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Drop ceilings are an affordable way to finish your room while maintaining access to utilities. Use this drop ceiling cost guide to estimate your project total.
6 Types of Lighting for Drop Ceilings and What’s Best for Your Home
Don’t let these unexpected lighting solutions go over your head
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Recessed lighting for drop ceilings simplifies your installation process and reduces costs, as the existing ceiling structure eliminates the need to clear overhead space or add new wiring.
LED lights in drop ceiling fixtures last up to 50,000 hours, helping you avoid frequent bulb changes while reducing your energy bills through efficient operation.
Choose warm lighting between 1,900K and 3,000K for your bedrooms and living rooms to create a cozy atmosphere, or select cool lighting from 4,000K to 5,000K for task-focused spaces.
Hiring a local light fixture installation professional removes the guesswork from fixture selection and electrical work, ensuring your drop ceiling lighting operates safely and meets your home's specific needs.
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Lighting has a huge impact on the way a home feels, and drop ceiling lighting is no exception to this rule. Though most famous for appearing in commercial buildings, a few simple tricks can turn it into an excellent modern option for just about any abode. Use this guide to explore the different types of drop ceiling lighting fixtures that can transform your drab drop ceiling into something that shines like new.
Photo: Photographee.eu / Adobe Stock
1. Recessed Lighting
Recessed lights are integrated into a ceiling to take up as little overhead space as possible. Installing recessed lighting without a drop ceiling is a costly process of clearing overhead space and installing wires if none exist. However, having a drop ceiling already in place simplifies the installation and reduces overall costs.
There are two main types of recessed lighting: can and canless fixtures. Can lights have a cylindrical-shaped housing where the bulb sits. Canless lights are an all-in-one unit that includes the bulb, housing, and trim. Because they are an all-in-one fixture, you’ll have to remove the whole recessed light to change a light bulb if it burns out.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy to install | Hard to change bulb |
| Seamless design | Can cause drafts |
| Variety of styles | Need several in room |
Best For: Illuminating kitchens, hallways, and basements
2. Wafer Lighting
Wafer lights feature an ultra-thin housing unit with an LED light attached. The LED light provides energy efficiency, with a lifespan of up to 50,000 hours. Once it burns out, however, the entire unit will need to be replaced.
Wafer lighting is easy to install since it can be directly connected to electrical wires and doesn’t require an electrical box. You have the option to mount it when the ceiling is exposed or after drywall is installed.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy to install | Hard to change bulb |
| Uses LEDs | Few trim options |
| Sleek, thin design | Produces a glare |
Best For: Above kitchen islands, countertops, or other task-focused areas
3. Cove Lighting
Like recessed lighting, cove lighting sits in the edges or recesses of a ceiling, which creates a framed appearance. This type of fixture provides a warm, well-dispersed ambient light that’s ideal for both primary and secondary light sources. In larger rooms, you may need to supplement cove lighting to fully light the space.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Framed appearance | Hard installation |
| Ambient lighting | Won’t light big room |
Best For: Adding ambient lighting to a living room or bedroom
4. Surface Mount Lighting
As its name indicates, surface mount lighting describes any type of lighting fixture that can be mounted directly to the wall, like ceiling sconces, pendant lights, and chandeliers. Though these types of lights are ideal for almost any ceiling setup, drop ceilings allow you to go all out.
For example, if you have high ceilings and a lot of extra overhead space, you could have enough room to hang a grouping of pendant lights for a decorative touch.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Decorative touch | Needs high ceilings |
| Variety of designs | Uses overhead space |
Best For: Rooms with high ceilings that need a decorative touch
5. Troffer Lighting
Troffer lights are rectangular or square fixtures that fit inside grid drop ceilings. Though common, especially in commercial buildings, these lights aren’t known for their aesthetic appeal. They can be bulky, and most options don’t lay flush against the ceiling. They also typically use fluorescent lights that can be too bright and harsh for most rooms in the home.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Lights increase focus | Bulky design |
| Bright light | Too bright for homes |
| Can light full room | Limited design |
Best For: Offices or commercial buildings that need a lot of light for tasks or big spaces
6. Panel Lighting
Similar to troffer lighting, panel lights fit within grid drop ceilings but are much thinner and less obtrusive. Though this type of drop ceiling lighting is most likely to appear in uninspiring office spaces, modern updates—like gold trims and matte-black finishes—are giving the retro favorite an exciting, new edge.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Thin design | Better for big areas |
| Various trim styles | Not for homes |
Best For: Industrial or commercial spaces that need a little more style in their fixtures
How To Choose the Best Lighting for a Drop Ceiling
Before installing a new light fixture in your drop ceiling, it’s important to get to know the ceiling design you have and your lighting options. These factors can impact the installation process, your recommended fixture type, and overall vibe of the room.
