For a room with a chandelier, use a 36 degree beam for general downlights, 15 to 24 degrees only for art or a worktop, and 50 degrees where the ceiling is high or the fitting sits close to a wall. Keep 36 degree downlights at least 0.8 m (31 in) outside the fixture plan.
What a beam angle actually measures
A beam angle is the full width of the cone, in degrees, measured where the light has fallen to half of its peak intensity, and the field angle is the same measurement at one tenth of peak, which is why two fixtures quoted at 36 degrees can look different on a ceiling. The half-intensity definition is photometric convention rather than a legal standard, so the number on a box is a starting point and not a promise. What the angle controls is the width of the pool at a given distance, and that width follows one line of trigonometry: diameter equals two times the mounting distance times the tangent of half the angle. At 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) from the ceiling to the floor, a 36 degree beam lands as a pool 1.56 m (61 in) across, and the same fixture at 3 m (9 ft 10 in) widens to 1.95 m (77 in).
| Quoted angle | Cone width at 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) | Cone width at 3 m (9 ft 10 in) | Spacing to height ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 degrees | 0.63 m (25 in) | 0.79 m (31 in) | 0.26 |
| 24 degrees | 1.02 m (40 in) | 1.28 m (50 in) | 0.43 |
| 36 degrees | 1.56 m (61 in) | 1.95 m (77 in) | 0.65 |
| 50 degrees | 2.24 m (88 in) | 2.80 m (110 in) | 0.93 |
| 60 degrees | 2.77 m (109 in) | 3.46 m (136 in) | 1.15 |
Which angle for which job
A 15 degree beam is an accent tool, and it belongs on a painting, a sculpture or a plant rather than on a floor, because at 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) it covers 0.63 m (25 in) and leaves most of the room dark. A 24 degree beam covers 1.02 m (40 in) at the same height and suits a kitchen counter, a console or a reading chair, where the light has to land on a surface rather than fill a volume. A 36 degree beam is the general-purpose choice for circulation and for rooms with a decorative fixture, since it covers 1.56 m (61 in) and still leaves the ceiling plane reading as a plane. A 50 degree beam covers 2.24 m (88 in) and is the one to use at 3 m (9 ft 10 in) or above, or where a wall is close enough that a narrow cone would stack bright arcs up the plaster.
| Angle | Pool at 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) | What it is for | Where it fails |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 degrees | 0.63 m (25 in) | Art, sculpture, a plant, a niche | Floors and general light; leaves the room dark |
| 24 degrees | 1.02 m (40 in) | Counter, console, reading chair, a table edge | Large rooms; pools separate and read as spots |
| 36 degrees | 1.56 m (61 in) | Circulation, general light, rooms with a chandelier | Very tall ceilings; washing a wall from close range |
| 50 degrees | 2.24 m (88 in) | Ceilings of 3 m (9 ft 10 in) and above, wall washing | Low ceilings; the pool runs up the wall |
| 60 degrees | 2.77 m (109 in) | A wall within 0.6 m (24 in) of the fitting, corridors | Anywhere the ceiling is below 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) |
How far apart the downlights go
Spacing follows the pool rather than the room, and the working rule is one pool width apart at the plane you care about, which for a 36 degree beam at 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) means 1.56 m (61 in) between centres. Trading that into a ratio, spacing to mounting height equals two times the tangent of half the angle, so a 36 degree fixture gives 0.65 and a 50 degree fixture gives 0.93. Manufacturers publish spacing to mounting height ratios of 0.8 to 1.2 for wide-beam downlights, and those figures are convention for a beam of 60 degrees or wider rather than a rule that fits a narrow cone. A 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) ceiling with 36 degree fittings therefore wants centres near 1.5 m (59 in), not the 2.4 m (94 in) that a ratio of 1.0 applied to the height would suggest.
