create a wish list for a LED recessed light, this is what it would look like:
The Nora Lighting Onyx TW series checks all of the boxes listed above, and for that reason I believe it is the best value in recessed LED lights on the market.
The development of ultra-thin LED recessed lights has been a game changer in terms of what’s possible for recessed lighting installation. With a profile that is as thin as a sheet of drywall, they can fit where traditional “can lights” can’t.
While most major brands of recessed lights now offer an ultra-thin model, Amico’s ultra-thin 6-inch is my preferred choice. Its combination of high brightness ( lumens) and very wide beam angle (110-degrees) make it ideal in areas with low or narrow ceilings like basements, hallways, closets, and bathroom soffits.
It has the features I look for in a product line, such as trim color options, selectable color temperature (K-K), and simple installation using the integrated spring clips.
The dimming range goes down to 5% without flicker, and the driver doesn’t buzz or hum like other brands that I’ve tested.
Amico bundles the lights in packs of 6, 12, and 16 making them an incredible value. There is also a matching 4-inch version.
Now that you’ve seen my choices for the best lights, I’d like to teach you about the 6 specifications you should be familiar with when deciding on the best LED recessed lights to use in your home.
Modern residential LED recessed lights range in size between 2-inches and 6-inches. Most homes use a combination of 4-inch and 6-inch lights, and you’ll find the best selection in these two sizes.
When comparing the size of recessed lights, it’s easy to assume that 6-inch lights are brighter than 4-inch lights. This was generally true with incandescent recessed lights, but not with LEDs. Many 4-inch LED recessed lights are equivalent to 6-inch lights in terms of brightness and beam spread. For this reason, choosing the best size LED recessed lights for a room is more of an aesthetic decision than a functional one. I recommend using the following approach.
Start with Consistency – If you already have recessed lighting in other parts of the house, consider matching their size for consistency. Just know that it is perfectly acceptable to mix sizes of lights throughout a home.
Visual Preference – Consider the scale of the room. For large rooms, or rooms with tall ceilings, I recommend using 6-inch lights for general lighting and 4-inch lights for task and accent lighting. For sloped ceilings, I prefer the appearance of 4-inch adjustable lights over 6-inch adjustable lights because they are less obtrusive.
One last note about recessed light sizes. When a label says it’s a “4-inch” or “6-inch” recessed light, that is the measurement across the inside of the housing (diameter) with the trim removed.
The two primary types of LED recessed lights are Fixed Recessed Lights and Adjustable Recessed Lights.
There are two other types of LED recessed lights I’d like to mention which can be used for more specialty applications. They are called thin or slim recessed lights, and fully-adjustable or elbow recessed lights. Technically speaking, neither one of these types are recessed lights. They’re actually surface lights.
The type of recessed light you use for a room should be based on the ceiling type (flat or sloped) and the purpose of the lighting.
Correlated color temperature (CCT) is the actual color appearance of the white light, measured in Kelvins (K). It’s often confused with brightness, but color temperature refers to the color tone of the light. The most common color temperatures are warm white (K), soft white (K), neutral white (K), bright white (K), and daylight (K).
If you’re accustomed to dimming incandescent bulbs, you may notice that LED lights do not behave the same way when dimmed. The difference is the color temperature of an incandescent light gets warmer as it is dimmed, typically changing from K at full brightness to around K when dimmed very low. LED lights do not naturally change color temperature as they are dimmed. They remain at the same color temperature throughout the dimming range. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just different if you’re not used to it.
In an effort to mimic the warm glow of incandescent light when dimmed, some manufacturers offer “Warm Dim” or “Warm Glow” LED recessed lights. These lights change color temperature from K to K as they are dimmed, just like an incandescent light. They’re a great option when you want to create a warm and cozy atmosphere at low light levels.
One of my favorite innovations in LED recessed lighting is “Selectable” or “Tunable” White LED lights. These fixtures have an integrated switch on the trim or junction box that allow you to adjust them in steps between various color temperatures. This means that you no longer need to choose the CCT of the recessed light before you purchase it!
The color temperature of lighting has a big impact on a room. Warmer tones in the K-K range will make a room feel cozy, whereas the cooler temperatures like K-K will feel bright and energetic. For this reason, I recommend choosing LED recessed lights that are tunable white. Then you can actually install the lights and adjust the color temperature to your liking based on how it looks and feels in the room. It’s okay to vary the color temperature between rooms, but I would stay within one or two steps warmer or cooler.
The brightness of LED recessed lights is given in lumens, not watts like incandescent lamps of the past. Don’t make the mistake of comparing watts between LED lights to compare the brightness. Some LEDs are more efficient than others and therefore use less watts to produce the same or more lumens.
For general lighting, I recommend using lights that produce at least 600 lumens for standard height ceilings, and at least 900 lumens for tall ceilings. Most LED recessed lights on the market will be within this range. As long as you have a dimmer switch installed (which you always should), the higher the lumen output the better.
Color rendering index (CRI) is the measurement of a light’s ability to display colors accurately in comparison to an ideal or natural light source. Using LEDs with a high CRI is important so that colors will appear as they were intended. The best LED lights have a CRI of 90 or higher.
LED beam angle is where the concentration of light is 50% or greater. Most LED recessed lights (aka “Retrofit” LEDs) have a very wide beam angle, typically above 90-degrees. While this is great for spreading light, too wide of angle can cause excessive glare when looking across a ceiling. Some manufacturers will give the beam angle of the light in degrees, and others will simply label them Flood or Spot lights. For general lighting in a room, use lights with a beam angle greater than 40-degrees or labeled as flood type.
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