Lighting - HELP?  
Select one of the 11 topics below:

1 - Where Should / Can Lighting Be Located?

2 - New Construction or Remodel housing?

3 - Insulated, Double Wall, and Air Tight housings

4 - Bulbs - Types of Bulbs and Their Usage

5 - Housing Diameters and Bulb Usage

6 - Trims

7 - Low Voltage (12V) or Line Voltage (120V) MR16 Bulbs?

8 - Lighting Controls - Setting the mood of your lighting system

9 - Choosing the Proper Housing and Trim

10 - Sloped Ceiling Housing and Trim Information

11 - Retrofit / Conversion Kits & Tools

9 - Choosing the proper housing and trim for your application.

One of the most important things to consider is that light bulbs get hot and 12V MR16 bulbs get extremely hot.  When a bulb is enclosed within a metal housing, the housing can get very hot as well.  For this reason, housings have been tested and are UL approved for use with a particular type of bulb or a range of bulbs and in a particular application.  It is extremely important that a housing is not over-lamped.  Over-lamping occurs when a higher wattage or incorrect type bulb is used in a housing than the housing has been designed and tested to be used with.  This condition can over heat a housing and create a fire hazard.  Therefore, make sure the housing used has the appropriate UL listing for use with the bulb used.

Trims too must be designed around the bulb.  Adjustable trims attach to the trim and therefore must conform to the bulb.  Two trims may look identical but one may be designed to accommodate a MR16 bulb (2" in dia) and the other to accommodate a R/PAR20 bulb (2.5" in dia).

For the above two mentioned reasons, we have put together a selection matrix for choosing the correct housings and trims (see below).    

Choosing the proper housing and trim from our selection matrix.

On the top row of the matrix choose the housing diameter and type of lamp you want to use.

From the first column of the matrix choose the type of housing - New Construction or Remodel - Non-insulated or insulated.

Follow the row across until you get to the column that has the features and type of bulb you want to use.

This is the type of housing you want to purchase.

Now, move to the bottom of that column and view the trims available for that housing. Remember, the type of bulb used with each trim is listed in the description of the trim that you will find when you select (click) on any trim picture or "more info".