| Room run | Centres at 36 degrees | Number of fittings | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in) | 1.5 m (59 in) | 3 | Two pools at the ends and one at the centre |
| 6 m (19 ft 8 in) | 1.5 m (59 in) | 4 | Keep 0.75 m (30 in) from each wall |
| 8 m (26 ft 3 in) | 1.5 m (59 in) | 6 | Split into two switched rows if the room has two uses |
Keeping downlights off the chandelier
A downlight inside the plan of a chandelier puts a hot spot on the canopy, throws a flare into the doorway sightline and lights the crystals from an angle that reads as glare rather than sparkle, so the practical rule is to keep the fitting outside the half-intensity cone. That means a horizontal clearance of at least half the pool width, measured from the edge of the fixture rather than from its centre: 0.78 m (31 in) for a 36 degree beam at 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in), and 1.40 m (55 in) for a 50 degree beam at 3 m (9 ft 10 in). The clearance is a trade convention worked from the same trigonometry as the pool table above, and it is not a standard. A fixture 1.2 m (47 in) wide under a 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) ceiling therefore wants its nearest downlight about 1.4 m (55 in) from the centre line.
| Fixture plan width | Ceiling height | Beam | Clearance from fixture edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.8 m (31 in) | 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) | 36 degrees | 0.78 m (31 in) |
| 1.2 m (47 in) | 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) | 36 degrees | 0.78 m (31 in) |
| 1.2 m (47 in) | 3 m (9 ft 10 in) | 50 degrees | 1.40 m (55 in) |
| 1.8 m (71 in) | 3.6 m (11 ft 10 in) | 50 degrees | 1.68 m (66 in) |
Matching the downlights to the fixture
The two layers have to agree on colour temperature or the room reads as two rooms, and the fixture decides which way. In our own catalogue on 18 October 2026, 204 of 1,381 products stated a colour temperature and 104 of those stated 3000 K, so a warm white downlight is the default that matches the larger part of what we sell. Colour rendering is the second line to match: 176 products stated a colour rendering index, with 120 at RA80 and 52 in the 90 to 100 band, and a downlight below the fixture on that scale makes the crystal read grey next to it. Dimming is the third, and it is the one that fails on site. Only 37 products declared dimmability, 36 of them stating yes, so the dimmer protocol is worth confirming in writing before the ceiling is cut.
| Spec line | Products stating it, 18 October 2026 | Why it decides the pairing |
|---|---|---|
| Colour temperature | 204, of which 104 state 3000 K | Whether the downlight and the fixture read as one colour |
| Colour rendering index | 176, of which 120 RA80 and 52 in the 90 to 100 band | Whether glass and crystal hold their colour under both layers |
| Dimmable or dimming | 37, of which 36 state yes | Whether both layers can be balanced at night |
| Smart control | 129, across two spellings of the same spec line | Whether both can sit in one scene |
| Irradiation area | 246, stating a band from 5 sq m to 30 sq m and above | The merchant stated coverage, which is not measured photometry |
Wall washing, art and counters
A wall wash and an accent are different jobs with different angles, and swapping them is the commonest layout error after spacing. Art wants 15 to 24 degrees at an offset of 0.6 to 0.9 m (24 to 35 in) from the wall, aimed so the beam meets the surface at roughly 30 degrees rather than straight on, which keeps the frame from throwing its own shadow across the canvas. A wall wash wants 50 to 60 degrees at 0.6 to 0.9 m (24 to 35 in) from the wall, because the wide cone overlaps with its neighbour and the scallops merge into a band. A kitchen counter wants 24 degrees at 0.6 m (24 in) forward of the wall, so the light lands on the worktop and not on the cabinet doors behind it.
| Job | Angle | Offset from wall | Aim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Painting or sculpture | 15 to 24 degrees | 0.6 to 0.9 m (24 to 35 in) | About 30 degrees to the surface |
| Wall wash | 50 to 60 degrees | 0.6 to 0.9 m (24 to 35 in) | Straight down, overlapped |
| Kitchen counter | 24 degrees | 0.6 m (24 in) forward of the wall | Vertical |
| Circulation | 36 degrees | Even layout, 1.5 m (59 in) centres | Vertical |
What we do not sell, and what to send instead
We make decorative fixtures and we do not sell recessed downlights, lamps or drivers, so nothing on this page is a product specification for a downlight we would ship. What the page gives you is the geometry to brief someone else with, and the four lines below are the ones an electrician or a lighting designer needs before the ceiling is marked out on a 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) room. Without them a layout is guessed from habit rather than calculated, and the correction afterwards means patching plaster and repainting a ceiling that was finished a week earlier. The same four lines also settle whether a decorative fixture can sit in the same scene as the downlights, since two layers on separate switch plates at fixed output cannot be balanced at night, and a scene that cannot be balanced is the reason a good fixture reads badly in a finished room.
