How to Install Insulated Pot Lights

Locate the ceiling joists in the room you're installing the pot lights with a stud finder.

Trace the outline of the cans for the pot lights onto the ceiling between the joists where they're being installed. Drive a nail into the ceiling through the center of each circle.

Go into the attic and locate the nails for each light. Remove the insulation around the nail in a radius that is the width of the can plus 3 inches on each side. The extra space provides a buffer between the insulation and the cans. Wear gloves, a mask and safety goggles when handling the insulation. Return to the room.

Cut holes into the ceiling for the pot lights with a drywall saw, following the lines you traced onto the ceiling.

Locate a space between two studs on the wall where you want to install the light switch. Trace an old-work electrical box onto the wall, then cut a hole for the box with a drywall saw.

Run pieces of 12/2 electrical cable between the main electrical box and the hole for the light switch, between the light switch and the first lighting hole in the ceiling and in between each light hole. A 12/2 cable contains three 12-gauge electrical wires. Do not connect the wiring to the main box.

Strip 2 inches of sheathing from each end of the electrical cables with wire strippers. Strip 1 inch of insulation from the black and white wires inside the cable (the third wire is bare).

Connect the wiring for the for the pot lights. The general rule of thumb to follow when installing wiring is to match the colors, so you'll be connecting the white wires from the cables to the white wires on the pot lights, and the black wires from cables to the black wires from the pot lights. Make the connection by giving the wires two twists with a pair of pliers, then placing a plastic connector cap on the wires and twisting it. The bare copper ground wire is usually wrapped around a ground screw on the fixture before being connected to a green ground wire on the pot lights. Read the manufacturer's instructions when connecting the wires to learn the precise procedure for the pot lights that you purchased.

Slide each pot light into the ceiling after you connect the wires, then pop the slots on the sides of the can out so the can stays in the ceiling.

Punch out the knockout holes on the old-work light switch box. Slide the cables from the first light and the main electrical box through the knockout hole, then slide the box into the hole you cut inside the wall. Screw the box to the wall.

Loosen the terminal screws on the side and bottom of the light switch. Bend the ends of the white and black wires into hooks with the pliers. Hook them onto the terminal screws and tighten the screws. When attaching the wiring to the light switch, the black wires are attached to the brass-colored screws, and the white wires are attached to the silver-colored screws.

Cut a piece of bare copper wire that is 3 inches long from the leftover cables. Bend one end into a hook, then place it around the ground screw on the bottom of the light switch. Tighten the screw. Using the pliers, twist the other end of the wire together with the bare wires inside the two electrical cables, then place a connector cap over them. This process is called pigtailing.

Slide the wiring and the light switch into the old-work box, then screw the light switch into place. Place a plate cover over the light switch.

Go into the attic and measure the circumference of the holes in the insulation that are around the pot lights.

Cut pieces of wire mesh that are 1 inch longer than the circumference of the holes, and place them into the holes against the edges of the insulation. This will block the insulation from coming into contact with the pot lights.

Hire an electrician to wire the pot lights into the main box. Most municipalities forbid homeowners who are not certified electricians from wiring circuits into the main box.