Electrical – Using Recessed Lighting with a 6 pin connector instead of a 4 pin

There are a number of variables you need to consider in order to space them correctly.

First, how much light do you want? Brighter rooms require more lights. Related to this is the max wattage of your cans. You will need more 35W lights to achieve the same brightness you'd get with 50W cans.

What type of spread (angle of light ) do the bulbs you plan on using produce? Bulbs with a wider spread will cover a larger area but light will be more diffused.

The typical rule-of-thumb is 24" from each wall, and then 3-5 feet between cans. So in a 12' room you'd probably want two rows of lights. Considering it is a bedroom and you don't need it as bright as a kitchen, you can probably get away with 2 rows of 4 lights for a total of 8. If you are using 50W bulbs then you will have 400W of light in your room.

The height of your ceiling also plays a big role. Higher ceilings typically require more cans since the light diffuses more before it hits the floor.

Also take into consideration the position of ceiling joists; this might limit where and how many you can place.

I always recommend drawing out your design on graphing paper before you make your first cut. Find out the spread of your light (taking into account the ceiling height), and draw a circle under each can with a protractor. You want the light produced on the floor for each can to slightly overlap another light so that thre are no dead spots.

Make sure you check the ceiling joists before you start cutting!

I should also mention that if you are installing into an insulated area, make sure you use IC (insulation contact) rated cans!

The light fixture you are showing are for retrofit installed through a hole. If the basement is unfinished you can just use 4" can lights for new construction. Then you don't have to throw away the halogens and can choose the color of your LED light kits from 3000K to 5000K whatever pleases you.

As far as the spacing, the picture you show looks like way overkill to me. You could use half that many lights for ambient lighting in a basement, especially with the newer 12 watt LED's at 650 lumens. A Google of halogens shows 50 watt lamps produce 430 lumens at 2750K so they are yellower and dimmer and use much more electricity.

The spacing doesn't look right by the rule of thumb. It looks symmetrical but the rule is to space the fixtures in the middle of the room double the distance the first fixture is from the wall. More to the point, if the first fixture is 2 feet from the wall the next fixture is 4 feet away from the first. Since there is no light at the wall the first one needs to be closer to the wall. From there you are always between two lights so they can be further apart since they light the room from both directions.

Good luck with your project!