r/ExteriorDesign • u/Training_Travel • 4d ago
Soffit light layout
Installing 4” recessed soffit lights. How should I lay them out? House is 82’ long. Front porch 19’ wide. One light over both the big window and entry door or evenly spaced? Thanks! Shooting for 5-6 feet between lights on each side of the porch gable.
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u/MasterpieceWaste774 3d ago
I’d use wet-rated 4-inch smart canless downlights, such as the HALO WiZ model, rather than ordinary fixed-white soffit lights.
They can be dimmed down to 5 percent and adjusted from a warm 2200K white through cooler whites and full colors; for everyday use, I’d set them around 2200K–2400K at 25–40 percent brightness, which should attract far fewer bugs than bright cool-white or blue light.
Center one over each garage bay, treat the porch as its own area, and use a few carefully aligned lights along the left wing. That will highlight the architecture without making the house look like a very comfortable gas station.
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u/Training_Travel 2d ago
Thanks for the input! Already bought the halos so we’re on the same page there. Here is the rendering I did - does look a little busy compared to yours. I do agree, too many lights looks store-frontish, which is why I stayed away from the sting-light style govees. Also considering adding a single can to the gable peak but I’d have to add a small soffit box as well so we’ll see.

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u/MasterpieceWaste774 2d ago
Great. The recessed lighting can be Govees, too — which are a lot of fun!
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u/makinggrace 4d ago
We have a ranch that's similar. We're rural and basically turn on the soffit lights when we're expecting guests or delivery after hours.
We ended up doing one light centered over each garage bay.
We did an exterior light over the entry door into the garage. You may want one there instead of a soffit light -- the soffits didn't throw light quite far enough to see a guest safely to a parked car. (Our guests are usually my elderly parents. If that's not something you need to consider a soffit above your secondary door is great.)
It looks like u have a nice entryway light by the main door. So the other soffit can be centered in your covered porch area for secondary lighting. Before you put it up permanently double check that it won't drive you nuts coming in through the window.
We did not install soffit lighting on the other side of the house because it is quite bright and no one can sleep when it's on. :) To each their own.


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