Lighting over Shower

[Angelfire]

Hello All,
Not specifically a garage question (but could be I suppose) so apologies up front. I followed advice here on lighting of my workshop and couldn't be happier with what I ended up with.

Now, I'm embarking on a renovation of a small bathroom and am struggling a bit with lighting. The shower specifically, will be somewhat dark even with lights at the vanity so I'm looking to put light(s) over the shower.

I've stumbled across lights from Lithonia that I'm leaning towards only for the fact that they can be dimmed and one can choose the color temperature. The shower is small at 36" long and 34" wide. It will have a light gray tile on the walls and a light gray/dark gray floor. Ceiling is 8'. The spec sheet on these lights is here: https://img.acuitybrands.com/public...rsion=06/04/2020+15:42:15&DOC_Type=SPEC_SHEET

They also offer photometry information which is largely greek to me. I was hoping our lighting experts might be able to give me some inputs on whether I should go with one of these or two? They do make a gimbal'ed version so could theoretically place one at each end of the shower and angle them a bit just to avoid shadows. I do worry that 2 of them might be too much light even with a dimmer attached. They are also offered in a 3" or a 6" non-gimbal'ed version.

I'm not married to this fixture/light by any means so if there's something else out there you recommend, I'd sure appreciate the input.

Thank you very much for any insight.
Cheers.

 

[cybrdyke]

This one might have a few too many fancy features for a shower light. All you need is about 800 to 900 lumens, but most importantly you need the "wet location" rating.
You dont need the gimbal. You dont need the selectable color. You dont need the 90 CRI. All of those things add cost.
Find the same thing or similar in 6" 900-ish lumens, wet location, and you'll be good to go.
CD
PS...nearly all of them are dimmable, but in a shower, you wont need to use dimming. I can honestly say that I've never seen a shower light on a dimmer switch.

 

[Angelfire]

Thanks Cyber! I struggle with associating the number of lumens to brightness. I appreciate the inputs. These are wet rated and aren't too expensive ($17 for the 4" and ~$20 for the 6") but I will definitely look to your your advice about a simpler, single 6" light.
Cheers.

 

[csp]

I have a single 3" LED above our master bath shower and it's like daylight in there. I don't recall the lumens, but don't underestimate smaller lights.

 

[The Cobbler]

^^^^X2

 

[Jim greengo]

I'd rough it in for 2 myself.

 

[Angelfire]

I have a single 3" LED above our master bath shower and it's like daylight in there. I don't recall the lumens, but don't underestimate smaller lights.

I agree. Problem for me is I just don't have a good reference for being able to read a spec and imagine in real life what that looks like.

 

[cybrdyke]

I agree. Problem for me is I just don't have a good reference for being able to read a spec and imagine in real life what that looks like.

You have to take this with a grain of salt, but you might find it helpful...
A regular 60w incandescent light bulb emits 850 lumens
75w = 1150 lumens
100w - 1650 lumens

There are lots of reasons that these numbers can be deceiving, which I wont go into here so that I dont add confusion, but maybe you can get a grasp on how much light you'll have by imagining a regular light bulb.
CD

 

[Dancing Bear]

with an 8' ceiling, id go with a 4in LED can light and call it a day. I like the commercial electric ones that have the adjustable color temperature switch on them personally. I think that would be a good amount of light output for the space

 

[Sumboodie]

When I looked into years ago, was told by a local supplier (handle supplies for pro electricians, not a random hardware store) it needed to be a specific light made for over the bath. Had to do with the chance it could fall into the bath. Not just "wet" rated.
Was that wrong info?

My 2 bathrooms have a fan/light sort of near the bath, but it has me showering somewhat in the shadows.

I had planned on just tying into the fan light circuit instead of adding another switch since there's already 3. (Sink light, fan, fan light)

 

[Angelfire]

You have to take this with a grain of salt, but you might find it helpful...
A regular 60w incandescent light bulb emits 850 lumens
75w = 1150 lumens
100w - 1650 lumens

There are lots of reasons that these numbers can be deceiving, which I wont go into here so that I dont add confusion, but maybe you can get a grasp on how much light you'll have by imagining a regular light bulb.
CD

That is helpful! Thank you.

 

[Angelfire]

When I looked into years ago, was told by a local supplier (handle supplies for pro electricians, not a random hardware store) it needed to be a specific light made for over the bath. Had to do with the chance it could fall into the bath. Not just "wet" rated.
Was that wrong info?

Everything I have seen just says "Wet" rated although I believe it should also have a glass lens vs. plastic.
Cheers.

 

[Trapps]

I redid a shower and added 2x 4” cans. No shadows/dark spots regardless of where you stand.


The bulbs are 12W LEDs from GE rated at 1100 lumens. The shower trim rings (Juno 241Y40) have worked perfectly for more than 18 months. The shower is roughly 5’ x 32” and 7’6” tall.

 

[bigdav160]

Mine, built in 1970, has a chandelier over the shower/bath (large roman tub)

 

[Zeke]

Mine, built in 1970, has a chandelier over the shower/bath (large roman tub)

I know that is supposed to be funny but I actually did that for a couple of guys about 11 years ago. To say it was a bit over the top not only is a pun, but the truth. As per, it had to be 8' up to the bottom. Yes, the ceiling was like 11 feet.

 

[cybrdyke]

When I looked into years ago, was told by a local supplier (handle supplies for pro electricians, not a random hardware store) it needed to be a specific light made for over the bath. Had to do with the chance it could fall into the bath. Not just "wet" rated.
Was that wrong info?

Yes, that's wrong. I'm not aware of a specific electrical rating for "over the bath".
Wet location would be appropriate for a shower. If it was just a bath tub, or anywhere else in the bathroom, damp location would be fine.
CD

 

[Shiftless]

I have a directional floodlight type LED bulb in a recessed can with a gasketed frosted (wet location) glass cover delivering 1100 lumens for a shower stall that is 36” x 36”. White floor with walls tiled in pale green.
It’s plenty of light.
I’m a bit baffled at worrying about shadows from a single light source in a small shower.

 

[Krfjkm]

I have used a can light with a built in vent fan in 2 recent bathroom remodels—- Home Depot sells them and they work great!

 

[infinkc]

I have used a can light with a built in vent fan in 2 recent bathroom remodels—- Home Depot sells them and they work great!

Thats what we have throughout our house, nice not to have a separate vent and you cant tell that it is a vent as it looks like a regular recess light.

 

[Shiftless]

Thats what we have throughout our house, nice not to have a separate vent and you cant tell that it is a vent as it looks like a regular recess light.

Doesn’t that **** dust up past the light bulb and make for a maintenance problem? My Panasonic bathroom fans have a grill that I can snap off and clean once in a while.

 

[infinkc]

Doesn’t that **** dust up past the light bulb and make for a maintenance problem? My Panasonic bathroom fans have a grill that I can snap off and clean once in a while.

hmm, never dawned on me to clean them.
https://aeropurefans.com/product/ae...and-recessed-light-round-trim-ring-ap80h-rvl/