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LuxPlan
320 sq ft

16×20 room:
how many lights?

A 16×20 ft room is 320 square feet. How many lights it needs depends entirely on what happens in it — a kitchen is lit to roughly twice the level of a bedroom, so the same footprint ranges from 9 to 30 fixtures at 800 lumens each.

Pick the room type below for the full layout, spacing and ceiling plan.

20 ft 16 ft 4 across × 3 deep · 5 ft × 5.3 ft apart · 2.5 ft from the end walls

A 16×20 room, by what it is used for

Room typeTargetTotal lumensFixturesGridSpacing
Kitchen 300 lx17,116 lm 205 × 44′ × 4′
Living room 150 lx10,094 lm 124 × 35′ × 5.3′
Bedroom 100 lx6,729 lm 93 × 36.7′ × 5.3′
Bathroom 200 lx13,459 lm 205 × 44′ × 4′
Home office 300 lx17,624 lm 246 × 43.3′ × 4′
Dining room 150 lx8,812 lm 124 × 35′ × 5.3′
Garage 150 lx10,094 lm 124 × 35′ × 5.3′
Hallway 100 lx6,729 lm 93 × 36.7′ × 5.3′
Laundry 200 lx11,411 lm 164 × 45′ × 4′
Basement 150 lx10,094 lm 124 × 35′ × 5.3′
Workshop 400 lx22,822 lm 306 × 53.3′ × 3.2′
Nursery 100 lx6,729 lm 93 × 36.7′ × 5.3′

At 800 lumens per fixture and an 8 ft ceiling. Click a room type for other fixture sizes and ceiling heights.

Questions

How many recessed lights for a 16x20 room?

It depends what the room is for. A 16×20 ft (320 sq ft) living room needs about 12 fixtures at 800 lm; the same footprint as a kitchen needs about 20, because a kitchen is lit to roughly double the level. Pick the room type for the real answer.

How many square feet is a 16x20 room?

320 square feet, or 29.7 square metres.

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