When installing a stretch ceiling, it becomes necessary to install a reliable, beautiful and efficient lighting system. It is not advisable to use traditional incandescent lamps or halogen lamps for these purposes, since during operation they heat up quite strongly, creating a danger to the ceiling material. Such lighting systems use low-power ceiling lamps installed in specially designed luminaires.
Classification of lighting fixtures for stretch ceilings
The variety of different types of ceiling lights allows you to choose the necessary device for installing it yourself in the interior of any room. At the same time, it is quite difficult to make such a choice without having at least minimal knowledge about what types of lighting devices are and how they differ from each other.
According to the depth of embedding, the following types of these devices are distinguished:
- Fully embedded.
- Partially embedded.
- Overhead lamps. Products of this type are often used when organizing additional lighting points for the kitchen, dining room or living room.
The insertion depth mainly depends on the type of lamp used. Bulbs for stretch ceilings, as well as lamps for suspended ceilings, come in several types:
- Halogen.
- Metal halide.
- LED.
- Incandescent lamps.
When installing a lighting system with halogen lamps, the embedding depth of luminaires is 4-9 cm, for LED lamps - 1-2 cm. If for some reason it was decided to use incandescent lamps to illuminate a room with a stretch ceiling, then the embedding depth of such devices will be from 20 to 30 cm
Depending on the nature of the lighting fixtures for stretch ceilings are divided into devices:
- Scattered light.
- directional light.
In addition, according to technical performance, they can be divided into the following types:
- Panel (modular), used in most cases with false ceilings.
- Point.
Panel lights are one of the most sought after types of lighting systems. In appearance, such devices resemble an ordinary ceiling panel. They are rarely used to illuminate living rooms, since the appearance of these products is not conducive to creating home comfort in the room. It is better to choose such lamps for illumination of studies or offices.
Since these devices are placed behind the stretch ceiling, they can only illuminate the room with diffused light.
Benefits of recessed luminaires
The advantages of using products such as ceiling lamps include:
- Possibility to plan lighting for the kitchen, hallway or bathroom, which will create a soft diffused light that contributes greatly to creating a favorable atmosphere in these rooms.
- The location of the lighting points on the ceiling can be completely arbitrary.
- A large number of models of modern lamps allows you to achieve various effects, emphasizing certain interior details. Lighting for the kitchen can emphasize the separation of the working and dining areas, and the use of LED lamps in the children's room or in the hall makes it possible to smoothly change the light intensity or obtain the "starry sky" effect.
- The ease of installation and maintenance of built-in lamps makes it possible to do it yourself.
The advantages of overhead models include the least loss of free space spent on installing a stretch ceiling, as well as the possibility of using incandescent lamps in them, achieved due to good ventilation.
Children's room lighting
A very popular option for decorating children's rooms is to create an effect that imitates the starry sky. To do this, it is better to choose LED lamps, the operation of which is controlled using a software unit. This solution allows not only to get the starry sky on the ceiling of the room, but also to achieve the effect of its movement and even the fall of comets.
Another option for creating “starry sky” lighting on the stretch ceiling of a room can be the installation of light guides and a light generator in it. This method is cheaper, while star twinkling can be obtained using special crystals glued to the ceiling canvas. Such a "starry sky" does not provide the effect of the movement of celestial bodies, but it also looks very beautiful.
bathroom lighting
A feature of the bathroom is the increased content of water vapor in the air, as well as rather high temperatures. That is why the fixtures in the bathroom must comply with a certain class of protection against water and dust (not lower than IP44).
When choosing a lamp for a stretch ceiling in the bathroom, you should refrain from buying chandeliers, as well as flat models that resemble a plate in shape. The metal parts of the cases of such products experience significant heating, which can lead to damage to the ceiling sheet and even to a fire.
Despite the small size of the bathroom, zoned lighting can also be arranged in it, highlighting certain interior items.
In order to make high-quality lighting in the bathroom with your own hands, you should familiarize yourself with the requirements for electrical wiring in rooms with increased danger.
LED Strip Light
In order to make the right choice among the possible lighting options for the kitchen, dining room, bathroom or corridor, it is necessary to plan it in such a way as to be able to change the light intensity from dimmed to as bright as possible. This can be achieved by using an LED strip as an additional element of the lighting system, which is placed behind the stretch ceiling.
A popular lighting option for a kitchen or dining room is to use a chandelier with multiple recessed lights at the same time to illuminate multiple areas of the room.
Luminaire design
The housing material of most lighting devices used for installation in rooms with stretch ceilings is cast or extruded aluminum. Its surface can be anodized, chrome-plated or powder-coated.
The diffuser is most often made of plastic, although glass may be used to make this part of their design in expensive models of fixtures.
Spotlights
Spotlights (or downlights) allow you to organize lighting from individual points located on the plane of the ceiling. Such devices are focal fixtures that can be fully or partially embedded in a stretch ceiling.
Most often they are used to highlight certain interior details or areas of the room.
The design of spotlights includes its own reflector, which allows you to focus the light flux in a certain direction. Many models of such devices are equipped with rotary mechanisms that allow you to change the direction of light if necessary.
Stretch ceiling lighting options
In order to make a high-quality and efficient do-it-yourself lighting system, you first need to choose a model of a lighting device. For large rooms, a chandelier or overhead models that allow the installation of sufficiently powerful lamps may well be suitable.Small spotlights can be used as auxiliary light sources (or main ones, for example, in the bathroom). To organize night lighting, an LED strip or a backlight that imitates the starry sky can be used.
When using spotlights, it is possible to illuminate certain areas of the room.
Since most stretch ceilings perfectly reflect light, you can achieve the desired effect by mounting lamps in the ceiling cornice. At the same time, the integrity of the ceiling surface is not violated.
Mounting the device
Installing recessed fixtures for a stretch ceiling is not too complicated and can be done by hand. At the same time, you should remember to follow the rules of electrical safety, all connections must be made with de-energized electrical wiring elements.
Do-it-yourself installation of a luminaire for a stretch ceiling consists of the following steps:
- First of all, it is necessary to mark the ceiling, which is performed to determine the exact location of the lighting points in accordance with the design intent.
- Next, the installation of adjustable fixtures for fixtures, as well as chandeliers, is carried out. Doing it yourself is quite simple, but working at height requires an assistant.
- Laying electrical wires from each lamp to a switch or junction box.
- Installation of stretch ceiling fabric with pre-cut holes for lamps.
- Installation of the lamp on an adjustable stand.
The most time-consuming operation, which is quite difficult to do with your own hands, is the installation of a stretch ceiling canvas, which requires the use of special equipment.
Important! Before mounting the luminaire, it is necessary to put a heat-insulating ring on its body.
The use of recessed fixtures allows you to achieve the most effective lighting of rooms with stretch ceilings. The variety of models of these devices opens up wide possibilities for a variety of design ideas, from a strict office environment to a lighting system that imitates the starry sky.