Determine Your Drop Ceiling Type
Before you can choose the best lighting options for your setup, you have to figure out what kind of drop ceiling you’re working with. Drop ceilings are secondary ceilings installed below primary ceilings for several purposes, from improving acoustics and ventilation to hiding electrical wires and utilities. Though they go by many names—including t-bar, false, and suspended ceilings—there are two main types: grid and drywall ceilings.
Grid ceilings consist of a grid-like arrangement of long, metal strips and square or rectangular ceiling panels. They’re most common in commercial buildings because they’re easy to remove for quick accessibility to wires and utilities.
Drywall drop ceilings are more likely what you have (or might be inclined to build) in your own home. Rather than a metal frame, they rely on a wire to suspend drywall sheets below the primary ceiling.
Decide if You Want LED Lights
From reducing energy costs to lasting more than 10 times as long as fluorescent or incandescent lights, there are many great reasons to switch to LED lights. With a lifespan of up to 50,000 hours, using them in your drop ceiling will reduce your need to change the bulbs.
If you want to have more control over the light in each space and reduce your energy bills, look for drop ceiling fixtures that can incorporate LED bulbs. It’s not hard to find LED bulbs in a color temperature that fits almost any kind of mood, from warm and cozy to bright and energized.
Pick the Mood With Lighting Colors and Tones
Most drop ceiling lighting fixtures can take light bulbs in a range of Kelvin scale ratings. The Kelvin scale lets you know whether the light produces a warm or cool tone.
Warm lighting ranges from 1,900K to 3,000K. It features a red, orange, or yellow tone and provides a calming effect. It can help you feel relaxed and drowsy, so it’s best used in areas where you want to create a cozy vibe like bedrooms, living rooms, and dining rooms.
Cool lighting ranges from 4,000K to 5,000K. It appears to have a white or blue tone, and promotes alertness, focus, and attention. It’s best used for rooms like an office, kitchen, or bathroom, where you want to feel alert and focused on the task at hand.
Once you decide what type of color and mood you want to create with your lighting, you can see which drop light fixtures accommodate that type of bulb.
Contact a Pro
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the choices, consider contacting a light fixture technician near you to help you pick the right lighting option and complete the installation. They’ll be able to answer any questions you have, install your new light in whichever type of drop ceiling you have, and make sure everything is working correctly.
Audrey Bruno contributed to this piece.
Lighting services reviews from real Angi homeowners in Columbus, OH
4.5★ avg. • 13 total reviews
- Ronald A.
Custom Paint Jobs LLC gave our office a fresh new look. Clients love it!
Custom Paint Jobs, LLC - John S.
Best painters in the Greater Columbus, Ohio area. Quality of work second to none and customer service is head above shoulders than everyone else. I cant wait to work on another project with Silvio and Team!
- Lauren R.
The Mosby team went above and beyond for my project. They not only installed my light fixture; they also worked through an old, wonky, and as it turns out incorrect wiring issue from the work of prior contractors. Professional, thorough, conscientious, and kind. Five star experience. Thank you!
Mosby Electric - Locke M.
We had a 20+ year old landscape lighting system that needed replacement. Midwest Lightscapes worked with us to design a much improved lighting system, lighting the exterior of the house and the back yard. Installation of the 45 light system took one and one-half days, and went very smoothly....
Midwest Lightscapes - Stephen D.
Jeff was a consummate professional. Responsive, courteous, and focused on meeting our needs. I had a small project of installing and replacing two ceiling light fixtures. He responded to my Home Advisory inquiry within 24 hours and in a span of two weeks our light fixtures were installed. ...
- Stephanie S.
For several months I was looking for somebody to tile a wall in my master bath and move lighting fixtures, and could not find anybody who was responsive. I contacted Rowe through Home Advisor and within days they came by to assess the job and provide an estimate. The cost was very...
Rowe House Development - John E.
A team of 2 spent 5 hours, cleaning top to bottom (removed all light fixture and cleaned.... impressive!!!)
Luzia's Cleaning - Jessica E.
It went very well. I was able to select the color blocks I wanted and where they would be placed in the window. All of the employees were very pleasant and patient. The guys who installed the window arrived promptly, did their job, and there was nothing for me to clean up. The window looks...
Innovate Home Org - Columbus Glass Block - Sarah C.
The initial quoted price from a walk-through seemed high, but we discussed that the quote represented worst case scenario (re-wiring to two floors) and we were excited about the opportunity to have the work done in a timely manner with closing for fire safety reasons, etc. When the job was...
- Robb B.
Charlie recommended a separate fan with new lighting to clear steam from the room better. Several weeks ago I contacted Charlie via email to ask about pricing and scheduling, after one follow up he did reply with cost and said it would be about two weeks before he could do the work. I replied...
Settle Muter Electric
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