Asking those that have done something similar or have experience for your thoughts.

I'd like to improve the lighting on our back patio as I'm doing more cooking outside. Between a 36" flattop griddle and the grill I do a lot of our meals out there; additionally I'm looking at buying a propane fueled wok burner to expand my capabilities. The house is all electric inside so this is part of the issue.

Anyhow, right now I have two builder-grade flush mount singe bulb fixtures on the ceiling (denoted in dark green below). I'd like to add light over the grill (denoted in purple below) and possibly the flattop as both are fairly dark right now. Additionally, looking to add a fan for some air movement during the summer.

Here is my very professional drawing of the setup.



Despite what my awesome drawing shows, the walls on either side of the flattop with the windows are in fact the same length. Door opens into the breakfast nook/dining area of the kitchen.

I'm fairly handy so adding boxes/running lines isn't an issue. Though I'd likely tie everything in together so that one switch operated everything.

As always cost is an issue so not trying to go too high end, just something quality that won't break the bank.

Thoughts?

Just a couple of random thoughts and questions...

What is the ceiling height and what is the construction like?

My thoughts would be to install several 4” led retrofit cans in the ceiling. I would put one on each side of the grill and griddle to minimize shadows and then evenly space the rest out to provide a uniform amount of light.

Get the dimable ones so you can vary the amount of light.
I would probably suggest separate switches for the grill & griddle but that’s just me..

What about a ceiling fan?

Good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
What about a ceiling fan?

I live in Texas like the OP and my 300ish sq ft covered patio has 2 ceiling fans and 3 can lights. Besides the obvious cooling effect, I highly recommend the ceiling fans to disperse bugs and disperse smoke from the grill.

Another thing, I would put at least 1 and maybe 2 electrical outlets in the ceiling for stringing Christmas lights, powering a wifi camera, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
Just a couple of random thoughts and questions...

What is the ceiling height and what is the construction like?

My thoughts would be to install several 4” led retrofit cans in the ceiling. I would put one on each side of the grill and griddle to minimize shadows and then evenly space the rest out to provide a uniform amount of light.

Get the dimable ones so you can vary the amount of light.
I would probably suggest separate switches for the grill & griddle but that’s just me..

What about a ceiling fan?

Good luck!

9’ ceiling.

The LED cans are a great idea, not sure why I didn’t think of that. Easy to install too.

And yes, looking to put two fans for the reasons tatortodd mentioned.

I'd put nice sconch lights on the walls where the blue marker is AND 1 just South of the pink door opening, and 1 on each side of the flat top and 1 just north of the 14.5' on the West side. Side lighting is nice when grilling IF you're body or the grill isn't blocking it and adds nice mood lighting if it's dimmable. Overhead lighting is good, but placement is key as it's easy to create shadows with your body and the smoke from the grill will wisp up to the ceiling and dim the ceiling light a bit at times.

I have two hunter ceiling fans with built-in light kits of three bulbs each, placed in a similar location to your current lights two main part lights.

If I had your setup, I would put the third over the grill.