How To Install Canless Recessed Lighting and Brighten Your Space

Planning the layout is the fun part. This is when you can look around your space, think about what you want to achieve, and get creative with a solution. If being creative isn’t your thing, there are some tried and true suggestions when it comes to where to install recessed lights. 

• During your planning process, use painter's tape to mark the ceiling. It's easier to move and won't damage the paint finish. 

• Avoid creating shadow areas.

• Stay 12 to 18 inches from walls, adding on distance for cabinets and appliances. 

• Center the light if it’s in a hallway or closet, or if it makes sense to do so.

If you have to lay in new wiring for the task, keep it simple. Locate a potential junction box like an existing light fixture, outlet, or ceiling fan. Avoid overpowering the electrical feed by capping the existing power source after. If you try to run your light while operating the ceiling fan, you can blow the breaker. 

Before you turn the power off, prepare your workspace. Lay down your drop cloth, set up your ladder, and prep and turn on any external lighting you’ll need to illuminate the space. Use a table to set out your supplies and tools in a way that makes them quick and easy to find. 

In any project involving electricity, always shut off power to your work area before starting and when resuming any work. When the power is turned off, use your voltage tester to confirm your work area does not have power. 

For a can-to-canless replacement, remove the existing can light and housing, and jump to step five.

If you’re adding a new light, center the template included in the canless lighting fixture on your mark, and tape it in place. Trace the circle with a pencil and remove the template. Use your drywall jab saw to cut out the fixture hole. Carefully dispose of your cutout drywall and any fiberglass insulation that came down during the process. 

To install canless recessed lighting in a finished ceiling, run the electrical through the attic. You can link the wires from the original junction box rather than running single wires for each. Start with the one closest to your power source.

• Cut your electrical wire two to two-and-a-half feet longer than the distance between the power source and the fixture hole.

• Tack the wire with NM staples along the joist to prevent them from moving in either direction.

• Leave about 12 to 16 inches of both wires hanging out of the hole.

If there isn't existing wiring to the ceiling, you have to start from scratch. That means getting an electrical permit, installing a new breaker, and running the power from your box to the work area. It’s a big job that your local electrician can probably do quickly and safely.

With the wires hanging down from each hole, you can attach the fixtures. 

• Strip the electrical wire to expose the two coated wires and the bare ground wire. 

• Punch out the metal discs at either side of the junction box.

• Insert the first set of wires into one side and the second into the other side.

• Connect all the like-colored wires using the wire nuts. 

• Tuck all the wires in the junction box and tightly close it.

Each box can be a little different. LED wafer lights and canless recessed lights have subtle differences in their composition and installation. Review the manufacturer's instructions for clarity.

With the electrical wires connected to the power source and the light’s junction box, you can  nest it into the hole. Place the junction box in the ceiling first, then insert the fixture. Wafer-style canless LED lights have spring tabs that will lay flat on the interior surface of the ceiling and hold the fixture snug. Hold the spring tabs up during insertion.

When all the fixtures are nested in their holes, you can turn the power back on at the breaker. Check that the light works by turning it on.