"is there any way to keep the ceiling hole covered before putting the lights into the ceiling?"

I suppose you could always cut up a box or piece of cardboard to cover the hole but why would you cut the hole much before you're ready to put in the light? Or just attach the fixture to the ceiling after you cut the hole. You can always pull it down and wire it up later.

"that means every time we need to take the light out...the old attic insulation/dust/bugs might spill out of this hole into the house."

These lights will last 1000's of hours; you may never remove them. Plus the biggest mess you'll ever make is the one you make when you cut the hole.

Suggestion: Use 4"-diameter fixtures, maximum.

@wdccruise thank you so much for your response! i didnt realize these lights will last so long. these holes were already there - we are replacing the old can lights with these canless LED. We already ordered 50 of these 6” lights. why do you recommend 4”?

IMO 6" recessed lights are just big and old-fashioned. Smaller recessed lights look better and draw less attention to themselves. I put 2" recessed lights in my hallway and 4" in the living room.

@wdccruise i wish i read this before i bought all these lights! do you think the 6” give/provide more light than the smaller ones?

You have these now so put them in and when you paint tape them BTW any more lighting you need please do not choose integrated LEDs since when they die you cannot replace just a bulb and often the lights are no longer made. I have not had great luck with these lasting all the time. Yes 4" are IMO the max for LEDs and I like all 4000K lighting and I use 3" enerywhere but all fixtures that the bulbs can be replaced.

"do you think the 6” give/provide more light than the smaller ones?"

The brightness is not a function of the size, but rather the design. The Utilitech lights you showed above have 850 lumens output. Examples:

• Commercial Electric 91469 (540 lumens)
• Halo HLBSL (753 lumens)
• Halo HLBPH (805 lumens)

Note that these lights are very shallow and their lenses will be roughly even with the ceiling as they're not recessed like this Halo LT4. That means you'll see the lenses wherever you stand in the room.

I use 3000K lights in the hallway and bathrooms, 2700K in the living room, and 3500K in the kitchen. All these lights (and the Utilitech you chose) have color temperatures you can select at installation time.

These lights all have integrated LEDs. If you're worried about not being able to find matching ones for a replacement in the future, just buy a few extra and set them aside.

I believe the size is related to the ceiling height. Too small and the light doesnt make it all of the way down.

@M Riz: "Too small and the light doesnt make it all of the way down."

That happens when there's a black hole between the ceiling and floor.

The larger size does create a larger diameter of light. I have 6" ones, 3000k similar to your new ones, that have been in service for nearly 9 years and still just as bright. I love them! I don't look at my ceiling often, but even if I did, the 6" size doesn't look "old-fashioned" or ugly IMO. The nice thing about the flat disc LEDs is that they aren't intrusive. Smaller ones also would require more of them to light the same space as well.

funny, i guess what i meant that with the smaller lights, you probably need more for even lighting. Black hole lol funny.

@raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio: "The larger size does create a larger diameter of light."

Nope.

@M Riz: "with the smaller lights, you probably need more for even lighting"

Nope.

The dispersion of the light is shown in a downlight's photometric data. For example, here are the photometric data for 6", 4", and 3" Halo HLB lights:

Light / Diameter / Percent lumens at 30% / 40% / 60% / 90% (straight down)

• HLB6 / 6" / 27.7% / 45.8% / 80.2% / 100%
• HLB4 / 4" / 28.1% / 46.3%/ 80.4% / 100%
• HLB3 / 3" / 27.7% / 54.8% / 80% / 100%

The dispersion of the light is nearly identical for all these downlights. One would not need to install more fixtures for the smaller-diameter lights.

Sources: Spec sheets for Halo HLB selectable-temperature downlights at 3000K (example)