Too few spotlights and you'll have dark corners. Too many and your living room will feel like a showroom. There's a calculation rule for it, and it's simpler than it sounds.
The short answer: calculate in lumens, not in number of spotlights
The number of spotlights is the result, not the starting point. You begin with the amount of light a room needs and divide that by what one spotlight provides.
Common guidelines per square meter:
- Living room — 100 to 150 lumens per m². Ambience over brightness.
- Kitchen — 250 to 300 lumens per m², with extra above the worktop.
- Bathroom — 200 to 250 lumens per m².
- Hallway, corridor, and landing — 100 lumens per m² is sufficient.
- Bedroom — 100 to 150 lumens per m².
These are guidelines, not norms. A dark wooden floor with dark walls will absorb noticeably more light than a white room; add a quarter to your calculation for that.
Four examples, calculated
Living room of 5 × 4 meters (20 m²). 20 × 150 = 3000 lumens. With the Lesto at 400 lumens, you'll need 7 to 8 spotlights. If you choose the Lyvo at 700 lumens, then 4 to 5 spotlights are enough.
Kitchen of 3 × 4 meters (12 m²). 12 × 300 = 3600 lumens, so 6 spotlights of 600 lumens — for example, the Ferro. Place two of these directly above the worktop, not behind you, otherwise you'll be cutting in your own shadow.
Bathroom of 2 × 2.5 meters (5 m²). 5 × 250 = 1250 lumens, so 3 to 4 spotlights of 350 to 400 lumens. Here, the IP value is more important than the number: choose something with IP65 on the front, such as the Marlo or the Lesto.
Hallway of 1.2 × 4 meters (5 m²). Only 500 lumens needed. Two spotlights, or one Movo with motion sensor that switches on automatically when you enter.
Where to place them?
Three rules of thumb that work in almost any space:
- 60 to 80 cm from the wall. Closer and you'll get a bright streak on the wall; further away and the edges of the room will remain dark.
- Approximately half your ceiling height apart. For a ceiling of 2.60 m, that's about 1.30 m between the spotlights.
- In a grid, not in a row. A single row down the middle of the room illuminates the walkway and leaves the seating area dark.
Draw it out on paper before you cut. Moving a spotlight requires plasterboard repair.
The beam angle determines how far the light reaches
Two spotlights with exactly the same lumen output give a completely different impression if their beams differ. For a ceiling of 2.60 meters:
- 36° — the light circle on the floor is approximately 1.7 meters wide. More focused, more contrast, nice above a dining table or a cabinet.
- 60° — over 3 meters wide. Flatter and more even, the logical choice for general ceiling lighting.
If you want an evenly lit room, choose 60° and don't consider 36°. If you want accents, it's exactly the opposite.
Four pitfalls
Everything on one switch. Eight spotlights on simultaneously is too much in the evening. Split the room into two groups, or use dimmable spotlights — all spotlights with integrated LED from us are Triac-dimmable.
Choosing too bright spotlights because it's "convenient anyway." A 700-lumen spotlight 1.30 meters from the next one is simply too much in a living room. Better to have more spotlights with less light than vice versa: that gives a flatter image and fewer shadows.
Forgetting the light colour. On paper it makes no difference, in the room it makes all the difference. 2700K is warm and homely, 4000K is business white. Our spotlights with a CCT switch allow you to set this before installation, so you don't have to make that choice in the webshop.
Ceiling spotlights as the only light. Light coming only from above makes a room flat. A pendant light above the table or a wall light next to the sofa does more for the atmosphere than two extra spotlights.
The complete range with lumens, beam angle, and recess depth per model can be found under recessed spotlights.