Aurora · Alectra Utilities service area
Pot lights and lighting upgrades in Aurora
A plaster ceiling near Yonge Street, a 1980s living room with one ceiling fixture and a new basement in Bayview Northeast each call for a different plan. We lay out the lights first, then cut only where needed.
Ceilings across town
Lighting Aurora's different homes
Older houses in Aurora Village often have plaster ceilings and rooms of modest height. They suit fewer, well-placed slim fixtures, often paired with wall sconces. A dense grid can look out of place in a house of that age.
The family homes of Aurora Heights, Aurora Highlands and Aurora Grove were mostly built with a single fixture in the middle of each room. Living rooms and kitchens there feel dim by today's standards. Pot lights on dimmers change how those rooms work in the evening.
Bayview Northeast and Bayview Wellington homes are newer, with drywall and often taller main-floor ceilings. Their basements are frequently finished after move-in, and lighting is a big part of that job.
Room by room
How we light common Aurora rooms
A starting point. The final layout depends on your furniture and how you use the space.
| Room | What usually works | Control |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen | Lights over the counters, under-cabinet strips, pendants over an island | Separate switches for each layer |
| Living room | Pot lights near the walls, plus a lamp or sconce | Dimmer |
| Basement | An even layout across the ceiling, brighter over work or play areas | Dimmer, often two zones |
| Hallways and stairs | Fewer lights spaced for safe footing | Three-way switches at each end |
Signs
When the lighting needs a rethink
Shadows on the counter
The kitchen light is behind you, not over where you work.
LEDs that flicker
Usually an older dimmer that wasn't made for LED loads.
Lamps in every corner
A single ceiling fixture that never lit the room on its own.
A dark basement
A few bare fixtures left from before the space was finished.
Outside the house
Soffits, paths and gardens
Pot lights in the soffits light the front of the house and the driveway. Larger lots in the Hills of St. Andrew often add path and garden lighting as well. Each outdoor zone gets its own circuit, a weatherproof connection and a timer or sensor.
If your house is heritage-designated, check with the Town of Aurora before changing exterior fixtures. See more on pot lights and lighting, or all of our work in Aurora.
Renovating?
Light the room you're building
Lighting planned during a renovation follows the new layout, with dimmers and switches exactly where you want them.
Renovation electricalQuestions
Pot lights and lighting in Aurora: questions
How many pot lights does a living room need?
It depends on the room's size, the ceiling height and what you do in it. We plan the spacing so light lands where you sit and walk, not in a grid for its own sake. You see the layout before we cut a hole.
Can you add pot lights under a bedroom without opening the floor above?
Usually. Slim LED fixtures need only a small round hole and very little depth. We fish the cable between joists from the openings themselves. Where a joist blocks the route, we plan around it or make a small access hole that's easy to patch.
Our new Aurora home only has a light in each bedroom ceiling. Is that normal?
Yes. Builders often supply the minimum, and adding lighting is one of the first upgrades new owners make. Check your builder's warranty for any limits on changes. We'll work around anything you want to keep covered.
Do pot lights need a permit?
Yes. New lighting circuits and fixtures are electrical work that needs an ESA permit in Ontario. We file it, ESA inspects, and you receive the Certificate of Acceptance.
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