Please Help! Soffit Lighting

[jessiemariecar]

I have a soffit that goes all the way around my house. I was thinking of spacing the lighting out sparingly (as opposed to every 4ft) because it is a 2,400 sqft. house and thats A LOT of lighting. Going with a small canned lighting that is dimmable.

My question is, should I space out the lighting evenly (such as every 8ft.) or should I just put lighting where needed? I'm attaching some pictures for reference. Regardless of how many lights I put, this won't be my only source of lighting.

Pictures attached are my carpot and 3-car garage. This is what you see when you first drive up. I also included a picture of my backyard area. Not pictured is the front of the house and side of the house where there is a pool and patio area. Lighting there will also need to be figured out.

The soffit runs around the entire house and is 2ft in width.

Thank you in advance!

 

[mike93lx]

I'd put it where needed to highlight the things you want to.

 

[cybrdyke]

Like it or not, lighting design is a form of art. And since you're the artist, you can do whatever you want. Asking a bunch of noodniks on the internet what to do isn't very DaVinci-like now is it?
Spaced lighting is very regimented and orderly. You could miss a feature if it's between lights. Plus, IMO, it's boring.
Feature lighting can be much more dramatic and interesting....until you move the target.
Last thought...you can probably do just as well with landscape lighting as you can with soffit lighting, and it's much easier to install and move around if necessary.
Good luck,
CD

 

[dcg9381]

I agree, it's art (feature lighting) I'd throw some small dimmable LEDs up there paying attention to their spectrum.

And then I'd throw some "light up the whole world" floods on a different circuit, likely with a motion sensor option. Security. For zombies.

 

[4x4Pete]

Highlight soffit lighting looks much better than regularly spaced lighting. Highlight the building accents, not landscaping. Landscaping lighting is a whole other project. Another thing to consider if you have any raked soffit, use directional down lights on this section, lighting cans pointed at 90 degrees to the soffit look weird to me.

 

[billconner]

I would try to locate them so they had some relationship to the house features - windows, doors, bump outs, etc.

I might first look for a continuous strip - led tape light in an extrusion with a lense. Not sure I'd like it but would try to look at a sample. Surface mount as well.

 

[dave*99]

FWIW, consider avoiding lights near / over windows. It makes it hard to see out at night. And could interfere with sleep if that bothers you.

 

[geneg]

FWIW, consider avoiding lights near / over windows. It makes it hard to see out at night. And could interfere with sleep if that bothers you.

I agree with keeping it away from windows for the above reasons & that the wash effect on the walls (if that's your goal) doesn't work at window locations. I wouldn't use equal spacing (every x feet), but I would keep it symmetrical on each facade. The effect is then pleasing to the eye. Add a light above a feature & then space an equal distance in from the other end of the wall.

You could also string up the bare bulb construction temp light sockets on a waster extension cord to play with effect before actually installing fixtures.

 

[AffableCurmudgeon]

Consider upward pointing landscape lights instead of downward pointing soffit lights. I personally like that look better. That is what I installed at my house.

 

[mm08822]

If you continue with the thought of soffit lighting, "Gimbel" style fixtures let you aim them vertically down or inward/outward of the wall surface. Upto a 30 or 35 degree adjustment possible.

I suggest you buy at least 3-4 and temporarily hang them with a few nails/screws/cable ties where you think you want them. Turn on at night and adjust aim/spacing, etc. Do this for each side. This helps ensure you like what you install before having committed to holes in the soffit. LEDs will let you adjust color temp and possibly output and add a dimmer later if desired.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Soffit lighting will accentuate every wave and discrepancy in the siding. FYI.

 

[nadogail]

Welcome to the Forum, your opinion on lighting is yours alone and not debatable.

Lighting, like the beauty of your life partner, is best judged by the eye of the beholder; not a committee of guys standing on a corner.

 

[mrVanagon]

I would suggest a soffit light centered above each door and landscape lights anywhere else you want to accent. As other have said, landscape lighting is easy to change as the landscaping changes. If you DIY it, it can often be done for relatively little money.

 

[ddurrett896]

Don't space them a perfect distance - instead how they will function. center over garage door (or two each), over the man door, inbetween windows (NOT OVER), etc.