Project Guide
How to Install Canless Recessed Lights
Recessed lighting remains a popular style of lighting due to its clean look and ability to provide targeted light coverage for workspaces like kitchens or to illuminate artwork or bookshelves. It can also increase the amount of light in a room, making a room feel and look larger.
Recessed lighting nestles in the ceiling itself so the light source is flush with the ceiling, and the housing and electrical wiring components are hidden behind the fixture. Commercial Electric canless, integrated LED recessed lights are a unique and versatile solution. They offer five color temperature options and are easy to change with the flick of a button; are ENERGY STAR-certified and indoor/outdoor- and wet-rated; are designed specifically for small spaces where height clearance is limited, such as beams or ductwork; and are available in a 4-pack, 6-pack or 12-pack.
These new canless designs make installation easy. We’ve outlined steps in this article, and these instructions are also included with the product. To see a video demonstration, click here.
1. Turn off the power.
As always, ensure that the power has been turned off from your breaker box before you begin any work that deals with electricity.
2. Prepare the installation location.
Whether you’re installing recessed lights in new construction or remodeling a room, plan your light placement first. Then, mark the planned locations before drilling or cutting any holes.
- Use the template provided with your light kit to draw the outline for each opening.
- Use a drywall jab saw to cut the opening marked by the template.
3. Prepare the junction box.
- Open the junction box covers and remove the knockout hole covers from the side panel.
- Insert cable connectors (not included).
4. Connect the wires.
- Strip the electrical wire ends to expose the wire if necessary.
- Connect the wire ends into the quick-connect openings.
- Match the color to the appropriate terminal: black to black, white to white and ground (copper) wire to green.
5. Connect a series of lights.
- To connect to the next recessed light in series, take an appropriate amount of electrical cable that can reach the next recessed light.
- Then, connect the appropriate color ends to the remaining opening slot.
6. Close the junction box.
Once both electrical cables are connected, tuck the cables into the junction box and close it firmly.
7. Connect a series of junction boxes.
With the other end of the electrical cable, connect to the next junction box in series using the same process as in Step 4 above.
8. Complete the series.
- Continue adding recessed lights in series, or if it’s the last one needed, then simply leave one side connected and don’t remove the knockout hole cover from the other side.
- It is ok for there to be an empty slot in the quick-connect terminal for the last recessed light in the daisy chain.