insulation and canned lights

beantole

OK, I need your opinions again. I am having 16 six inch canned ceiling lights installed in my family room. There is currently 3 inches of rolled insulation up there in the ceiling. The canned light will have a maximum bulb of 65 watts in them. The canned lights have a few little vertical slots in them (I don't know why). Can I cover them again with the insulation? If not, how can I stop the room from losing heat through the light holes snd slots? As always, thanks.

Bruce

Knifecollector

I don't know the brand of lights you have, but the ones the local electrcians use are rated to be covered with insulation. With only 3" of overhead insulation you are losing alot of heat. Our local codes require a minimum R-34 or 12" insulation overhead. If you can find a name or model number on your cans we can check to make sure.

Smokeeater 38

Most new lights can be covered up by insulation. The light should say on it how much clearance is needed, if any. You need to remember that just because you will only put in a 65-watt bulb this does not mean the next guy may not put in a 100-watt bulb. You may want to check with an electrician about installing them.

I rush in where others flee.

beantole

Thanks for the replies thus far. I looked and the box says Emerald P1-Tn Contractor series. They are from Lowes. Anyone else think it's OK to cover with insulation? Oh yes, I do need more insulation up there.

Bruce

rldowns3

You might check with a contractor to see what the peticular building code is on that where you live and check with the place you bought it from or the mfg of the lights. It could be a fire hazzard and/or a building violation in certain situations to cover the top of the light with fiberglass rolled insulation. You might consider building a wood box around the top of the lights with a couple inches clearance on all sides and cover that with the insulation though.

spiny

In my experience, those little slots are to dissipate the heat produced by the bulb. The little tin hats hold a lot of heat and that causes the bulbs to burn out really fast. Slots help them last a little longer.
spiny

dakotashooter2

Generally the building codes will reference the manufactures instructions on items such as this. They should be UL listed which basically means they have been tested for certain applications (as per manufactures instructions). While installation instructions are supposed to be provided by the manufacturer they sometimes aren't.

Rembrandt

In our recent remodel I installed 8 of the Emerald mini-Halogen recessed lights...even with a 50 watt bulb they get hot...we could even feel the warmth coming through the flooring on the upper level....the lights should have come with an instuction sheet that tells how to install them safely.