Your ceiling decides the size, not the room. If you have a suspended grid ceiling, you take the size of the grid: 60 by 60 or 120 by 30 centimetres. If you do not, any panel will do, provided you add a surface mounting frame.
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Why those two sizes exist
A suspended grid ceiling is built from T-profiles with cells of 600 by 600 millimetres, or 1200 by 300. That grid is the starting point, and panels are made to suit it.
Hence the odd dimensions on the box. Our Nova measures 595 by 595 millimetres and the Europa 1195 by 295. Those five millimetres of play are exactly what you need to drop the panel into the cell without it jamming.
Dropping it in is all you do: you lift a ceiling tile out of the grid and lay the panel in its place. The driver sits above the ceiling.
If you have no grid ceiling
In a home that is usually the case. Without a suspended ceiling there is no space to recess a panel, so you use a surface mounting frame: you screw the frame to the ceiling or wall and clip the panel into it.
We have two, a frame for 60 by 60 and one for 120 by 30. Both with a clip system, so no loose screws, and the fixings are included.
Once you use a frame, the grid argument falls away and the choice becomes purely about shape.
On light it makes no difference
This surprises most people. Our two panels give almost the same: the Nova 4,200 lumens out of 30 watts, the Europa 4,050 lumens out of the same 30 watts. So you are not choosing light output, you are choosing a shape.
What does differ is the construction. The Europa is back-lit and lights the whole surface evenly. The Nova is a louvre panel with a grid in front that aims the light downward, and it reaches a UGR below 16. That counts as soon as people work under it for long stretches. More on that in What does UGR mean on an LED panel?
Which shape suits where
The rule of thumb is simple: follow the shape of the room.
- 120 by 30 works along a line. A corridor, a worktop, a row above a workbench or a narrow store room. It also fits exactly where an old twin fluorescent batten was.
- 60 by 60 works across an area. A square office, a treatment room, a meeting room, or any ceiling with a 600 grid.
If there is a desk in the room, mind the direction as well. A long panel across, above a desk, casts less shadow than a square panel hanging directly behind you.
How many panels you need
Do not calculate lumens times area, because part of the light disappears into walls and ceiling. With a utilisation of 0.6 and a maintenance factor of 0.8 you need around 20,000 lumens for 500 lux in 20 square metres, so five panels.
For a corridor or store room the bar is far lower and one or two panels take you a long way. The difference between lumens and lux is explained in What is the difference between lumens and lux?
Both sizes are at LED panels, with a dimmable and a non-dimmable version per model.
Does a 60x60 panel fit every grid ceiling?
In a grid with 600 by 600 millimetre cells, yes. The panel itself is 595 by 595 so it drops in with some play. Measure your grid before ordering.
Can I mount an LED panel on an ordinary ceiling?
Yes, with a surface mounting frame. You screw that to the ceiling and the panel clips into it. Without a suspended ceiling that is the only way.
Does a 120x30 panel give less light than a 60x60?
Barely. Our Europa gives 4,050 lumens and the Nova 4,200, both out of 30 watts. You choose on shape and on glare, not on light output.