- The finished ceiling height, from floor to the underside of the plaster, in metres or feet.
- The plan width of the fixture, measured at its widest point, so the clearance ring can be drawn.
- The colour temperature and the colour rendering index of the lamps that will go into the fixture.
- The dimmer protocol, if there is a dimmer, and whether the downlights share it.
When a downlight layout is not the right choice
A downlight layout is the wrong instrument below 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in), because a 36 degree beam at 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) still covers 1.37 m (54 in) and the pools run into the walls, so the ceiling reads as a grid of hot spots rather than as light. It is also the wrong answer when the decorative fixture is meant to be the light, since a ring of downlights around a chandelier flattens the room and removes the contrast the fixture was bought for. A sloped or vaulted ceiling stretches the pool into an oval, so the angles in the tables above stop applying and the layout has to be set from a section drawing. And it is not the answer where the complaint is a dark dining table: a downlight above a table throws the shadow of a seated head across the plates, and the fix is a lower pendant rather than another hole in the ceiling.
Where the room already has a chandelier and needs more light at the floor, the cheaper sequence is a floor lamp or a pair of wall lights before a new ceiling layout, because both can be added to a finished room. The order of spending across a whole house is set out in lighting schedule and rough-in before first fix, and the layer that a ceiling cove adds is covered in cove lighting dimensions. Where the downlights are being planned around a fixture, the matching side is the fixture itself, and the range that carries a stated colour temperature is in our chandelier collection.
Numbers and sources
The catalogue figures on this page were recomputed mechanically from our own Shopify export of 18 October 2026: 1,381 products and 9,851 variants, of which 204 state a colour temperature with 104 at 3000 K, 176 state a colour rendering index with 120 at RA80 and 52 in the 90 to 100 band, 37 declare dimmability with 36 stating yes, 129 state smart control across two spellings of the same specification line, and 246 state an irradiation area band. Each count comes from the specification lines inside the product descriptions rather than from a sample, so any of them can be checked against the listings themselves. The pool widths, the clearance rings and the spacing to height ratios are calculated from the geometry of a cone rather than measured in a room, and the angle choices by job are trade convention rather than standards, which is why the table marks each line by nature instead of presenting them all as one kind of fact.
| Figure | Value | Source | Nature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalogue size | 1,381 products and 9,851 variants | Shopify catalogue export, 18 October 2026 | First party, recomputed |
| Colour temperature | 204 products state one; 104 state 3000 K | Same export, specification lines | First party, recomputed |
| Colour rendering index | 176 products; 120 RA80, 52 at 90 to 100 | Same export, specification lines | First party, recomputed |
| Dimmable or dimming | 37 products; 36 yes, 1 no | Same export, specification lines | First party, recomputed |
| Smart control | 129 products, two spellings of the line | Same export, specification lines | First party, recomputed |
| Irradiation area | 246 products, bands from 5 sq m upward | Same export, specification lines | Merchant claim, not measured photometry |
| Beam diameter | Two times height times tangent of half the angle | Cone geometry | Calculated, not measured in a room |
| Spacing to height ratio | 0.26 to 1.15 for 15 to 60 degrees | Two times tangent of half the angle | Calculated, not measured in a room |
| Clearance ring | Half the pool width from the fixture edge | Cone geometry | Trade convention, not a standard |
| Angle choices by job | 15, 24, 36, 50 and 60 degrees | Lighting trade convention | Convention, not a standard |
| Wall offset for art and washes | 0.6 to 0.9 m (24 to 35 in) | Lighting trade convention | Convention, not a standard |
No figure here promises a delivered light level, a delivered appearance or a position in search results. Beam angle is confirmed on site, with the ceiling finished and the fixture in place, rather than from a datasheet. Electrical work, including circuiting, dimmer compatibility and the number of fittings on a circuit, belongs to a qualified electrician working to the code that applies on site.